Help w/saddle decision

[mj15]

Okay, I have tried several saddles and searched many forums to help find my perfect saddle. I used my husbands carbon rail Aiante on a 100mi ride yesterday and it was great but not yet perfect. It felt great on sit bones, no chaffing, (problems I've had with Brooks, Terry, Selle, and Serfas models) but I did experience numbness where a cut out would be. In researching,the Arione sounds too stiff (I like the curves of the Aliante) I'd read where the Aliante Gamma is softer and feels like a cut out saddle. Has anyone tried it? Does the rest of the Gamma feel like the Aliante carbon? I really like the Aliante, numdness doesn't equal pain, it is just annoying after 50 miles. My husband thinks I should just give his saddle a longer trial period but he is a weight weenie and frets over the gram differences in the Gamma model vs carbon rail model. Can anyone offer opinions? ...Thanks

[mimitabby]

If you're concerned about weight, get a plastic saddle. If you want to sit on it for 100 miles and your butt NOT be the only thing you think about all day, get a Brooks leather saddle.
I am sure you have already seen all the threads about Brooks saddles, but you DID ask.
:D

[chickwhorips]

i don't know, but i'm in the same boat as you. so far... saddle 3, amber 0

[mj15]

I tried a Brooks, I bought three of them and put them on my fixed gear, my bike on the trainer, and my road bike. The Brooks was fine on the trainer, good on the short rides on the fixed gear but over thirty miles and the brooks caused bruised bones, and chaffing. I'm wondering if the Aliente Gamma is truly softer in the middle? How different is it from the Aliente carbon? I've narrowed my saddle choice to one of those two....any help.

[Veronica]

Which model Brooks did you try?

V.

Ps I don't know anything about the saddles you're considering, but I LOVE my Brooks Finesse. :D

Have you looked at the tilt of your saddle?

[mj15]

I had b17 champ w/ti, b17 std, b17 womens version. I think the angle of the seat is okay. I hate spending money to try saddles, my local bike shop does have trial seats but never ones I am interested in.

[KnottedYet]

What is the width (outside edge to outside edge) of your sit bones?

[mj15]

I checked and assuming I measured correctly. When I sit and measure the sit bones it is approx. 4-4.25 inches. Now, what does that mean?

[KnottedYet]

Means you got some tiny sit bones!

That's about 105 mm. Mine are about 180 mm.

Basically the centers of the "cheeks" of the seat should be the same width as the centers of the sit bones, or else you'll end up weightbearing on soft tissue and tendons or be concentrating weight too hard on the bones (if you are perched on the very edge of the seat or over the metal frame of a leather seat). At the very minimum, the seat needs to be as wide as your outside-edges measurement. My seat is 210mm wide. Most comfortable seat I've ever sat on.

With a 105 mm width, you've got a lot of choices of seats.

[mimitabby]

yeah, that sounds small even for a male pelvis. maybe you need to go to a shop with a "sit-o-meter" ?
I didn't like the B17 either. I rode one for about 6 months and well, it was better than the butterfly and the MTB and the seat that came with the tandem, but i was still getting like you said, a little bruising and discomfort on the longer rides.
that's when i went back to the B67 which I had BEFORE I got into serious biking.

[Bikingmomof3]

Which model Brooks did you try?

V.

Ps I don't know anything about the saddles you're considering, but I LOVE my Brooks Finesse. :D

Have you looked at the tilt of your saddle?

This is a personal question, but I am desperate. Do you know how wide/narrow your sits bones are? I was just on the phone with Bill regarding Brooks sadles. My sitting bones are 13 cm and I just do not know which on to try-I have read every single thread and I am desperate. Please help.

[KnottedYet]

BMof3 -

Assuming you are looking at Brooks and have already talked to Bill (who is a very cool guy!) or Diane (who is a very cool gal!) it comes down to narrowing the ones he recommended.

I had it easy, cuz with my huge sit bones gap there are only a few that will work for me on my upright-bar bike.

Do you ride with your torso at a pretty flat or more upright angle? The more upright, the more you probably want a wider seat in your range.

You can't go wrong with Bill and Wallingford. 6 months is a loooooong trial period!

Pick the 2 or 3 that appeal to you most on a gut level, and post their names here. There are enough Brooks riders on TE that I'm sure you can get reviews of your top choices!

[Veronica]

This is a personal question, but I am desperate. Do you know how wide/narrow your sits bones are?

Based on measuring the indentation on the saddle caused by my butt, just a hair under 13 cms. I measured from outside edge to outside edge.


I've been really happy with the Finesse. My riding position is about what you see in my avatar. Although I think I may actually stretch out a bit more and get a tad further out on the hoods. Height wise, I have the saddle about even with my handlebars and the nose tilts just slightly up.

I also have one on our tandem. I tend to ride a little more upright on it, because the stoker compartment is too small for me. (Custom tandem is being built as I write.)

V.

[mj15]

I think the width of the Aliante is perfect, now I need to fix the center numbness on the seat. I'm going to try the Aliante Gamma. I found a bike shop that will let me try the Arione. Finally, I am going to sell off all these unused seats.

[Bikingmomof3]

BMof3 -

Assuming you are looking at Brooks and have already talked to Bill (who is a very cool guy!) or Diane (who is a very cool gal!) it comes down to narrowing the ones he recommended.

I had it easy, cuz with my huge sit bones gap there are only a few that will work for me on my upright-bar bike.

Do you ride with your torso at a pretty flat or more upright angle? The more upright, the more you probably want a wider seat in your range.

You can't go wrong with Bill and Wallingford. 6 months is a loooooong trial period!

Pick the 2 or 3 that appeal to you most on a gut level, and post their names here. There are enough Brooks riders on TE that I'm sure you can get reviews of your top choices!


Yes, I did indeed speak with Bill and he is quite a patient guy. :) He mentioned B 17S, Tempro S, or a Finesse. Quite a range in prices, which concerns me since we have 5 bikers in the family, but I want the best seat for me.
I sit upright, cannot remember if i metioned that or not.
I was just out with my husband's seat-I just am uncertain how to measure it. Do I measure straight across, or measure down the curved sides? Same question with the length as the "nose" of the saddle dips down a tad. I mentioned to Bill I was going to try my husband's saddle and get back to him about sizes. The saddle that came with my bike is very "soft" and more like a poof pad. Too wide and way to poofy. It would be easier if I had a helpful LBS, but I do not.

[mimitabby]

We should do a survey of how many extra seats we all have!!

[Bikingmomof3]

I checked and assuming I measured correctly. When I sit and measure the sit bones it is approx. 4-4.25 inches. Now, what does that mean?

Wow, your sit bones are narrow! Even more so than my husband's.

[Veronica]

I ride my husband's B-17 when his bike is in the trainer. It's handy that we ride the same size. :) Personally, I find his saddle a bit too long for me. It's ignorable in the trainer, but would bug me on a long ride.

The nice thing about Wallingford is that you can return the saddles.

Yeah - the Finesse is pricey. But I have about 10,000 miles on it, so the price per mile for a happy butt is pretty cheap. :D

I have a Professional S on my commute bike (I went cheap - my commute is so short) and the leather hasn't broken in yet. Perhaps because my commute is short. But neither of the Finesses needed much break in time - maybe because they're British racing green. :p

V.

[Bikingmomof3]

V.

Would it be totally twisted of me (my husband says 'yes') for me to go with the Finesse (high end) and see how I like it and if necessary work my way back down through the price range?
I really *think* the Finesse is for me, maybe it is, maybe it is not. I like the dimensions of it. The price is steep, but if it keeps my bum happy, it will be worth it. Right now, it cannot possibly be worse than my current bike seat, which ironically is a "comfort" saddle.
Also, love the British green-it will look dreadful with my bike-it is lavender/silver.

[Veronica]

I don't think it would be twisted. It was my plan to send the first one back if it didn't work out. That's part of what makes them a great company to work with.

V.

[chickwhorips]

on the sit bone subject... how exactly do you measure them?

i can't go to a lbs, none around here. so i need to do it at home and order a saddle online.

[Bikingmomof3]

I decided to go the inexpensive route and I am starting with the B-17S. I will give a review when it arrives.

[mj15]

Okay, maybe I am not measuring right. When I sit down I feel two bumps/bones. I measure those points? I feel like I have some boney, misfigured butt. I know my bones are small but I have lots or fat or hopefully some of it is muscle that covers those bones. I think Brooks saddles are good, I am keeping them on my fixed gears but for the long distance I'm not sold on them. I am sure a different model may be the answer since the only problem I had with the Brooks was chaffing. I know I've got eight saddles laying in a box in my basement. My daughter has a Butterfly Ti on her bike. I didn't like it, she took it and loves it. She's 13 and I think when your young nothing aches.

[spazzdog]

Koobi Au Enduro with or without gel... my newest addition (w/o gel).

Still riding the Koobi SI classic I bought in 2000.

And I am one narrow butted grrlie... ask anybody :eek:

[KnottedYet]

sounds like you're measuring right. Everybody's got different bones, don't let that throw you off. The issue is finding what fits, and there's more to that than sit-bone width. (I think you're lucky, speaking as someone on the other end of the butt spectrum. I have a hard time just finding saddles wide enough!)

So since width isn't your issue, maybe the shape of the saddle is part of the problem? Pear vs "T"? (viewed from above)

I chafe horribly on pear-shaped saddles. My "T" shaped saddle is a dream. The shape you need depends on how your muscles arrange themselves and the angle your thigh bones make relative to the hip socket.

Maybe drag out the saddles you have and compare their shapes? Sort them by which were better and which were worse and see if there are any similarities?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I decided to go the inexpensive route and I am starting with the B-17S. I will give a review when it arrives.

That's the saddle I have here, brand new. I'm going to put it on my Rambouillet when I get it in about 10 days. Can't wait! Looks like a fine saddle. (I got the honey color).

[kjay]

Does anyone have the the Brooks Titanium Swallow Classic? It looks comfortable, but is it ever pricey. How can unpadded saddles (like Brooks') be comfortable, though?

[KnottedYet]

The leather softens over time. And there is nothing solid under the leather, just a metal frame underneath which only touches the leather at the very back and the very front.

Even fresh out of the box my Brooks was incredibly comfortable. The leather was hard like cardboard, but gave when I sat on it.

Now that it's starting to form to my butt and sit-bones, it is amazingly incredibly fabulously comfortable. And I've only ridden about 100 miles on it so far!

[WrensMom]

ORIGINAL: mj15
Okay, maybe I am not measuring right. When I sit down I feel two bumps/bones. I measure those points? I feel like I have some boney, misfigured butt. I know my bones are small but I have lots or fat or hopefully some of it is muscle that covers those bones.
I'm sure you don't have a misfigured butt, LOL. My homemade sit bone measuring device was this: get some play-doh and roll it out very thinly between 2 pieces of printer paper. Place on a hard (and preferably somewhat low) surface and sit. You will feel your bones contacting the surface. Peel one of the pieces of paper off, and rub the play-doh to remove it also. You will end up with 2 "dots" where the sit bones were. I measured out at 159mm, center to center, using this method. KnottedYet and I are wide-bone gals. It kind of sucks because there are not many saddles to choose from if you have wide bones, alas:(

[slinkedog]

Koobi Au Enduro with or without gel... my newest addition (w/o gel).

Still riding the Koobi SI classic I bought in 2000.

And I am one narrow butted grrlie... ask anybody :eek:

Yup, I've seen Spazz's butt. It's absolutely microscopic!! :D

[mimitabby]

yes but... are narrow butts necessarily related to narrow sit bones?
the sit bones are at the bottom of the pelvis and our buttocks is a big muscle
(for most of us anyway!) behind the pelvis.