Saddle choice

pfishuk

Hi, just looking for opinions on saddles.

I bought a giant defy 0 back in March and stuck with the stock saddle for the first 1000 or so miles. it used to start getting painful after a couple of hours in the saddle so recently decided to change it out.

I'm not a racer, just trying to build up the time in the saddle and the milage with quite an upright position, I am now starting to aim at the 3-4 hour mark which was hard going on my rear end.

I did what i thought was loads of research and saw 5 pages of really good reviews on the Cosine endurance from Wiggle so thought i'd give it a shot for £30. I've done 80 miles on it this week and it's like sitting on concrete, couldn't even sit down for the last half hour this morning.

does anyone have any suggestions for decent long distance saddles on a reasonable budget - don't want to go above say £50-60. i know it is a very personal thing but there are not many local places i can go to try out saddles so buying online is my best option. I have considered ebay but if it isn't right not so easy to return, i've measured sit bones so know roughly the size i need.

cheers

lostboysaint

Got a decent LBS? If so then they should be able to help (measure sit bones, offer trial saddles etc.) or you could do what most people do and get a Charge Spoon/Madison Flux - about £15-£20 in most places - and see whether that works (it does for a lot of people and you'll sell it s/h easily enough as loads of people use them) and then go from there.

drlodge

Saddles are very personal things. Adjusting the tilt by just half a degree can make quite a difference on a long ride so suggest you try angling it slightly up or down and try that before shelling out on another saddle. That way you get to feel what works and what doesn't, whether you might want a flat or curved saddle (my SMP Lite 209 is very curvy) and in which places you're getting pain.

Jerry185

Pfish, had the same thing; same hours, same problem.

Go to your LBS (local bike shop) and get them to measure your sit bones by sitting on the 'magic' plastic. They then know the type of saddle you need. From there, the LBS could either;
- lend you a saddle, with a view to buying the one that fits best
- sell you one with a 'give back guarantee.'

Given I haven't got the time to go out on frequent long rides, I opted for a Bontrager at £80 and haven't looked back. Literally.
Yes, you will get a sore @ss until you put the miles in, but nothing like the @ss-hatchet you used to have.
Hope thishelps

pfishuk

Thanks all. Lbs don't have much choice in stock to try. Will have a look at the options above. For £20 not much to lose. Cheers

kingrollo

Brooks B17 Imperial.

Just over £60 on amazon.

The advantage of leather is that it moulds to the shape of your backside. Ive had one on my main bike for 2 years now - YMMV and although it was comfy when I first rode it - 2 years on its gloriously comfortable.

Spa cycles also do cheaper leather saddle - but from what Ive heard the leather is harder than the brooks..

fudgey

I have had the same issue with my road bikes, the std saddles were killing me, so tried a Sele Italia SLR flow for£100, its 130mm wide and that still hurt me after 20 miles, adjusted it loads of times but no better.
then went and had my sit bones measured at 122mm.
bought a 143mm wide specialized romin evo gel for £60 and that was better, but not perfect but showed that i need a wider saddle.

new bike a couple of months ago and i took a punt on a prologo kappa evo 2.0 for £25. i have done 2x century rides on it now, and 7 hours in the saddle!
i have jut bought another to go on the winter bike in place of the romin evo, and that will go on the holiday bike i am taking to spain and leaving out there.

so i have for sale the selle italia SLR flow and 3x selle italia X1's....

keef66

kingrollo wrote:

Brooks B17 Imperial.

Just over £60 on amazon.

The advantage of leather is that it moulds to the shape of your backside. Ive had one on my main bike for 2 years now - YMMV and although it was comfy when I first rode it - 2 years on its gloriously comfortable.

Spa cycles also do cheaper leather saddle - but from what Ive heard the leather is harder than the brooks..

I have a Brooks B17 Special on the winter bike which has been armchair comfy from the moment I fitted it. Looked a bit odd on the carbon summer bike, so I wanted something a bit racier. Looked at Brooks Swallow / Swift / Team Pro, but they'd gone up so much I thought I'd take a punt on one of the Spa leather saddles.

Their Aire seemed to fit the bill; £45. The leather is very thick and initially quite hard, but it is slowly moulding itself to me; I suspect I'll wear out before it does. Not quite as comfy as the B17, but that's just because it's smaller / narrower. I'm sure it would compare well with the dearer Brooks equivalent.

jimnm

It's a pity you can't get a Selle anatomica in this country, apparently you can adjust the tension of the leather saddle with a spanner at the front. I have a Selle flite flow SLR it's hard but I can live with it.

Matthewfalle

Jimnm wrote:

It's a pity you can't get a Selle anatomica in this country, apparently you can adjust the tension of the leather saddle with a spanner at the front. I have a Selle flite flow SLR it's hard but I can live with it.

Crazily enough, I heard today of a computer machine thing that allows you to buy stuff from all over the world and get it delivered to your house.

May be worth a look .....

The Spiderman

I've previously been a fan of Fizik saddles, but having tried a Fabric Scoop on the mtb ,splashed out on the carbon railed Fabric Scoop Pro on my road bike.
Very pleased so far.
My top tip is to buy saddles on eBay, that way you can try them and resell without losing too much if they don't work for you.

lakesluddite

What type of pad are you using in your shorts? I think sometimes the only way to improve comfort is to spend the money on a decent pad, rather than looking for the Holy Grail of the comfiest saddle. A good pair of bibs with a pad that will see you through 5-7 hour rides aren't cheap though, but the DHB range at Wiggle have shorts with the Cytech pads (sometimes known as 'Elastic Interface'), which are a good start.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-classic-bib-shorts-1/ for example.

svetty

The Spiderman wrote:

My top tip is to buy saddles on eBay, that way you can try them and resell without losing too much if they don't work for you.

Seconded

fat daddy

I have never had an issue with any of my saddles over the years, so am not in the best position to advise. but one thing that does occur to me.

Marial artists used to toughen there hands by punching sand, to harden the skin, acclimatise the hands to repeatedly hitting things, to toughen the membranes etc etc.

perhaps you should train in the evening by siting down as hard as you can butt naked in a bucket of sand, over and over again to harden up your arse ! .. I am sure this is what the pros do ... probably whilst shaving their legs

Thigh_burn

keef66 wrote:

kingrollo wrote:

Brooks B17 Imperial.

Just over £60 on amazon.

The advantage of leather is that it moulds to the shape of your backside. Ive had one on my main bike for 2 years now - YMMV and although it was comfy when I first rode it - 2 years on its gloriously comfortable.

Spa cycles also do cheaper leather saddle - but from what Ive heard the leather is harder than the brooks..

I have a Brooks B17 Special on the winter bike which has been armchair comfy from the moment I fitted it. Looked a bit odd on the carbon summer bike, so I wanted something a bit racier. Looked at Brooks Swallow / Swift / Team Pro...

I got a Brooks C17 which was great, although it is heavy and I'm not a fan of the silver rivets.

They've just brought out the C13 which has carbon rails and black rivets, which looks great. They're clearly trying to get in on the Fizik game. I hear though that by the end of the year Brooks will be introducing another 2 widths of C13 saddles, for the wider derriere. I'm waiting until then...

mugensi

I have Prologo Kappa EVO PAS's on both my bikes. They work brilliantly for me regardless of distance or time in the saddle. It took me 4 or 5 attempts to get the correct saddle and have no intention of ever trying anything else again.