speaking of saddles

[DDH]

I need help I think. I just measured my sit bones and came up with 6.5 inches. but I can't seem to find a womens saddle that wide.
Do I go to a mens saddle? Is the mens saddle going to fit and feel different than a womans saddle?

My seat now is only 6 inches and is what the bike came with, I have been riding it that way but I guess because I didn't know any better just figured that was the way it was. It's always been a little uncomfortable but nothing that would make me quit riding. I haven't been able to go on a really long ride though because my butt and other areas go numb and I just can't keep it up.
I guess when you don't know any better you just continue to deal. Reading through here I have finally come to the conclusion that a new seat is needed in the very near future.


Do any of you ride a mens saddle? besides the men on here of course. LOL

[KnottedYet]

Men's saddles are narrower. They have smaller pelvic outlets for the most part.

Welcome to the Wide Bones Club, co-chairs BleeckerStGirl and Knot.
The only saddles we've found to fit our sits are Brooks B18, B66, B67, B68, B72. www.wallbike.com gives you six months trial on any Brooks saddle, no questions asked.

With approx a 165mm sit bone width, you will want a saddle about 185mm wide at least. (to give you 1 cm of wiggle room to each side)

It's dang hard to find one that wide that ISN'T padded like a la-z-boy. Brooks B67 has made my world a better place, and I have them on two of my bikes right now, and planning to get one for my 3rd bike pdq.

(FWIW, my sits are between 170-180mm depending on how "aero" I am. The Brooks B67 and it's cohorts are 210mm wide. Unpadded leather. "T" shaped top. Bliss!)

[mimitabby]

You know you want a Brooks saddle, DDH. You deserve it. And it will look great on your bike. :cool::cool:

[DDH]

My husband has a brooks that I bought him for Christmas this past year. He hasn't ridden in it enough to really be a good judge but he says he likes it and that is what he has been telling me to get.

I will have to go take a look. I was just thinking a padded saddle would be more comfortable, but nothing is comfortable when my bones or hanging off the side. lol

[mimitabby]

no, padded saddles just compound the misery! go with the brooks!

[KnottedYet]

Padding can be the source of much suffering.

Oh, yeah, and MimiTabby has a Brooks that is over 30 years old and still going strong.

[KnottedYet]

This is what saddle I use: http://www.wallbike.com/B67.html

Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see a picture of a LOVELY lady who rides on a Brooks saddle! :D

[mimitabby]

This is what saddle I use: http://www.wallbike.com/B67.html

Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see a picture of a LOVELY lady who rides on a Brooks saddle! :D

smirk. i wonder who that could be

[DDH]

How cute you are Mimi. I think you girls are right and I think that is going to be the only thing that is going to be big enough. I haven't found anything wider than about 6.1 anywhere else.

Have to talk to hubby, but I am sure he won't mind. He seems to always be willing to do whatever is needed for my bike.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Donna, listen to Knot and Mimi.
I have the extra wide Brooks too...the B68, which is just like Knot's B67, but with no springs. I think springs are more important for more upright riding bikes, but that's just a personal opinion. Springs are good if you have back problems, for sure, and I suspect they 'might' be good also if you are a heavy rider. The springs do add a few ounces of weight though, if that matters to you.

Remember not all Brooks are wide- many models are very narrow.
I recommend you do NOT get the Brooks "women's models" (the ones that end in "S" as in B17S etc). They are not wider, only shorter and that simply means their under rails are way shorter as well, unnecessarily restricting your ability to position the saddle more forward and backward. Avoid the S, just go by width. The non-S saddles are NOT 'too long' for most women at all.

As Knot said, welcome to the Wide Sitbone Gal Club! Plant your sitbones proudly wherever you go! Also remember that with any new saddle you may be sore for a few days because it will press on 'new' places and those spots may initially complain. After a few rides that initial soreness will go away.

Padding is our Enemy. Padding causes pain and numbness. It is Evil. :D

[DDH]

Hey Lisa!!! Thanks for the info. So from what you describe then I probalby need the springs since I am a heavy rider, and I have straight bars on my bike instead of drop bars. Not sure my termninoligy is right but I hope you get the picture.

I have the Brooks website on my favorites from when I ordered his seat, so I am going to go give them a look.

What's that song, "I like big butts and I cannot lie". LOL Thats for me. LOL

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Donna, if I were you (which I'm not but hey....) I would get a B67 (like Knot's, and with the springs) from Wallbike.com (Wallingford's) and give it a whirl. You can also try their B68 (same wide saddle, but just without the springs, like mine).
You can RETURN either saddle to Wallbike after you try it for a while! How cool is that? Be sure to order a little tin of their "ProofHide" saddle conditioner when you order your saddle. If you put 'other stuff' on it they may not take it back, plus other stuff might darken the saddle considerably and/or make it too soft.
My DH and I both got new honey colored saddles. He put neatsfoot oil on his, I put Proofhide on mine. Mine looked the same honey color even after several Proofhide applications, his turned dark brown immediately and has stayed dark brown. Good thing he likes dark brown! :rolleyes:

[DDH]

girls, when you measure your seat bones, do you measure to the outside of them or to the center?

[KnottedYet]

Outside to outside. You want your entire sitbone to fit on the saddle (and you want 1 cm wiggle room to each side, so add extra 2 cm)

[anakiwa]

Good luck with the Brooks! I found the front part too hard and eventually had to give up on it. (If you like to ride in an upright position you'll probably be fine.)

Some other options (roughly 7" wide): Avocet O2 Air 40 (women's model), SMP Strike (women's model), and it looks like Terry has a new one- Rosie.

[KnottedYet]

I'm at 40 degrees from horizontal on my Brooks (Wahine measured me), and can get into the drops without squishing anything; but I just sat on my bike and pretended to have aero bars... eeek!

Who wants to make a gazillion bucks? Design an aero-friendly cut-out saddle without a ton of padding that is wide enough for the Wide Sit Bones Club.

Knot-doesn't-need-to-ride-horizontal-but-would-like-the-option

(and i'm giving up on hearing back from Trek, am now gonna try contacting Terry. That Rosie saddle looks like a step in the right direction)

[DDH]

my husband has a b17 that I bought him for Christmas, I wonder if I could try his on my bike for a few rides and see how I like it. I have a cut out on my bike now, but I have straight bars and I don't lean way over on my bike. I'm not straight up, maybe at 45 degrees or something.

I'm going to have to go look up the specs and see how wide the b17 is and see if I can try it. He's not been riding in a while so he wont' miss a couple days.

[anakiwa]

Who wants to make a gazillion bucks? Design an aero-friendly cut-out saddle without a ton of padding that is wide enough for the Wide Sit Bones Club.

I don't see why they haven't figured this out yet.
40 degrees ?!?

[KnottedYet]

yeah, if horizontal is "0" and straight upright is "90", I'm at a 40 degree angle. (so less than a perfect diagonal, like corner to corner in a square is perfect)

Supposedly above 45 degrees is a touring/commuting/utility position, and below 45 degrees is a racing/sport position. I ain't no racer, but 40 degrees feels right to me.

The more forward tilt (shallower) the angle of your torso, the more chance your soft bits have of making friends with your saddle.

I'm good at 40 degrees on my Brooks, and good in the drops (which puts me at maybe 35 degrees?) but boy, howdy, if I rest my forearms on the bars like if I had aerobars! OW!

I can't find the actual span of the Terry Rosie on their website. Can anyone tell me what it is?

[Thorn]

I can't find the actual span of the Terry Rosie on their website. Can anyone tell me what it is?

It was in the paper catalog. My memory wants to say 170 or 175mm (but the memory ain't what it used to be). It was wide enough that I was actually considering buying one to try out despite the fact that the cutout was narrow (fear of pinching if the cutout isn't wide enough).

Edited: Terry says it is 7" wide (177mm).

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Donna, no reason you can't 'try' the B17 out. But just keep in mind that the B67-B68 will be substancially wider.
I rode a B17 for a year and a half. I was generally comfy, but always felt like my bones were on the edge at the sides. Fairly hard place with no 'give'. Sure enough, when i finally was able to observe the sitbone dents forming on my saddle, they were sort of half on the edge of the side- partly on the steel underframe.
When I got the B68 there was an immediate difference and I was right away more comfortable. Now I can see the new dents and they are just inside the edges- not over the frame part anymore. Another inch of width would be even BETTER....but I'm grateful for what i have now.
What's wrong with these stupid saddle manufacturers? Same thing with too-small bike shorts made for women with little pelvises. We need a company called Built For Comfort Women's Bike Gear! :D

[DDH]

Wow, I just went and looked at that seat, I love the looks of it.

I haven't ordered anything yet, Terry gives like a 30 day time trial or something to don't they?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Wow, I just went and looked at that seat, I love the looks of it.

I haven't ordered anything yet, Terry gives like a 30 day time trial or something to don't they?

Wallingford gives several months to return your Brooks if you don't like it. http://www.wallbike.com/index.php

[GLC1968]

Same thing with too-small bike shorts made for women with little pelvises. :D

See, and I need bike shorts for women with a small waist and pelvis, but big legs. Can we produce those too if we start this company of yours, Lisa? :D



I haven't ordered anything yet, Terry gives like a 30 day time trial or something to don't they?

Yep, 30 days at Terry. I've sent saddles back to them and got credited right away, no problem.

[anakiwa]

yeah, if horizontal is "0" and straight upright is "90", I'm at a 40 degree angle. (so less than a perfect diagonal, like corner to corner in a square is perfect)

I can't find the actual span of the Terry Rosie on their website. Can anyone tell me what it is?

Somehow I thought you were talking about the angle of your saddle- 40 degrees sounded pretty extreme. :eek:

7 inches on the Rosie is right (catalog says 10.3 by 7, 326 grams).

[DDH]

Wallingford gives several months to return your Brooks if you don't like it. http://www.wallbike.com/index.php

Yea I know lisa, I want to try a brooks too and see which I like the best.
I think the wallingford gives you like 3 to 6 months something crazy like that. It's nice that companies do that, because some of these seats are expensive and would run into a lot of money if you kept buying until you found one you liked.

[KnottedYet]

6 months at Wallingford. And they are really nice about answering questions about the care and feeding of Brooks.

PLUS - they sell returned Brooks at a substantial discount on Ebay. (no returns on the used ones)

Thanks for the dimensions of the Rosie. Too narrow for me, darn... but I might take a look at it for our clinic anyway.

[DDH]

Hey Knotted, I know I need a new seat I really do, but is my poor seat causing my gentler girl parts to hurt? Does that mean I need to get a seat with a cut out?
I went on a 23 mile ride today which is far for some of these girls but this is the first long ride I have had this year. The rest of them have been around 12 miles or so. Anway, I got home and my sensetive area, is sore, and it burns when I go to the bathroom. Will a brooks still be okay if I am having this problem, or am I sitting to far forward. I can ride on the seat I have with just a little discomfort for a short ride, but I will never be able to work up to a long ride with these kind of problems. I went on a 30 mile ride last year and it about killed me. I am stuborn though and won't give up just because of a seat, but I am starting to smarten up and realize, UH DUH, I don't have to hurt. !!! LOL

[KnottedYet]

In all likelihood, the saddle is causing the trouble. (unless you need a complete bike fit)

Either you need a wider saddle, or one with less padding, or one with a cut-out.

If you don't have a generous amount of girly bits, you might be best off with a firmer wider saddle (like a wide Brooks) If sitting in your underwear on a plain wooden chair and leaning forward with your elbows resting on your knees causes your girly bits to be uncomfortably squished against the chair seat, you might be best off with a saddle with a cut-out. If your saddle seems wide enough and the top shape (T or pear) works with your hip angle and over all you like it, you might need to find one similar with less padding.

When you see a saddle that appeals to you, try it; but only if you can get a good return policy!

And if you find one you love, buy two!

[mimitabby]

another thing could be causing the rubbing, the placement of the saddle!! (It might be too high, or not tilted right.)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Donna, in the meantime, try some lotion/lubrication each time before you go riding- that can help until you solve your problem. Simple unscented hand lotion actually works too.

[DDH]

I ordered the Rosie today. I think I need the cut out, but I want to try a brooks too. Would it be greedy if I wanted two saddles?
I guess I can't really use two, but if I like both of them, then I dont' want to give one up.
Oh well, decisions decisions. I will try the Terry for 30 days and if that doesn't work then I will order a brooks and have 60 more days to try.
One of them should work I would think. I think anything might be better than what I have. Isn't it sad that I have put up with this ill fitting saddle for almost a year. :eek:

[KnottedYet]

If you find two new saddles you like, then you gotta buy another bike for one of them! :D

[anakiwa]

Let us know what you think of the Rosie!

(And you definitely need to have enough bikes to keep all your saddles occupied!)

[KnottedYet]

I just ordered my 3rd Brooks B67. (for steel bike #4)

It's an addiction, I tell ya! :D

[mimitabby]

no, it's not an addiction. it's common sense. I tried out the Brooks swift because it's lighter and more streamlined. I can ride it, but why compromise comfort when I know the B67 works ... ALWAYS works?