How many saddles have you tried?

smd13

I tend to find myself buying more and more saddles, in the never ending quest for the prefect perch!
I have to admit that there's a large element of curiosity to it (and I'd hate to think there might be an option I haven't tried yet )

So my question is this- how many saddles did you try before finding "the one", surely I can't be the only one doing this!

pinno

0. i'e, I haven't found the perfect perch and eons ago was quite happy on a Turbo saddle.

Zendog1

So far I've tried four - one each for my four bikes. All equally comfortable.

I suspect I have a bike industry standard censored !

earthvspace4XTuUWcX

Must have tried 10 or more over the years and still looking for the perfect one, but probably the most comfortable has been the cheapest, a Charge Spoon.

drwae

One. The one that came on my bike. Stock Cannondale SuperSix EVO saddle is apparently perfect for me! I have a Synapse as well and the stock saddle on that is more uncomfortable

Sutton_Rider

I'm with xdoc - Charge Spoon is as good as it gets, - I think!!

gethinceri

5. Brooks Cambium Carved is as close as I've got, so far.

hambini

I've tried 4

1. Selle Italia Flite Titanium
2. Fizik Antares
3. Selle SMP Stratos
4. ISM Adamo

I sold all of them apart from the Selle SMP, I have one of them on both of my bikes. Once you've found a saddle that fits you I think you are sold on it for life - or until they stop making it.

Man Of Lard

2 before I found one that was acceptable - then bought a few

Garry H

Sutton Rider wrote:

I'm with xdoc - Charge Spoon is as good as it gets, - I think!!

The only one I found uncomfortable Now have Aliantes and a brooks team pro.

smd13

hambini wrote:

Once you've found a saddle that fits you I think you are sold on it for life - or until they stop making it.

Well that's it, i was reasonably happy on my prologo tri40 but the grass is always greener (or softer!) on the other side. Plus I figured all this nose cut out stuff must be onto something- this was not the case


I do keep meaning to try a charge spoon at some stage but for now need a tri saddle

luv2ride

Loads. Thinking back i think ive tried:
Boardman Arionè copy
Fizik Pave HP
San Marco SKN (x2) - really thought this was "the one", then tried a bike fitted with a Toupe. Looked ace too!
Spesh Toupe (x2) - again, thought I'd cracked it, only to suffer numbness on long rides
Madison Prime (same as Charge Spoon) - nice, but stitching was all over the place

The ones currently fitted seem comfy enough for me:
Selle Italia Novus Flow L2 - summer bike, best tried yet
Selle Italia Max Flite gel flow - winter bike
Charge Scoop - CX bike
Pinnacle OE saddle - single speed monster cross. (Comfy but probably will change for a scoop at some point)
Also have an old Spesh OE saddle on my Singlecross which has always been really good for my butt. No idea of the name though....

smoggysteve

I know plenty of people who complain about their saddle. They try wider ones, padded ones, cut away ones, orthopaedic ones and all along its more to do with their position on the bike. Either they are leaning too far forwards or their seatpost is not at the right height. If nothing at all seems to feel good enough for you maybe you should start exploring other areas to solve your issue.

matt_n-2

I've tried:

Charge Spoon - didn't like it
Fizik Arione - didn't like it
Fizik Aliante - didn't like it
Specialized Toupe - didn't like it and actually had me in agony after half an hour
Specialized Power - kind of ok for upto an hour, not great for longer rides though
Speciliazed Romin - really like it, have one of each of my bikes now

Alex99

The old days... Rolls

The new days...
Mountain bike - standard Specialized fairly soft 'sport' saddle. Don't know the model, but it's great (I sit very upright on my MTB).
Road bike - gone from Rolls, really old white turbo, then started a saddle search and rented various (Fizik Aliante vs (too soft, didn't like it), Antares vs (couldn't find the right spot on it), Arione vs (pretty good), Arione standard (not bad, not great on the soft bits), Aspide open (good), SMP Dynamic (good).

I have bought the Aspide open and the SMP. I conclude that my anatomy likes a curved, firm saddle with a big split up the middle, both of which these offer in different degrees. I still think about the Arione vs and may try it again. Being a flat saddle, I did like that it had a big sweet spot allowing me move around a bit, whereas the curved saddles tend to limit this somewhat.

greasedscotsman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayN5TPlhA0U

What Alex Dowsett says...

alex222

Just three for me (San Marco Spid, Fizik Antares and Fabric Scoop Flat Pro), very pleased with the Fabric.
Need to get round to buying one of the cheaper Fabric Scoops to throw on the winter bike, as have really gone off the Antares that is on there now.

andy9964

Two.
The standard item on the CAADX, until the rail broke, then a Charge Scoop (shallow).
The CAADX saddle was okay for communting duties, but anything around 25+ miles started to get uncomfortable
The Scoop (dealer gave me the Ti rail model for the price of Chro-Mo) has been a revelation. I'm hardly ever aware that I'm sat on anything

daddy0

Stock saddle on my Scott Sportster - not great / not bad, heavy
Stock saddle on my Felt F5 - PERFECT (well almost - a bit heavy at 270 grams), until it broke, sad, sad times

Since then I have been trying to find a saddle that is *that* comfy, these have all failed me:

Charge Spoon - not too bad, but heavy and too narrow for me
Selle Italia SLR Flow - not wide enough, not enough padding, light though
Fizik Arione R7 Manganese - far too narrow for my sit bones, absolute torture

Just bought a Pro Griffon Carbon saddle, only done one roller session on it so far, but seems good, wide enough (142mm), bit of padding, pretty light (169 grams), not too expensive (£50ish). REALLY hoping I've found "the one" this time.

buckmulligan

I've tried 4 or 5 saddles over the years (Fizik Arione by far the worst and Specialized Toupe the best) and have concluded that once you've found a saddle that's reasonably comfortable, shorts become a much more significant factor in comfort, especially over longer durations.

The difference between my Castelli shorts with an X2 pad and cheap(er) DHB training shorts (with a Cytech "Giro" pad, which isn't exactly bottom-of-the-range) is massive and really starts to become noticeable after 2 or 3 hours in the saddle.

The_Wicker_Man

Quite a few over the years

Currently have :-
Fizik Arione Vs - liked and have on one bike
Fizik Antares Vs X - liked and have on two bikes
Astute Skyline - got for christmas, will go on a new project. My dad has same saddle and loves it
Prologo Scratch CPC - love and have on two bikes
Prologo Scratch X - love and on my cx bike
Specialized Sitero - on my tt bike, not the best but will do just now

In the past :-
Brooks Cambium C15 - loved but the persistent squeaking from the rails done my head in and in the end replaced or the antares vsx.
Prologo Zero CPC - had one my tt bike but was giving me numb nuts so was replaced for the sitero
Fizik Arione R5 - bought for new bike but found it uncomfortable so was replaced for the Vs
Selle Italia SL - came with one of my bikes, found it too hard and very uncomfortable, so sold it and bought the scratch cpc
Selle Royale pro - came with my cx bike, good saddle but changed for scratch x

Planning on buying an ISM Adamo for my TT bike and a saddle that's comfortable when doing 2Hr + rides on the turbo

bbrap

Also quite a few (still have most of them as I never seem to sell them on).

Currently riding Fizik Arione on summer and winter bikes.

Have tried, San Marco Rolls, Selle Italia SLR, Prolite San Carlo, Charge Knife, Charge Spoon, Selle Italia Team SLR monolink, Brooks B17.

Most comfortable of them all is the B17, just does not look right on a light road bike, but I do pop it on if I'm doing a century ride as I can finish still being able to sit down. Others seem to be OK for 65ish miles then require standing often to relieve pressure.

simon_masterson

Fizik Ares for TT, not perfect but acceptable. Can't bear it on the turbo for some reason, so use a very tatty old Arione. Probably could swap to Arione full time if I could be bothered to spend the money. Old Selle Turbo Lite is my preferred retro flavoured road saddle.

With all of that said, I have a very tatty old Charge Spoon on my commuter that works really well - it's worth trying the cheap saddles.

mugensi

I think I've tried around 6 sadlles before settling on the Prologo Kappa PAS and have one on both my road bikes. I also have a Prologo Scratch 2 Space which is as comfortable as the Kappa and I have it on my MTB. I see no reason to try anything else.

mercia_man

I have a carbon-railed Fizik Aliante VS on my Legend road bike, a titanium-railed Brooks B17 on my Alves tourer and a titanium-railed San Marco Rolls on my Bike Friday performance folder. All suit me very well.

Other saddles I have found comfortable over the years were Selle Italia Oktavia Genuine Gel and Selle Italia SLK.

I didn't get on with Selle Italia Max Flite Gel Flow and Turbomatic2 as they felt too hard for me while a Brooks Colt, although comfortable, would not adjust to my favoured horizontal position unless I pushed it right back as its rails were not compatible with my Campag seat post on my tourer. I tried but didn't like a Specialized BG model on my tandem so switched to a B17.

The big test of saddle comfort for me is multi-day tours. It may be heavy and look old fashioned but Brooks B17 on my tourer has worn in to fit me like a glove and is perfect for riding day after day.

zefs

I've tried 4, I am now using Fizik Arione which I find comfortable. What helped me most with comfort is pointing it down by 3 degrees, it actually made a lot of difference for me (pressure wise) so that's what I would recommend before changing the saddle itself.

de_sisti

I have one of these on my 3 bikes. Out of curiosity I have just bought one of these
(second hand) to see if it compares favourably.

Have previously tried f Fizike Arione and Brooks B15, but came back to the Rolls.

vimfuego

As others have said, I settled pretty quickly on the Charge Spoon. It was basically the first one I'd tried that wasn't supplied with the bike (gave it a go when I'd got peed off with a Spesh BG effort).
I now have them on all my bikes including the MTB (even did LEJOG on one).

£19.99 can't beat it.

Anonymous

Two. Fizik Antares which I did not like, and Arione which I did.
Even the R1 is comfy for 5+ hours.

Guess there may be a better fitting one out there, but not much point in looking for it now.

Have a Fabric saddle for a non road bike, its nearly as good for a fraction of the cost.

Hibee 5

I've tried seven and still get sores, still not mastered it. They can be comfy but still get sore even with top quality chamois. Tried looking for a local saddle fit shop but couldn't find one.

meesterbond

A few on the road bike, 3 or 4 maybe... keep coming back to the Fizik Arione...

On the TT bike I'm on saddle 4 or 5 but I think this one might be the one...