I Have A Question About New Saddles

[denda]

I just got a new saddle for my bike. How long should it take for me to decide if I like it better than my previous one? Should you be able to tell right away that it is right for you, or will it take a long ride to decide?
Thanks.

[mimitabby]

for me, it takes just one ride.. if you can't sit on that thing for 20 miles (and you could on the last saddle) take it back!
and sometimes it's even faster.

[malkin]

I had one that was instant, but I didn't believe my bum, and thought I'd get used to it. Now I know my bum never lies!

[KnottedYet]

I know immediately, usually within a few miles.

On a side note: if you want to get a really good test ride out of some bikes, take your own saddle and clipless pedals. Most shops have no issue at all with switching saddles for you. (they *know* the magic of a good-fitting saddle!)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I started riding by borrowing a friend's hybrid for a month. The saddle was ok, but then again I didnt ride more than about 10 miles on any day.
Then I got my own bike, and my first Brooks unpadded leather saddle made my sitbones REALLY sore for a week. It was hurting just to walk. But my husband said that soreness would go away, and I trusted him.
It did go away after a few more (painful) rides....and ever since, both my Brooks saddles have been nothing but pure comfortable BLISS....for thousands of miles. :D Luv 'em.

[Tuckervill]

oh, I put my B72 that I got off ebay at xmas time on my Centurion and took it to the club ride on Saturday. It was instant heaven for my tushy. Loved it!

The real test will be on the tour with Tri-Girl next week.

Karen

[indysteel]

If it's really the wrong saddle, you'll know pretty quickly. If it's close but not quite right, you'll figure that out on a long ride.

One thing I'd add to an already difficult subject: I was lucky enough to find the "right saddle" on my first try (Terry Butterfly Tri Gel). I happy rode on that saddle for about 7k miles. A couple of months ago, I replaced it with an identical saddle since it was starting to wear down. Well, I didn't get it leveled just so and managed, in the process, to get the fore/aft adjustment off, too. My once perfect saddle turned into the saddle from hell. I finally went to my fitter and we started over (I was having other fit issues as well). Now I'm happy (as are my girly bits) again.

So, the moral of the story is that the saddle itself is just part of the equation. If it's not adjusted properly, it will cause problems.

[JLMitchell]

If it's really the wrong saddle, you'll know pretty quickly.

Seconded! I got my bike used and I rode the guy's saddle for a short ride, trying to see if I could keep the bicycle "complete". I knew when I sat on it that it probably wouldn't work; I knew after a quarter of a mile of riding that it definitely wouldn't work. Now I have a saddle that gets me by, but I have learned to accommodate it by raising up every so often. I'm still in the market for a better one, for sure. I read somewhere on here that the quest for The Magic Saddle ™ can be a long and expensive journey.

[teawoman]

For me, it's been like this: some you know after a couple of hours, others after more than that. I have had the bad luck to have tried 2 saddles that worked for about 60k and then they became the saddle from hell. On one, I knew sooner than that.

Fingers crossed: I'm trying yet another one that I sat on for a bit on a trainer...it was the only one that didn't hurt what was already hurting from the 100k saddle-from-hell ride on Sunday. :p I've done one 30k and one 40k ride on it...so far so good, but again for me, the test comes around hour 4...

[malkin]

For me the instant magic of my Brooks was finally having saddle under my sit bones instead of having the feeling that the saddle might sink entirely into my pelvis and require surgical removal if the ride went on too long.