saddles

[ridetheearth]

Hi anyone and everyone. Does anyone have any advice on good comfy saddles. I ride about 50 miles every other day, and am finding my saddle is just not doing it. I would like to find a woman's specific design for my roadbike that won't make my legs and feet fall asleep. Thanks.
cheryl

[ayermail2]

I really like my Terry Butterfly, which I found after about 4 others styles/brands!

I have also heard a lot of people talk about the Terry Liberator.

you may want to check out the link below - to another thread on this forum...

http://www.teamestrogen.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=36

[SpecialK]

I just recently purchased the Terry Butterfly Ti and have no problems with it. After riding on the saddle that my bike originally came with, the Butterfly Ti was quite an improvement. Good luck.

[liner]

I have a Terry Liberator now that I love. It has enhanced my enjoyment of cycling tremendously. I am getting a new bike with the Terry Butterfly, it is supposed to be just like the Liberator but made of better materials. Do yourself a favor and get a Terry.

Liner

[liner]

You can order a Terry Liberator from sierratradingpost.com for $45. Go to Sports Gear and Apparel, then Cycling. You can also order one from performancebike.com for the same price, or one with colors for 29.98. The Performance site also has other Terry saddles.

Liner

[Trek420]

We're split in my home.

I like the Terry liberator and if I ever wear it out will probably upgrade to Ti.

My roomate has tried every saddle and always returns to Avocet gel or Avocet OS2.

TREK420

[angriecow]

if you are doing real road races, "comfy seats" for ;ong durations mean saddle sores. it's some sick and twisted thing in road cycling, but the aero seats are amazing past 20 miles... i have a selle itala ti-gel... fantastic...
but if you are not really hitting the roadie sport, then the terry butterfly is what i have on my "clunker" (bianchi eros... what a pile of crap??? hehehehhe only hard-core road would call a $1500 bike clunker)
i;ve also been on the f'zik for women saddle and that is super awesome. the flexing center works well and the smooth single piece construct means no chafing anywhere... but i ride tight and find the nose a little wide for me :D me crazy speed freak tho...
test them all out. most shopboys are super nice about letting you mount a saddle, ride around a bit

[DoubleLori]

I vote for the Avocet O2 Air. I have several Terry saddles including the Butterfly, but the Avocet is way more comfortable because it is narrower in the nose section. Saddles with wider noses feel like they are trying to split you in two, and cause chafing. The 02 Air is wider in the BACK so it would not be as good for technical mountain biking where you need to get off the back of the saddle, but for road biking it is the best I've tried.

[cycling@42]

I recently changed my saddle from a really comfy gel seat to the one that came with my bicycle. It is a Bontrager something or other...men's saddle. I rode 30 miles today with my "so-so" bike shorts and I was a hurtin unit when I got home. I didn't know I could get so "ouchy" in that area. The interesting thing is that when I wear my good shorts (Pearl Izumi's) I don't have that problem. I will be purchasing more PI shorts! Does anyone have the padded "underwear" that you can wear under any shorts/pants? What do you think of them? I'm considering them for my winter riding.

[Trek420]

Hi,

I have the padded underwear that magicly turn your regular shorts into cycling shorts. I've used 'em traveling, any time I might get to ride but don't want to bring the whole lycra shebang with me. You still have to deal with the seams which can negate the whole pad advantage.

For winter/cold weather I use regular shorts and tights, windproof front if it's real cold, a base layer under that if it's even colder. The advantage is if I do warm up I can easily doff a layer. I've become a real fan of arm skins for that reason.

Anyone else with tip? It does not get cold here real often.

TREK420

[Hill-Slug]

Last winter I rode with regular shorts, and a pair (or two) or tights over those. I plunked down the money for a pair of winter tights with water & wind-proof fronts & a waterproof skunk stripe up the back. I wish I'd spent the money earlier! If it's too cold to ride in those, it's too cold to ride!

[angriecow]

personally, if you wanna spend the money, assos is the best brand for female clothing. it's a lot of $$$ when you first think of it, but they feel amazing. PI is my second fave. their windbreaker... dunno the name :S it comesin this SCREAMING yellow, best windbreaker ever... ride it in nyc and there is some hardcore venturi winds here. as to the padded underwear, the seams get me, easier to just wear normal shorts under tights (vote for PI fleece lined :D)

[Joycily]

Hey now,

Read angriecow's post about the PI windbreaker and I just had to chime in. I have the screaming yellow PI Vista Jacket and I had always felt ridiculously conspicuous in it. However, I swear it saved my life a few weeks ago. I was turning right onto the bike lane of a busy street on a cloudy day at dusk. (I was late, didn't have my lights on me, I know, I know...) Somehow I slipped and fell to the left, into the busy street! I am convinced that it was the super high visibility of my screaming yellow windbreaker that saved my life - the oncoming traffic stopped just in time.

(My SO was out in front of me and nearly had a heart attack at the sight of me on the ground with a huge car looming over me!)

Visibility is a GOOD THING!

-joyce

[Joycily]

With regards to saddles - I'm not sure if or what this says about my anatomy, but I love my Terry FLY. That's right, not the Butterfly, but the Men's Fly saddle. I found the Butterfly to be a bit too wide in the nose and a bit too short in general for me, and the Damselfly to be too hard. The Fly was just right - just soft enough, just narrow enough...go figure.

-j

[jrhyne]

I have Terry Butterfly Ti saddles on both my road bike and tandem and absolutely love them. I cannot imagine using another saddle. :)