saddle for a *wider set of sit bones* prologo, si, fizik...?

drkawaszelong

i'm currently using Selle Italia Signo Gel Flow, which is ok for shortish 50mile rides, but longer ones (100+miles) are a right pain in the *beep*.

i like the look of the Fizik's and that special channel in the middle, but what are your views?

i've got a 35inch waist, with alot of bone, but that's kinda irrelevant i suppose (budding doctor)

TIA

ajb72

Do you mean the Fizik Versus saddles - the relatively new ones with a channel along the centre?

If so, I had a mixed experience with my Arione Versus. I loved the original Arione for sit bone comfort, but it gave me numb gentleman's parts. The Versus cured the numbness immediately, but was nowhere near as comfortable on the sit bones and I subsequently sold it on. It seems difficult to solve the issue - in moving material away from the centre of the saddle it seems necessary to firm up elsewhere. I'm back on a specialized toupe now, and almost happy! The search goes on.....

drkawaszelong

yep those ones, what are the specialized saddles like? and anyone tried any others from all brands? prologo, san marco, other selle italias etc?

ajb72

The advantage of the Specialized saddles is you can get measured for varying widths in one of their authorised dealers. It's worth it - I was surprised to be measured for the narrowest 130mm width fitting.

Comfort is a personal thing though, so me saying the Toupe is comfy won't really help you much! They have a good range though and some of the more padded saddles like the Phenom are also worth a look. There are plenty usually available on ebay so you shouldn't lose £'s if you find it's not for you.

Dunkeldog

For what it's worth I have a Selle Italia gel flow team edition on my winter/turbo bike. Has me in tears after an hour. My Specialized toupe on the 'nice bike' looks like it'd reduced anyone to tears but is actually the most comfortable saddle I've ever used. I've got wide sit bones and this saddle is spot on whether I'm out for an hour spin or a four hour challenge.

drkawaszelong

that specialized saddle fit thing looks good, not meaning to sound like a cheapo but how much does it cost?

and loads of people like specialized saddles... interesting.....

night_porter

It doesn't cost anything and it takes 10 seconds, you sit on it then stand up, the guy measures it then flips it over and ask you which picture looks like you and then reads the scale to tell you what size saddle you need.

The guy in my local shop said that 95% of riders need a 143mm saddle, probably because no-one admits to sitting upright or laying flat on the bars all of the time.

I asked what size my sit bones were (115mm apparantly) but I guess they would probably want you to just buy the saddle they advise you to?

I did try an Aliante Versus on loan from a different shop but that was awful (for me) and I still suffered with perineum pain.

I am still searching though as I have more saddles than my lbs and spesh didn't do loaners.

drkawaszelong

ahh ok, thanks, is that applicable to all saddle brands do you know? or just the specialized ones?

and the Versus-es aren't getting good reviews so far

night_porter

Spesh will tell you their assometer was developed for their saddles but as most saddles are of similar sizes you can make your own judgement as to the universality (I think I made up that word?) of the measurements.

drkawaszelong

lol, i would've gone for universal-ness.

right, time to pay them a visit tomorrow. i think i've got a wide sit bone partition...what saddles have people found comfy apart from spesh? prologo any good for example?

night_porter

Why do you think you have wider sit bones?

A year ago I weighed in at 120kgs and now I am around 90kgs but my bones are still in the same position and I don't think 115mm is wide.

FWIW the spesh dealer told me that Selle Italia was offering a 30 day trial with a full refund if you don't get on with it but I haven't been able to get to my closest dealer 30 miles away to check them out. Most Selle Italia saddles are either very narrow or very wide and I have read that their Gel Flow saddles are quite firm.

nferrar

Spesh concept stores have all there saddles available for demo, costs a fiver (refunded on purchase). Well worth doing IMO unless you have deep pockets (I tried all the Fizik road saddles and ended up on a Spesh Romin)

drkawaszelong

had an xray some time ago and it just looked to be quite wide! and i just cannot seem to get on with my signo, so i'm guestimating that i have a wide sit bones.

i never knew about the selle italia/spesh trials! time to try that out as well i think

drkawaszelong

night_porter wrote:

Why do you think you have wider sit bones?

actually come to think of it, you may be right, because when after a long ride on my signo, it's the sit bones that hurt, so maybe they're located very close to the cut out (where it gets tres firm).

or something to that extent!

In_the_big_ring

I bought the Specialized Romin to ease the pressure down below and it was the best investment I made. It has an even larger cut out than the Toupe and also has a fairly wide front tip so if you're putting the hammer down and riding right on the end of the saddle it isn't too uncomfortable. That said, I'm pretty slim so I don't have problems with my thighs rubbing the saddle, if your thighs are big you may find the larger tip annoying. I never went into get fitted for the saddle, measured myself at home. All you need is some corrugated cardboard. Sit on the cardboard in a 'riding' position (it helps if you get someone to push down on you so speed things up), and then measure the distance between the two indentations. Specialized have a fitting guide on their website: http://www.specialized.com/specs/spec.j ... trysaddles

drkawaszelong

i also get some pressure down below after a while in the saddle as well with my signo,

regarding chafing on the saddle, i don't get that with legs like cancellara (pfft...i wish, although i can leg press 302 kg ) as opposed to wiggins, although the signo tip may be quite narrow :?