Saddle Query

rsmaybury

Hi,

I'm a newbie to road biking and have a question which may seem a bit dumb ? Just purchased a 56 cm Claude Butler San Remo 2013 Road Bike. The saddle is a bit hard . Can anyone recommend any more comfortable saddles ?


Many Thanks,

wishitwasallflat

Saddles can feel hard when you first get them. Saddles that feel hard at first canbe better on longer rides as they tend to load the sit bones and spare the soft tissues. That said if you want a new one Specialized Avatar is quite a good padded but not too much option.

navrig2

rsmaybury wrote:

Hi,

I'm a newbie to road biking and have a question which may seem a bit dumb ? Just purchased a 56 cm Claude Butler San Remo 2013 Road Bike. The saddle is a bit hard . Can anyone recommend any more comfortable saddles ?


Many Thanks,

Saddles are the most personal bit of your bike so what is comfy for me could be like a razor blade for you. There are a few things you can do:

1. Persevere and see if you get used to it. You really need some miles under your belt before you can tell if the saddle is right.

2. Find a LBS which has test saddles and then experiment.

3. Borrow a friends saddle and try it out.

4. Buy something quite different and take a risk.

5. Look for a LBS which uses the Specialised BG fitting service - they can measure where your sitbones are and recommend a saddle.

Also worth noting that soft is not likely to be comfortable after or during a long ride. You settle into the padding, it compresses and becomes pressure points but because it compresses so much you cannot move around on the saddle as easily as you can on a hard saddle it becomes more painful. I hope my logic make sense.

dowtcha

From your post I think you might be under the impression that a padded saddle will be more comfortable, the padding should should be in your shorts and not on the saddle.

Initialised

Check the width of your ar5e cheeck (aka sit bones) with a sheet of A4 paper and a ruler/tape measure. Get a seddle that is as close as possible to your width. If your saddle is OK get some padded pants/shorts.

ai_1

First get some decent padded shorts.
Also check your saddle isn't too high. If you're rocking on the saddle to reach the bottom of the pedal stroke that will make the saddle hurt. Your leg should not be straight at the bottom of the stroke. An angle of 30 degrees off straight is about right.
Then ride regularly for a few weeks, starting with shorter distances and see how you get on. If you're new to cycling you can expect a little discomfort during and after the first few rides but it should quickly improve.
If you're still uncomfortable then think about trying some alternative saddles.
As others have said, a softer saddle isn't necessarily more comfortable and good padded shorts are far better than padding on the saddle.

Grill

Initialised wrote:

Check the width of your ar5e cheeck (aka sit bones) with a sheet of A4 paper and a ruler/tape measure. Get a seddle that is as close as possible to your width. If your saddle is OK get some padded pants/shorts.

That's not how it's done. BG fit says to choose a width around 10mm wider than you sit bones.

mugensi

I made the mistake of thinking the saddle on my new bike a few years ago was too hard and so changed it for the softest i could find which was a San Marco ProVip which was lovely and soft and for the first few miles on its maiden voyage was very comfortable but then I found myslef getting numb and sore as the soft padding conformed to the shape of my perenium area making me numb. Then i started to get chaffing on the insides of my thighs from it. It was removed after 20 miles and I went back to the original saddle (prologo Nago Gel PAS) which was still like a rock but better than the San Marco. I did change it again but for a prologo Zero II which is flat and firm but with a reasonable amount of padding and its a very comfortable saddle.

Like said above, everyone is different in what they find comfortable/uncomfortable. Read some reviews and see what others say about various saddles and definitely stay away from soft spongey saddles.

keef66

Grill wrote:

Initialised wrote:

Check the width of your ar5e cheeck (aka sit bones) with a sheet of A4 paper and a ruler/tape measure. Get a seddle that is as close as possible to your width. If your saddle is OK get some padded pants/shorts.

That's not how it's done. BG fit says to choose a width around 10mm wider than you sit bones.

An article I read only yesterday by the Cervelo test team suggested adding 20mm.

http://www.cervelo.com/en/engineering/a ... dles-.html

Grill

Could be. It also depends where you sit on the saddle.

littledove44

BG fit recommendation is 20 mm wider than sit bones I recall.

Makes sense. If the saddle is the same width the weight is not supported.

The vast majority of men have sit bones about 120mm apart. That's why 143mm is their go to size.

I stuck with a specialized toupe for many months. Then tried an Avatar. Found it uncomfortable. Trialling a selle SMP Stratos at the mo. Indications are it is good. Selle Forma didn't work for me.

It's such a personal thing. You have to accept that as a newbie you are unlikely to be really comfortable, but if the agony starts in the first half hour of a ride I would start the hunt for a new saddle straight away. Mine only starts hurting badly after several hours. Don't know if I will ever fix that, but for the sake of a few saddle purchases I will continue the hunt.

Wanted to try a Romin Evo Expert Gel but specialized say they have none and can't get any. Go figure.

kajjal

Just follow the measuring guide given by the manufacturer.

I did that and bought the widest avatar which has been good on long rides. It can be a very individual thing and see which bit of you hurts to guide you to the right saddle.

whitestar1

Navrig2 wrote:

rsmaybury wrote:

Hi,

I'm a newbie to road biking and have a question which may seem a bit dumb ? Just purchased a 56 cm Claude Butler San Remo 2013 Road Bike. The saddle is a bit hard . Can anyone recommend any more comfortable saddles ?


Many Thanks,

Saddles are the most personal bit of your bike so what is comfy for me could be like a razor blade for you. There are a few things you can do:

1. Persevere and see if you get used to it. You really need some miles under your belt before you can tell if the saddle is right.

2. Find a LBS which has test saddles and then experiment.

3. Borrow a friends saddle and try it out.

4. Buy something quite different and take a risk.

5. Look for a LBS which uses the Specialised BG fitting service - they can measure where your sitbones are and recommend a saddle.

Also worth noting that soft is not likely to be comfortable after or during a long ride. You settle into the padding, it compresses and becomes pressure points but because it compresses so much you cannot move around on the saddle as easily as you can on a hard saddle it becomes more painful. I hope my logic make sense.

hmm, borrow a friends saddle and try it out? How many friends are there that will do that? Not I, I ride my bike almost every day!!!

whitestar1

wishitwasallflat wrote:

Saddles can feel hard when you first get them. Saddles that feel hard at first canbe better on longer rides as they tend to load the sit bones and spare the soft tissues. That said if you want a new one Specialized Avatar is quite a good padded but not too much option.

There is also the Charge Scoop. I am using one now and it's proving very good and only £40.

slowbike

whitestar1 wrote:

Navrig2 wrote:

rsmaybury wrote:

Hi,

I'm a newbie to road biking and have a question which may seem a bit dumb ? Just purchased a 56 cm Claude Butler San Remo 2013 Road Bike. The saddle is a bit hard . Can anyone recommend any more comfortable saddles ?


Many Thanks,

Saddles are the most personal bit of your bike so what is comfy for me could be like a razor blade for you. There are a few things you can do:

1. Persevere and see if you get used to it. You really need some miles under your belt before you can tell if the saddle is right.

2. Find a LBS which has test saddles and then experiment.

3. Borrow a friends saddle and try it out.

4. Buy something quite different and take a risk.

5. Look for a LBS which uses the Specialised BG fitting service - they can measure where your sitbones are and recommend a saddle.

Also worth noting that soft is not likely to be comfortable after or during a long ride. You settle into the padding, it compresses and becomes pressure points but because it compresses so much you cannot move around on the saddle as easily as you can on a hard saddle it becomes more painful. I hope my logic make sense.

hmm, borrow a friends saddle and try it out? How many friends are there that will do that? Not I, I ride my bike almost every day!!!

N+1 ....

rsmaybury

Ok thanks all

navrig2

whitestar1 wrote:

Navrig2 wrote:

rsmaybury wrote:

Hi,

I'm a newbie to road biking and have a question which may seem a bit dumb ? Just purchased a 56 cm Claude Butler San Remo 2013 Road Bike. The saddle is a bit hard . Can anyone recommend any more comfortable saddles ?


Many Thanks,

Saddles are the most personal bit of your bike so what is comfy for me could be like a razor blade for you. There are a few things you can do:

1. Persevere and see if you get used to it. You really need some miles under your belt before you can tell if the saddle is right.

2. Find a LBS which has test saddles and then experiment.

3. Borrow a friends saddle and try it out.

4. Buy something quite different and take a risk.

5. Look for a LBS which uses the Specialised BG fitting service - they can measure where your sitbones are and recommend a saddle.

Also worth noting that soft is not likely to be comfortable after or during a long ride. You settle into the padding, it compresses and becomes pressure points but because it compresses so much you cannot move around on the saddle as easily as you can on a hard saddle it becomes more painful. I hope my logic make sense.

hmm, borrow a friends saddle and try it out? How many friends are there that will do that? Not I, I ride my bike almost every day!!!

I'de be happy to take asaddle off a bike and let a mate try it.

What goes around comes around, IMHO.

Grill

I always have 3 or 4 spare saddles laying about. In fact I have 2 out on test to mates at the moment (one of them has had it almost 2 years so I'm guessing I'm not getting it back!).

rsmaybury

Ok visited local bike shop who recommended
Different saddle so far so good thanks all

smoggysteve

rsmaybury wrote:

Ok visited local bike shop who recommended
Different saddle so far so good thanks all

You went into a shop and they recommended a new one? Who would have thought it?

Did they just push one under your nose or did they invite you to try one or two for fit?

I will buy almost everything bike related online with 4 exceptions; bike, shoes, helmet, saddle.

Reason for this is I want to know the item fits and is comfortable and I expect the shop to assist me in the process. I hope you got the same level of assistance.

ai_1

There are plenty places that lend out test saddles so you can see what works before you buy. Others will accept saddles back for exchange or refund within a period of time (usually 28 days) so long as the saddle isn't damaged or marked. A lot of people seem to just buy one saddle after another looking for one that suits and then try re-selling them. It must cost a fortune!
As SmoggySteve suggested - bike shops have a vested interest in you buying something. The best ones will give good advice on the basis that if you trust them you'll come back for other purchases later. Others will sell you whatever they can on the spot - it's understandable but it's not what's best for you.

You won't know if a saddles works well for you until you test it so be skeptical of a salesman telling you "this is the saddle for you", if he says "this might be the saddle for you - give it a try" that's the advice you're looking for.