Numb bits!

Don't go with nose pointed up, that'll exert too much pressure on ya bits! A level saddle (and at most no more than a degree or so of downward tilt) should be what you're aiming for.

Saddles are very personal things and preference will vary from one person to another. Saddle width is one of the most important bits to get right as a starter. Your sit bones should be supporting your weight so if your saddle width isn't matched up to this then you're inevitably going to have comfort issues. Measuring your sit bone width is worth a quick google if you haven't done so already.

I'm 19 stone and 6'3" and have experienced the same issues as you, 15 mins on the turbo and I would start to go numb. After a fair amount of research on saddle cut out sizes, I got my hands on a knock off Pro Stealth and it has been night and day. The massive cut out seems to have got rid of the problem. As we all know, saddles are a personal thing and the same may not apply to you.

I also spent a fair amount of time messing about with the bike set up (moving one thing at a time) and I found that using a 2cm shorter stem helped as it helped me get further back into the saddle and off the nose. There is a video on Francis Cade's youtube channel going through a bike fit with a body builder (also applies to larger cyclists) and is quite interesting and may give you some ideas.

gregg.baker said:

Awesome, thanks so much for the ideas. Been cycling a while and always suffered with it. Just built my dream bike so want to push my mileage right up and get out more. Just end up dreading riding because of it.

Out of interest, do bib shorts malke a big difference in terms of thickness of padding?

For me absolutely. I tend to save my more expensive bib shorts with the better pad for longer rides.

There are some things you shouldn't skimp on & shorts are one of them IMHO. That's not to say all inexpensive bib shorts are no good, everyone is different but IME you get what you pay for.

As for saddles it's very much a case of trial & error unfortunately. Certainly get your sit bones measured either professionally or do it at home, that will give you a good starting point.

As @gingerscott says cutouts help a lot of riders, me included, but won't suit all. eBay or on here can be your friend to try out a saddle & then sell it on if you don't get on with it.

Main things to consider are width, whether you need a cutout or not & the profile of the saddle (flat or curved at the end). I would concentrate on getting the width right 1st & take it from there.

It's not always true that more expensive bib shorts are more comfortable.
The basic cost for bib shorts includes fabric, pad and assembly - so if you look at Castelli for example, both the Free Aero Race 4 Bibshort and the Endurance 3 bibshort both use the same pad - their top of the range Progetto X2 Air Seamless pad, but the Endurance shorts are less than 70% of the price of the free Aero race shorts.

ibr17xvii said:

As someone whose go to pad for longer rides is the Progetto I'd be interested to know where you are picking up the Endurance shorts for 70% of the price of the Aero Race.

There are 3 pairs that Castelli use the same Pad:
The Free protect that MRP at £190
The Free race that MRP at £150
The Endurance that MRP at £130
So after re-checking, I copied the wrong name/figure combination - the Endurance are 70% the price of the Free protect. But the principal stands - don't just assume that expensive shorts are more comfy.

In the current market you can get castelli endurance shorts for around £100.