Saddle choice

Bwgan
Bwgan Posts: 389
edited May 2013 in Road buying advice
I need to buy a saddle for the bike I'm building, and just wondered what is a common saddle that people usually like? I know everyone is different, but there must be a particular saddle that people agree is a nice one to rest our bones on for long periods of time?

Any to avoid like the plague?

There always seem to be Fizik ones for sale on here, is that not a good sign?

Comments

  • duckson
    duckson Posts: 961
    Can sometimes take a bit to settle on the right saddle for you, you can get your sit bones measured to help in this process.
    I changed from the stock Boardman saddle to a Fizik Arione and its perfect (for me).
    Cheers, Stu
  • jordan_217
    jordan_217 Posts: 2,580
    You probably already know this is coming but....saddles are a very personal thing, what I find comfortable may have you in bits after 30 mins. That's just the way it is.

    For starters though and kind of answering your question, most people find the Charge Spoon a good saddle, the fact it can be bought new for ca. £20 means that you won't have wasted a great deal of money if it's not the one for you.

    Try looking out for LBS's that have a demo fleet of Fizik saddles(I think Prologo do it now too). You then have the opportunity to try before you buy. The classifieds on here will also have a few posts asking for swapping saddles, most of which will be pretty new and in good condition.

    You really need to play with the position and give it a few rides though, before you right one off as being uncomfortable.

    HTH.
    “Training is like fighting with a gorilla. You don’t stop when you’re tired. You stop when the gorilla is tired.”
  • seanoconn
    seanoconn Posts: 11,820
    One word....... Specialized Romin
    Pinno, מלך אידיוט וחרא מכונאי
  • jordan_217
    jordan_217 Posts: 2,580
    seanoconn wrote:
    One word....... Specialized Romin

    That's two... :wink:
    “Training is like fighting with a gorilla. You don’t stop when you’re tired. You stop when the gorilla is tired.”
  • seanoconn
    seanoconn Posts: 11,820
    jordan_217 wrote:
    seanoconn wrote:
    One word....... Specialized Romin

    That's two... :wink:
    Whoooosh! :lol:
    Pinno, מלך אידיוט וחרא מכונאי
  • seanoconn
    seanoconn Posts: 11,820
    Seriously though. I've tried A LOT of saddles and the Romin is the best by far for me. Not noticing or thinking about it during a ride is the best compliment I can give.
    Pinno, מלך אידיוט וחרא מכונאי
  • R0B75
    R0B75 Posts: 376
    As a tight arse (not in the narrow bottomed sense) I loathe spending more and more money to find the perfect saddle. I'm on my 4th on my road bike and had just as many on the MTB.

    I have settled on the SDG Bel Air on both. For me it is significantly more comfy than anything else I've tried for longer rides of 6+hours. Everything else I've tried feels like I'm being fisted by a gorilla after a couple of hours. The only downside is that on a road bike the Bel Air isn't particularly good looking, but then when you're sitting on it, the point is moot.
  • gaddster
    gaddster Posts: 401
    Arione for me, had a romin before which didn't suit. You need to try before you buy if possible as there's too many variables.
    ARTHUR
    "Hello oh great one"
    LARRY
    "Are you talking to me or my ass?"
  • AllanES
    AllanES Posts: 151
    To pull together a few threads on here..............

    The Aldi sale y'day was selling a saddle for £9.99 that was labelled as being by Selle Italia.
    So, I thought it worth a punt (so to speak)

    :-)
    Red Triban 3
    Giant Defy 1
  • arran77
    arran77 Posts: 9,260
    indexdx.jpg

    :wink:

    Like others have said it's best to get along to a shop that can either measure your sit bones or has a range of saddles that you can demo, asking here you'll get as many suggestions as responses!!

    For what it's worth I have a Selle Italia Flite on one bike and a Fizik Arione on another, I love both :)
    "Arran, you are like the Tony Benn of smut. You have never diluted your depravity and always stand by your beliefs. You have my respect sir and your wife my pity" :lol:

    seanoconn
  • Sprool
    Sprool Posts: 1,022
    Specialized Toupe works great for me where others failed (Scott standard saddle, Spec Phenom, Selle C2 gel flow)
  • dowtcha
    dowtcha Posts: 442
    Sprool wrote:
    Specialized Toupe works great for me where others failed (Scott standard saddle, Spec Phenom, Selle C2 gel flow)

    +1
    Swapped out stock giant for a troupe expert, I now longer even think about the saddle.
  • passout
    passout Posts: 4,425
    I've tried loads by Fizik, Specailized, San Marco & others. The best saddles for me by far are from Selle SMP.
    'Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible' Marcel Proust.
  • Bwgan
    Bwgan Posts: 389
    Cheers for the replies guys. I totally understand its a can of worms. Love the gorilla fisting! Will try my LBS to see if they do a trial service on them
  • cotti
    cotti Posts: 96
    Specialized do a 30 day return on saddles if your not getting on with it:)
  • Bwgan
    Bwgan Posts: 389
    That's good to know!!
  • Just brought a saddle from Aldi for £9.99 and I have to say its surprisingly comfy and better than the saddle that came with my bike.
  • Davdandy
    Davdandy Posts: 571
    I need a new saddle,the one i have is the stock one that came with my Caad 8.But apart from ass sizes what do you look for in buying a saddle?
    Cannondale CAAD 8 105
    Rockrider 8.1
  • cattytown
    cattytown Posts: 647
    Size, shape, cutaway or not. I've tried a few so far. I have an SDG belair on my MTB, but don't get on with one on the road bike. On an Arione, I found I had too much hip rotation to get on with it - I was OK upright, but a short while leaning forwards was uncomfortable. Best fit for me to date is a Romin Evo.

    Paul.
    Giant Defy 2
    Large bloke getting smaller :-)