What's a Comfy saddle

For discussions about bikes and equipment.
Freddie
Posts: 2519
Joined: 12 Jan 2008, 12:01pm

Re: What's a Comfy saddle

Post by Freddie »

Broken in=muscle change. Stop riding your bike for two months, come back and see how you find your saddle then, uncomfortable one would imagine, because your bottom muscles revert to their pre-cycling state.

Unfortunately, a lot of people suggest gel saddles as the answer, but they just displace the pressure away from your sit bones onto surrounding soft tissue, which is bad news in the long term (damage to tubing and such). They give the illusion of comfort because for short distances or those new to cycling they are usually comfortable straight out of the box, as people aren't used to sitting on a relatively hard surface and expect a saddle to be like a sofa. A good saddle is not and should not be like that, it should only contact the sit bones, which dictates relatively little give.

It is important to distinguish between this pain (which goes with time and is not serious) and pain elsewhere (which is down to incorrect saddle and/or setup and could lead to problems down the road).
Nutsey
Posts: 1270
Joined: 19 Apr 2010, 3:31pm

Re: What's a Comfy saddle

Post by Nutsey »

I can't have a Brooks cos of their lame short rails :oops:
fatboy
Posts: 3477
Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 1:32pm
Location: North Hertfordshire

Re: What's a Comfy saddle

Post by fatboy »

I like my Selle San Marco Rolls. It's got a thin leather cover over hard closed cell foam on a springy plastic base. It softens as it warms up and gets progressively more comfortable and is good for down on the drops as it's narrow.
"Marriage is a wonderful invention; but then again so is the bicycle puncture repair kit." - Billy Connolly
workhard

Re: What's a Comfy saddle

Post by workhard »

B17 and selle san marco rolls seem the most popular choices with the distance boys I know/ride with.

The relationship between bar height and saddle height is a key one. On my fixed (Ti railed B17 saddle) the bars are waaay lower than the saddle (essentially the frame is a tadge small for me) yet the B17 is comfy, I suspect because more of my weight is being borne by the pedals, and I stand up and 'honk' more because when I ride it singlespeed i.e. with a freewheel the saddle becomes uncomfortable (after a good few hours)
keyboardmonkey
Posts: 1120
Joined: 1 Dec 2009, 5:05pm
Location: Yorkshire

Re: What's a Comfy saddle

Post by keyboardmonkey »

+1 for Brooks B17 Standard saddle.

On my weekend last ride (110 miles three weeks ago) I wore padded shorts for the first time, but needn't have bothered, really.
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NUKe
Posts: 4161
Joined: 23 Apr 2007, 11:07pm
Location: Suffolk

Re: What's a Comfy saddle

Post by NUKe »

Freddie wrote:Unfortunately, a lot of people suggest gel saddles as the answer, but they just displace the pressure away from your sit bones onto surrounding soft tissue, which is bad news in the long term (damage to tubing and such). They give the illusion of comfort because for short distances or those new to cycling they are usually comfortable straight out of the box, as people aren't used to sitting on a relatively hard surface and expect a saddle to be like a sofa. A good saddle is not and should not be like that, it should only contact the sit bones, which dictates relatively little give.

Gel saddles do work for some people and they are not all bad. I have a madisson G2 on my MTB and can quite happily ride on it all day. I have a specialized avatar on my road bike and again that is comfortable for day long rides.
NUKe
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snibgo
Posts: 4604
Joined: 29 Jun 2010, 4:45am

Re: What's a Comfy saddle

Post by snibgo »

+1 Madison G2. Mine is quite firm and fits my shape.

As a returning cyclist, I confess I also used a Velo Geltech (and lowered the saddle and tilted the bars up) while my anatomy adjusted itself. Apart from a little saddle-numbness and a shoulder problem, I'm just about bike-fit.
robc02
Posts: 1824
Joined: 23 Apr 2009, 7:12pm
Location: Stafford

Re: What's a Comfy saddle

Post by robc02 »

Specialized Body Geometry saddles are worth considering. They are available in different widths and various models have different amounts of padding. They are designed to support you properly, on your sit bones and not on the surrounding soft tissue.
I use Toupe's on my road bikes - they are the best all round performance saddles I have found. If you don't plan to ride fairly fast you might find them a bit hard, but there is a gel version and cheaper, slightly heavier and more padded Alias and Avatar models. The latter you can often pick up quite cheaply second hand.
You are supposed to find the right width by going to a dealer and sitting on a piece of memory foam from which measurements are taken and compared to a look up table which recommends a particular width.
Flanker37
Posts: 65
Joined: 6 Jan 2010, 8:23pm

Re: What's a Comfy saddle

Post by Flanker37 »

robc02 wrote:Specialized Body Geometry saddles are worth considering. They are available in different widths and various models have different amounts of padding. They are designed to support you properly, on your sit bones and not on the surrounding soft tissue.
I use Toupe's on my road bikes - they are the best all round performance saddles I have found. If you don't plan to ride fairly fast you might find them a bit hard, but there is a gel version and cheaper, slightly heavier and more padded Alias and Avatar models. The latter you can often pick up quite cheaply second hand.
You are supposed to find the right width by going to a dealer and sitting on a piece of memory foam from which measurements are taken and compared to a look up table which recommends a particular width.


yeah i've had an avatar for the last 2 years, and i had to sit on the thing. i found it very comfy, but as it was on my mountain bike that got nicked in may, so i wasnt sure it would be suitable for the cyclocross bike above. hence the new thread. The Sonoma saddles also look to be quite comfy, and they are fitted to a lot of specialized bikes as standard
robc02
Posts: 1824
Joined: 23 Apr 2009, 7:12pm
Location: Stafford

Re: What's a Comfy saddle

Post by robc02 »

yeah i've had an avatar for the last 2 years, and i had to sit on the thing. i found it very comfy, but as it was on my mountain bike that got nicked in may


If you got on with the Avatar on your mountain bike then I'm sure it will be OK on your new bike. What's more, you can get them quite cheaply on a well known auction site so its not even an expensive trial.
DurableAce
Posts: 131
Joined: 8 Jun 2009, 8:12pm

Re: What's a Comfy saddle

Post by DurableAce »

The simple answer is that a comfy saddle is one that suits you. You need to try some different ones out (beg, borrow, or some shops have saddles they'll lend you to try) and see what works. Brooks fans tend to be big and vocal advocates and will wax lyrical about them for ever. I think the two basic shapes that make a difference are flat topped saddles like Specialized's Toupe, and the more rounded top version, like Selle Italia's Flite. My suggestion would be you start here and see how you get on.
MikeMarsUK
Posts: 96
Joined: 1 Dec 2009, 8:28pm

Re: What's a Comfy saddle

Post by MikeMarsUK »

DurableAce wrote:The simple answer is that a comfy saddle is one that suits you.
...


The above is the ultimate truth. I have a Brooks, and it's great for me, but picking a saddle based solely on a forum recommendation is doomed to failure. You have to find one the hard way. You can short-circuit much of this process by knowing the width of your sit-bones when in your cycling posture, but even once you know this it may take several tries before you settle on the best one for you.
David Cox
Posts: 203
Joined: 14 Jan 2008, 9:15pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: What's a Comfy saddle

Post by David Cox »

I've just done a mini-tour of the Yorkshire Dales with a friend who hates buying anthing new and swears by a Brooks B17 which he's had since he bought what was then my best bike in 1998. The saddle came from a second hand Galaxy I bought in 1975 so it was well tenderised when he got it. He's given the bike and saddle hard use commuting ever since and when a saddle rail broke recently "solved" the problem by moving the break into the saddle clamp! I didn't think this was a good idea so he then went to the Brooks works in Birmingham and to our amazement they copper rivetted a new frame onto his worn and battered butt leather while he waited for £12.
Reece
Posts: 59
Joined: 17 Feb 2009, 6:35pm

Re: What's a Comfy saddle

Post by Reece »

The Fizik Rondine saddle is the most comfortable saddle i have used.
WrightsW5
Posts: 851
Joined: 1 Jun 2010, 10:37pm
Location: Saddle City

Re: What's a Comfy saddle

Post by WrightsW5 »

rualexander wrote:
yakdiver wrote:I have this one on my MTB, it's so good that I don't even need padded shorts for long rides, I tried it a few days back a 30 mile ride in just running shorts
http://www.hastingscycles.co.uk/acatalo ... r_Her.html

I had one of those Selle Italia Brooklands saddles for 5 years, it was one of the best saddles I've had over the years, very comfortable, but eventually wore out and developed a sag.
Usual story when came to replace it, they are no longer made!
That one in your link must be old stock.
Thats why I finally went for a B17.


Does anyone know why the hell they stopped making the Brookland? It seems a strange decision!
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