Saddle Roulette

[Bathroom_Security]

anyone played it?

Currently have 6 saddles, the most expensive is a scoop with carbon base/rails which is a brick.

The least costly a specialized bridge which is the one I find the most comfortable.

Should I just go get a bike and saddle fit and stop spending money.

[outnumbered]

Yes, you should get a fit

It does take a while to work out what shape of saddle suits you best though, some manufacturers have a loan program through local dealers so you can try things out without buying.

[bigdom]

Bathroom_Security said:

anyone played it?
Should I just go get a bike and saddle fit and stop spending money.

I had one a few years back. I found it highly time & cost effective. I had a back op over 30 yrs ago, and that was getting aggravated when I increased my mileage. They loaned me a few different saddles, based of the pressure mapping.

Whilst my position wasn't out that much, it placed too much pressure on the wrong part of the saddle, my backside has been happy on a Fabric saddle ever since.

[ShortShift811]

Yes, at the very least sit on a gel pad a a store and work out how wide your sit bones are. I did so and it turns out mine are wide, so 155mm saddles only ever since and it's made a massive difference.

[Dnlm]

+1 for bike fit

I'd planned to do a full fancy bike fit for years but never felt quite enough need given most were £250+. Upping the miles during lock down caused a few minor tweaks and James at Condor in London was fantastic at fixing them, none of impressive gadgets but great value at £125.

They had a full range of the most common saddles to try out but am pretty suited to my Spesh Power Expert - just fits and apparently one of the most compatible in their experience...

[IroningMan]

Bathroom_Security said:

anyone played it?

Currently have 6 saddles, the most expensive is a scoop with carbon base/rails which is a brick.

The least costly a specialized bridge which is the one I find the most comfortable.

Should I just go get a bike and saddle fit and stop spending money.

I'll have that Scoop if you're throwing it away.

LBS can't do test saddles or fittings at the moment because Covid; I used cheapo Planet-X saddles for years and put up with discomfort because cheapness - but eventually got bored of them breaking.

Bought a San Marco Mantra which was super light and comfy, with a big central cut-out, and it broke after only a couple of hundred km, as did its replacement. The retailer swapped it for the solid version of the same saddle - which is pretty uncomfortable after an hour or so.

It really is a PITA.

[Bathroom_Security]

Oh god yeah covid. Sick of this now.

Ive contacted wyndmilla about a fit as they seem to offer saddles for testing. Oddly the booking systems for a few local shops seem to be accepting bookings for fittings.

May have to wait, I'm in no pain and in 4 months of riding on the road ive managed to iron out any pain or discomfort through my own adjustments.

Its just the bloody saddle maybe its something simple like position, maybe I just want a soft couch for my fat ass.

[Gruffy]

I'd definitely recommend a bike fit before diving into a saddle search. The right bike fit changes everything and you may find, once properly set up, that one of the saddles you have is actually perfect. There's little point in finding the right saddle for a wrong fit.

[Mastodon2]

Bathroom_Security said:

Oh god yeah covid. Sick of this now.

Ive contacted wyndmilla about a fit as they seem to offer saddles for testing. Oddly the booking systems for a few local shops seem to be accepting bookings for fittings.

May have to wait, I'm in no pain and in 4 months of riding on the road ive managed to iron out any pain or discomfort through my own adjustments.

Its just the bloody saddle maybe its something simple like position, maybe I just want a soft couch for my fat ass.

You can measure your sit bones at home, have a look on YouTube, there's a few methods. Compare your rough measurements with the spec pages for the saddles you've got at the moment. You may find you've chosen saddles that are too wide or narrow for your bones.

When I bought my bike, the previous owner stuck a cheap crap saddle on it that was way too narrow at the front for me. Once I got the saddle height right, riding on the drops would cause really intense pain after a few second ls as it was pinching a nerve with the nose of the saddle. I felt my sit bones and soft tissue getting conditioned to being sat on in a way that you wouldn't in normal life, but it wasn't really comfortable on the tops or hoods and the drops were a total non-starter.

I measured my sit bones and got a Selle Italia saddle with a cut out and a Fizik Aliante with no cutout, I can ride with them for upwards of an hour on a turbo trainer without any real discomfort as long as I lift out of the saddle every now and them. On the road, I find saddles to be less important since I don't sit flat on it for extended periods. Getting the right saddle definitely helped, as did making sure I'm not sitting with my hips at some odd angle and putting pressure on the wrong spots.

[Mark83]

I bought and sold saddles on eBay until I found one that I liked. I both lost and made money when selling so probably broke even. I was only buying the cheap railed versions before buying the carbon version of the saddle I liked the best - Fizik Antares.

[Bathroom_Security]

Cheers, wet paper method puts me at 110mm so I think my saddles are right.

The scoop carbon shallow and radius chrome versions I definitely don't like, shape ok but way too firm

Specialized Power sport is ok (most basic spec) but I find firm despite it having what I think is level 2 padding

Phenom is comfy with level 2 padding but dont enjoy it on the road bike, basically too long up front

Bridge is the most comfortable but its the most padded at level 3. Heavy seat

I think I'm just wanting a bit of extra padding, the bridge is level 3 padding so the most specialized do. Annoying as the scoop was expensive and no way I'm fitting it to my mtb.

May try a power elaston or whatever its called as specialized do 30 day returns apparently, will allow me to chop and change.

I'd even buy that new 370 quid 3d printed thing if it was in stock

[Ian-27xza]

I was looking to replace the saddle on my 9 year old Bianchi Via Nirone back in April (non branded, OEM).

I was about to play saddle roulette too.....spent ages reading reviews and pondering. Budget wasn't an issue but the faff of choosing a saddle, micro adjusting it, to then find out it's not right and starting all over again was a bit off putting.

Anyway, I came across a few reviews of the Charge Spoon saddle (c.£30). It seemed to have rave reviews from many people that have also played saddle roulette at great expense. They were comparing saddles in the £90 - £200 bracket.

I thought I'd give it a go. Super comfy, best £30 I ever spent on the bike!