Comfortable saddle

[Ryyy]

As above really, would rather a cheap hardly used 2nd hand ebay job to fit in with the budget build fixie i have really but the vitus seat i have isnt providing much comfort. Fine to sit on and ride but afterwards theres a fair bit of discomfort. Had a charge spoon previously on a previous fixie and that was the same.

I dont want a big fat gel comfort saddle but cant do these slim saddles, they dont agree with me

Feel free to comment your bike so i can search by model on ebay

[Super Sonic]

Selle Italia Flite.

[DirktheDaring]

Charge Spoon.

[Correvor]

Brooks B17

[Pizzaeatingking]

I asked similar on here ages ago, I'd tried loads of different seats people had recommended, thick ones, wide ones etc but no luck.

In the end someone said I needed to measure my 'sit bones' and get the correct size, sure enough it worked. Bought a Selle Italia seat that was the right size and never looked back. Perfect.

[GravelBen]

Pizzaeatingking said:

In the end someone said I needed to measure my 'sit bones' and get the correct size, sure enough it worked.

This is key, most manufacturers make saddles in different widths and figuring out the width that fits you is the most important step. Some bike shops have fancy gear to measure it, or you can DIY check easily enough by sitting on some corrugated cardboard.

The right width makes the biggest difference, from there its really just trial and error to see what shape saddle you prefer.

I've found most Specialized saddles to fit me pretty well once I measured up and found I needed the 155mm version, most new bikes seem to come with around 140mm width saddles which are too narrow for me.

[lancslad58]

Brooks Cambium C15

[bobbo89]

SDG Bel Air 3.0 for me

Saddles are a pretty personal thing I've found and once you've found one that your arse likes you stick to it, I've five of these saddles now.

Ergon are also good, had one in the past myself and my mate runs them now and swears by them. They do them in different sizes too depending on your sit bones.

[Scoobyshue]

bobbo89 said:

Ergon are also good, had one in the past myself and my mate runs them now and swears by them. They do them in different sizes too depending on your sit bones.

I have an Ergon saddle on my MTB. It's a weird thing. Doesn't feel particularly comfortable when you first sit on it, but I have completed 100+ km rides on it and not had any discomfort over those sort of miles.

It replaced a Charge Spoon which felt immediately comfortable when you sat on it but was uncomfortable after 50km.

[Siao]

Scoobyshue said:

bobbo89 said:

Ergon are also good, had one in the past myself and my mate runs them now and swears by them. They do them in different sizes too depending on your sit bones.

I have an Ergon saddle on my MTB. It's a weird thing. Doesn't feel particularly comfortable when you first sit on it, but I have completed 100+ km rides on it and not had any discomfort over those sort of miles.

It replaced a Charge Spoon which felt immediately comfortable when you sat on it but was uncomfortable after 50km.

I also got the Ergon on my MTB, got it a couple of months ago as I read it is the most common one used by riders doing the Great Divide (planning to do the route in a couple of years so I got the saddle to try it). So far so good, although I haven't done a super long ride. It did take a beating off-road, but I'll happily report that my bum didn't hurt at all! It is only two sizes for each saddle, so not much to chose from, but it seems to be working for me.

I'd gladly recommend it. (Not the cheapest though, £130 or something).

[Ryyy]

Thanks for all the replies,ill have a good read up tonight and a flick through ebay,ill have a measure of my sit bones too

[witko999]

I've been using a Charge Spoon on my MTBs for years, but recently after a lengthy ride when my ar$e was hurting, I had a go on my brothers bike, which has a Specialized Bridge Comp Mimic, and it felt magnificent.

[Lotobear]

I've always found Specialized make a good range of ergonomic saddles:

https://www.specialized.com/gb/en/c/saddles

[Court_S]

Saddles are very, very personal.

People seem to love the Charge Spoon, but I think they’re bloody awful things. My go to saddle at the moment is the Burgtec Cloud. Previous favourite was the SDG Ti Fly.

[AlexC1981]

What do you guys think about seat posts with a suspension spring in them? Do they help with comfort?

[irc]

AlexC1981 said:

What do you guys think about seat posts with a suspension spring in them? Do they help with comfort?

It's marginal. I fitted a telescopic suspension seatpost to one of my bikes when I was having lower back pain. If too soft it affects your pedal stroke. I set mine firm enough it didn't move in normal riding but if I hit a big bump it cushioned it a bit. Worth having for back issues. It's also something else to fail. Mine broke on tour in rural Kansas miles from a bike shop.

If you haven't tried fatter tyres at lower pressure iI would try that first.

[LM240]

Pointless saying specific saddle makes or models.

Sit bones. What saddle is going to support you.

Measure and find the right saddle width to give that support.

Soft and spongy doesn’t equal comfort either.

Then target decent brand and get what you can for the budget.

Personally, I also had to veer away from saddles with the cutout, supposedly to aid comfort/numbness. I found the ridges of the cutout caused discomfort, so went to a flat saddle.

Fizik Antares @ 153mm wide is my go to. But my option could be totally uncomfortable / unsuitable for another.

[irc]

Top tip? If you find one that works buy a spare. Or better buy 2. Because they will go out of production.

The one that works for me is the Specialized BG Sonama in the 175 width. I have them all all my bikes. Long out of production. But I picked up a couple on Ebay. One this year for £11. So even after breaking a couple over the years (105Kg) I have a spare or two hanging up in the shed.

The recipe for me is 170-175mm width. Flat profile with or without cutout. Some padding but not too much.

[Siao]

LM240 said:

Pointless saying specific saddle makes or models.

Sit bones. What saddle is going to support you.

Measure and find the right saddle width to give that support.

Soft and spongy doesn’t equal comfort either.

Then target decent brand and get what you can for the budget.

Personally, I also had to veer away from saddles with the cutout, supposedly to aid comfort/numbness. I found the ridges of the cutout caused discomfort, so went to a flat saddle.

Fizik Antares @ 153mm wide is my go to. But my option could be totally uncomfortable / unsuitable for another.

I'm not sure what you mean; each saddle has different sizes to accommodate different sit bones width. So it is literally about saddle make and model, the size is something that you can chose to fit your sit bones. Or am I getting your post wrong?

What I did hate with the Ergon one is that it has two sizes that cover a range of sit bones. And, as my luck would have it, mine was just in the middle. But I'm happy with my selection so far.

[boyse7en]

Siao said:

LM240 said:

Pointless saying specific saddle makes or models.

Sit bones. What saddle is going to support you.

Measure and find the right saddle width to give that support.

Soft and spongy doesn’t equal comfort either.

Then target decent brand and get what you can for the budget.

Personally, I also had to veer away from saddles with the cutout, supposedly to aid comfort/numbness. I found the ridges of the cutout caused discomfort, so went to a flat saddle.

Fizik Antares @ 153mm wide is my go to. But my option could be totally uncomfortable / unsuitable for another.

I'm not sure what you mean; each saddle has different sizes to accommodate different sit bones width. So it is literally about saddle make and model, the size is something that you can chose to fit your sit bones. Or am I getting your post wrong?

What I did hate with the Ergon one is that it has two sizes that cover a range of sit bones. And, as my luck would have it, mine was just in the middle. But I'm happy with my selection so far.

I think he's saying that it is pointless recommending particular make and model, because what suits one person won't suit another.
It's more important to get the right width, and to some extent length, of saddle
Also, don't think more padding= more comfort it doesn't work that way.

To illustrate this - my most comfortable saddle is a cheap chinese carbon saddle that cost about £10 on Aliexpress. It has no padding whatsoever, but does have a large cutout section. This certainly wouldn't suit everyone.