What should a good saddle "feel" like?

secretsam

I've never had a really, really comfy saddle.

Assuming good shorts (etc), how should a saddle actually "feel" ie should one feel pressure, where and how much?

FWIW: I'm 90kg (at least 10kg more than I should be :oops: ), have a Selle Italia Max Gel Flow cutout job, and wear proper shorts, etc. Get perineal pain but rest of saddle area is OK

ai_1

SecretSam wrote:

I've never had a really, really comfy saddle.

Assuming good shorts (etc), how should a saddle actually "feel" ie should one feel pressure, where and how much?

FWIW: I'm 90kg (at least 10kg more than I should be :oops: ), have a Selle Italia Max Gel Flow cutout job, and wear proper shorts, etc. Get perineal pain but rest of saddle area is OK

The Adamo ISM saddles seem to be a very reliable solution to perineal pain/numbness. I don't think I've ever heard a report of these not solving that problem. Of course some people still don't find them comfortable for other reasons but I think if you give them a few weeks for adaptation there's an excellent chance you'll be happy. They're very different to conventional saddles so you need to adapt again like you did when you started cycling. They can seem very uncomfortable at first but bear with it. For me, at some point after about 2.5 weeks, the discomfort vanished and I was suddenly very comfortable. I tried the Breakaway test saddle for a month in summer 2013 and had this experience, then again when I bought myself an Attack earlier this year. I was very uncomfortable for at least 2 weeks and starting to wonder if I'd made a mistake when suddenly it became extremely comfortable.
For fast riding and TT riding I've found the Adamo ISM Breakaway and Attack saddles excellent. For more relaxed riding in a more upright position I still find them good but not perfect. Although I'm not sure I wouldn't get used to this if I rode them that way more often. I've never had numbness or perinium pain with the Adamo which I have used on the road bike but now use on the TT bike. Occasionally get a little with my Specialized Romin Evo Expert on the road bike but only minor and much better than any other conventional saddle I've tried. I slightly prefer this for long relaxed rides especially in the hills.

imposter2.0

A good saddle shouldn't 'feel' like anything - which is what makes it a good saddle...

lostboysaint

Imposter wrote:

A good saddle shouldn't 'feel' like anything - which is what makes it a good saddle...

That.

You shouldn't even recognise that you're sat on it.

rafletcher

I guess that, when you first sit on it, as others have said, you shouldn't have your attention brought to it. After time, most will have some discomfort, but it's how much. After 3 hours are you a bit sore, or is it almost impossible to sit back down? Do your numb 'nads get feeling back after 10 seconds out of the saddle or are you struggling for sensation an hour later? FWIW I tried a Sella Italia and loathed it - felt like sitting on a knife edge. Currently the least uncomfortable saddles I have found are the Spesh Romin Pro 155. I tried a 143 but it was too narrow, the 155 is just right. Got measured at a spesh store.

MichaelW

Your weight should be supported on the sit bones, not soft tissue.

kajjal

MichaelW wrote:

Your weight should be supported on the sit bones, not soft tissue.

This is exactly the problem I had with my road bikes original saddle. It was too narrow and had no real cutaway. Measured myself up for a saddle and chose a wider one with a decent cutaway. Now ride pain free, whereas before after an hour it was agony. Mountain bikes are different as you shift around the bike a lot more.

lostboysaint

rafletcher wrote:

I guess that, when you first sit on it, as others have said, you shouldn't have your attention brought to it. After time, most will have some discomfort, but it's how much.

No. You shouldn't have any at any time, that's the difference between a good saddle and one you bought because you liked the brand/colour/construction etc.

ai_1

lostboysaint wrote:

rafletcher wrote:

I guess that, when you first sit on it, as others have said, you shouldn't have your attention brought to it. After time, most will have some discomfort, but it's how much.

No. You shouldn't have any at any time, that's the difference between a good saddle and one you bought because you liked the brand/colour/construction etc.

I have to disagree with you there but maybe you didn't say what you intended to say!
I've used several saddles that are generally considered to be "good saddles" and was uncomfortable on them. It's not really about how good the saddle is, but rather how well it suits your anatomy, position and riding style and how you've positioned it.
If you ride all day long I suspect every saddle will be uncomfortable eventually. But get one that suits you well and it may be several hours before discomfort hits and it may only be minor. Some people can get to that situation with a wide variety of saddles. Others find only one or two examples that work this well for them and yet others are still searching. It took me a while but thankfully I got there after 2 or 3 months of test saddles last year.

fudgey

I had done 1500 miles on my bike in a fair bit of discomfort. Was ok up to about 30 miles but after that i got really uncomfortable on the standard saddle and was making lots of minor adjustments...

2 weeks ago i bit the bullet and bought a rather expensive selle itialia slr flow.

I have done 100 miles on it now and yesterdays 52 mile ride i was indeed rather uncomfortable at around 30 miles but it was more a numbness on the sitbones this time.

Swapped bikes with my mate for a mile or two and he commented that the saddle was comfy, so it must be just me!

My seat post is a pain in the ass and i cant make fine adjustments so might try swapping that next... The saddle is level at the mo, the ride last weekend i adjusted the tilt and didnt get on with it...


But in saying all that i had physio 2 weeks ago for a knee issue and got him to check my hip as i have had hip pain for about 10 years, he said my hip flexors were very tight so i have been doing stretching exercises on that. Not sure if my pelvis was twisted slightly as my pain was always on the right hand side, yesterday it was both sides...

Only time will tell i guess.

ai_1

Fudgey wrote:

....I have done 100 miles on it now and yesterdays 52 mile ride i was indeed rather uncomfortable at around 30 miles but it was more a numbness on the sitbones this time.

Swapped bikes with my mate for a mile or two and he commented that the saddle was comfy, so it must be just me!...

It's irrelevant whether your friend thinks it's comfy. It only matters if you do.
Give the saddle a few rides and if it's not comfortable don't try to convince yourself it is. The danger with buying an expensive saddle you haven't tried before is that you generally just won't know until you ride on it whether it suits you. Hopefully this one will work out but if not, try and get your hands on a few trial saddles from local bike shops and start from there. Buying saddles before you ride on them could become very expensive.

fudgey

well i got sent two through, the SLR and the SLR flow. but just sitting on them i couldnt tell if one was better than the other as i thought i better not fit them as if i marked the one i wanted to return i would not get a refund.

so i opted for the one with the cutout figuring that it should be more comfy as it had the cutout..

nothing to do with the 2g weight saving over the SLR lol

secretsam

A bike shop near me offers loan saddles (Fizik, IIRC) so may try one of them! Mind you, last time I was in there they'd lent them all out and couldn't remember to whom (think they were all bright orange, etc so it was obvious they were loan saddles!)

bing gordon

I've tried a few over the years, specialized toupe , fizik alitante/arione, selle italia flite just to name a few. It was by chance a m8 was throwing a charge spoon out so cadged it off him and tbh , its was as comfy as hell ,well for me it was. There's so many things you need to get right for pain free/comfy riding like bike set up , saddle , shorts padding and each tweak can make that diffence.
Try a charge spoon , there cheap enough to give one a whirl. Dearest is not always the best

fudgey

I was considering riding to work and trying it unpadded to see if that makes a difference. Its 10 miles each tho so not sure if the journey home would be a painfest...

It kind of felt on sunday that i was uncomfortable due to my padded tights - DHB roubaix vaeons.

I have some BBB shorts that were ok but might be a bit chilly for those now.

Sutton_Rider

How comfy is comfy. OK so it's not going to be like sitting in an arm chair. I've tried various Sella's in various positions and just like Bing came across a spoon, its the best so far. I'm good for about 1 to 1.5 hours then the sit bones start, but they aren't too bad, the junk lasts about the same, doesn't go numb, but I feel slight pressure. I just end up shuffling about a bit and standing for 10 seconds or so. Is this the best I can expect? I've tried 3 types of shorts, cheap to expensive not a fantastic amount in them.