Saddle Fit Tips

charliew87

Had a Retul bike fit on my new Canyon in Feb, and ended up swapping the Fizik Antares saddle for a new Fizik Arione one as the rails on the Arione were longer and allowed more adjustment of the sitting position.

2 months later and I’m finding the Arione cripplingly uncomfortable having never had problems with a saddle before. Going back to the same shop to have another look at the saddle fit tonight, just wondering if anyone had any tips to ensure the new one is the right one?

drlodge

The discomfort will be due to (a) the saddle itself being the wrong shape/size for you and/or (b) the position being wrong. Saddles are a very personal think, but by the sound of it, its the saddle itself thats' not right for you. Just a matter of trial and error, but see if you can move back to the saddle you had before if that was comfortable for you?

pitchshifter

I had a similar scenario with the Arione. Ended up going with a Romin. Get down to a Specialzied store and get a saddle fitted.

comsense

I spent a small fortune on saddles until I realised that I had to take a reasoned and logical approach.
1. Measure your sit bones - there are various methods but you need to get the distance "centre to centre" when you are bent forward in a "riding" position. No point in sitting up straight backed and measuring when you ride with your hips rotated forward. Place a folded soft towel or something similar on a flat hard surface and sit on it. ( I used to use my kids's play dough between two sheets of paper..) You should now see two indents. Measure these centre to centre. This gives the saddle width you need.
2. Now you need to decide on the shape.
Why do you not like your current saddle - is it too flat? Some like flat saddles, some like a curved nose, some like a "hammock" shape - just think it over. What I did next was buy a couple 2nd hand off ebay - if they do not work you sell them again and hopefully lose nothing. don't mind what anyone else uses and swears by - people just aren't the same.

also have a look at this:
http://www.cervelo.com/en/engineering/a ... dles-.html

Grill

Who did your fit?

You should realise that saddle fit is immensely personal and just because someone can put sensors on you and adjust your position according to an algorithm doesn't mean they know jack about your ass. Same goes for shoes...

kajjal

Some good advice above. The saddle on my Trek was very painful after about an hours cycling. Measured myself for a saddle with the wife laughing at me and due to the location of the pain realised I needed a wider saddle with a cut away / cut out. Bought a specialized avatar in the right size and am now fine even when riding for hours.

Best tip is measure yourself and workout where the pain is as this will guide you.

hypster

+1 for the Specialized fitting system. They use a gel pad which you sit on and your sit bones leave an indentation which can then be accurately measured. I had mine done at a bike show several years ago when Specialized were really the only company doing different saddle models in various widths.

After many years of putting up with saddles too narrow for me I finally found one the right width. I'm 6' 4" tall and need a saddle 155mm wide. Not many saddle manufacturers make one that wide but Specialized (and I believe Bontrager) do.

ollie51

The Fizik Arione has to the most common saddle I see used by guys who have sit bones that are far too wide for their saddle choice, it's rare that you see someone sitting on it that is actually getting some support from it. Check out a Specialized Romin Evo, we can't get enough in stock at the shop I work at.

charliew87

Tried a Selle-Italia which also felt rubbish, now trialling a demo Fizik Antares for a couple of days. Feels better but not exactly perfect. Problem is money, I've spent £100 on the Arione which is now probably no more than £60 worth on eBay.

Have asked Sigma Sport about the Spec BG fitting process as think I could be on a never ending cycle of trialling saddles that aren't quite right the way I'm currently doing it.

Camcycle1974

charliew87 wrote:

Tried a Selle-Italia which also felt rubbish, now trialling a demo Fizik Aliante for a couple of days. Feels better but not exactly perfect. Problem is money, I've spent £100 on the Arione which is now probably no more than £60 worth on eBay.

Have asked Sigma Sport about the Spec BG fitting process as think I could be on a never ending cycle of trialling saddles that aren't quite right the way I'm currently doing it.

Try a Charge Scoop (their new one) mine cost £32 from Ribble and is the most comfortable saddle I have ever used. I would consider myself to be "average" in all respects physically so maybe not relevant if you are very tall or heavy with wide sit bones. The shape appears to be modeled on a Selle Italia Flite.

styxd

Could you not just get a seatpost with more adjustment and go back to your Antares if you found it comfy?

hypster

charliew87 wrote:

Tried a Selle-Italia which also felt rubbish, now trialling a demo Fizik Antares for a couple of days. Feels better but not exactly perfect. Problem is money, I've spent £100 on the Arione which is now probably no more than £60 worth on eBay.

Have asked Sigma Sport about the Spec BG fitting process as think I could be on a never ending cycle of trialling saddles that aren't quite right the way I'm currently doing it.

My advice to you is ignore suggestions to "buy this" or "buy that". As well-meaning as the recommendation might be, it is pointless because you have no idea of the poster's physical make-up and little idea of your own until you make the effort to get measured. Once you have that information you will at least be able to make a more informed judgement about the type of saddle you should be looking for and if it even comes in a width which suits your sit bones.

I don't bother to suggest a particular saddle to anyone any more because I don't know their physical status or the type of riding they may be doing and how it relates to me. Your conclusion to get along to Sigma Sport and get measured is a sound one. They should then be able to recommend something suitable for you and may even have a saddle loan scheme as well for you to try them out.

I know Bontrager have an "Unconditional Comfort Guarantee" which might be worth exploring as well.

Speckled

I found the Arione too narrow and it was killing my ass on long rides, ive been using the antares for a few weeks now and its much better. Not only my ass but my back, a typical 60-70 mile ride on the arione left me with some back ache at the end, had none since with the antares.

I didnt realise till the other week that the iphone has a handy leveling feature on the compass app, pretty good if you're wanting to make adjustemnts to the saddle on the road and keep it level 8)

kingstonian

charliew87 wrote:

Tried a Selle-Italia which also felt rubbish, now trialling a demo Fizik Antares for a couple of days. Feels better but not exactly perfect. Problem is money, I've spent £100 on the Arione which is now probably no more than £60 worth on eBay.

Have asked Sigma Sport about the Spec BG fitting process as think I could be on a never ending cycle of trialling saddles that aren't quite right the way I'm currently doing it.

Go to Sigma's Specialized store on Richmond Rd, they will have demo saddles available.

KevChallis

My LBS has just started doing demo saddles, can't remember which brand it is. But you can take one away, ride it for a week and take it back, then try another, until you find the right one, this will definitely be the next thing I sort as I hate my saddle!!

giant_man

Probably the fizik range, if it's Cyclesport in Lincoln KevChallis. They've been doing that for a few years now.

KevChallis

giant man wrote:

Probably the fizik range, if it's Cyclesport in Lincoln KevChallis. They've been doing that for a few years now.

I don't go in there lol, I use Louth Cycle Centre (not exactly local, but te best one locally lol)

matt_n-2

I too went from an Arione to a 155mm Romin on my Tarmac as it just wasn't supporting me!

Still got an old knacker of an Arione on my winter / commuter which hurts me even after 8 miles to work, probably going to swap that out for a 155mm Riva.

charliew87

@&£?£& after 10 miles or so. Will go to Sigma tomorrow or at weekend and try some of these highly rated Specialized saddles.

johngti

I've just bought a specialized toupe comp off eBay to try out. Fitted it last night and did a 8 mile commute this morning. First impressions were "OMFG what is this concrete filled monstrosity doing on my bike my poor bum!!!1!!1!!!!1!!!". But after a couple of miles I stopped noticing how hard it felt. Second impression was that there seems to be a lot more support in the saddle with less give meaning that I felt that I could get the power down a little easier. Felt no pressure on the gentleman bits. Nicest thing was arriving at work and not feeling pain/tenderness around the top of my hamstrings/bottom of my glutes - the saddle I used before has a lot more give in the padding so I'm wondering if that contributed to the discomfort I felt.

Admittedly, this is based on a short ride. I'll do a bit further on the way home and have an 80km ride planned for Sunday so that'll give me a good idea of how much of a difference there is but initial signs are positive. And, of course, YMMV!