Advice on comfy seat?

[pdxnewbie]

Hi,
I am pretty new to the sport and loving it so far. Can somebody offer advice on the best woman-friendly seat in terms of comfort for long rides? I've been told it's all about the pressure points but was hoping for some specific brand recommendations. If this topic has already been covered on another forum, I apologize. Thanks!!

[VeloVT]

Unfortunately this depends heavily on individual anatomy and preference. Many women swear by cut-outs. I'm happy on my fizik Ariones (one on each bike):
http://www.teamcyclist.com/store/Fizik-Saddle-Arione-Ti-Black-ID_P767C1149.cfm

Which not only doesn't have a cutout but is also probably narrower than would be suggested for me by common measuring methods (I don't know this for sure; I've never measured my sitbones, but I imagine there's a sizeable gap since there's a 10-12" difference between my waist and my "childbearing-size" hips).

I've tried a few saddles with cutouts and also some wider saddles and none worked for me. That's not to say there's anything wrong with either -- many people swear by them -- they just didn't work for me.

So, while you will undoubtedly get lots of very useful information from others here, ultimately, I think it comes down to trial and error.

Sorry not to offer more help... but I will say... Good luck and happy riding :) !

[Grog]

Sorry, there is no easy answer to this question.

Please read through some of the threads in this section:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/forumdisplay.php?f=72

[Trek420]

Welcome to TE!

One persons favorite saddle is another persons torture device. Just have to try different ones. Fortunately many bike shops give a money-back gaurantee on trade in.

Check the link above (Grog beat me to it) for the "favorite saddles" thread and "least favorite saddles" thread. And you'll notice often they are the same ones! ;) :rolleyes: