What if you're not slim, trim and athletic?

I've just started bicycling regularly and am having trouble with the saddle that came on my bike - more with the soft tissue than the sit bones. (I figure my sit bones will get used to it. The other, I doubt.) I've read all the messages posted here so far and thank all of you for sharing your saddle experience. Now I know I'm not alone with the type of discomfort I prefer not to mention to my riding companions.

I'm wondering whether the suggestions I've read here will work for a "hefty" lady like myself. I picture all of you being slim, trim and athletic. I'm pretty sure that a saddle that fits a female Lance Armstrong would not work for me.

Are there any special saddle considerations for hefty women?

I can't speak for the rest of the gang, but I would not describe myself as slim or trim. Working on athletic.

(I also can't say that I've yet to find a saddle that completely eliminates the mashed-front-bits problem, either.)

Oddly enough, the older I get, the more athletic I'm becoming, but that doesn't mean I'm either slim or trim (food for thought: what's the difference between slim and trim? :) I have no idea).

Anyway, from what I can tell by the reading and listening I've done (and I've done a lot!), a bike saddle is made not to cushion, but to serve as a perch for the sit bones. And while women's sit bones are generally wider-spaced than men's, whether your pants size is larger or smaller (to put it delicately) doesn't affect the size or spacing of your sit-bones--bones are bones, regardless of how much flesh surrounds them. I was told to sit on a street curb to get the feel of where the sit bones are and thus get an idea of where/how your bike saddle should support you.

That said, I've been using a Terry Liberator saddle for several years now, and on rides both short and long, the saddle simply disappears from my radar screen. And again, I don't think I'd fit anyone's definition of slim/trim.

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Originally posted by MoGal
I'm wondering whether the suggestions I've read here will work for a "hefty" lady like myself. I picture all of you being slim, trim and athletic. I'm pretty sure that a saddle that fits a female Lance Armstrong would not work for me.

Are there any special saddle considerations for hefty women?

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*looks around cautiously and whispers* ... about 250lbs here at the moment. Don't tell anyone! *wink and grin*

I had the same problem as you with the soft tissue and went through about half a dozen saddles before finally getting it right. WileyGrrl's absolutely right, in my opinion -- the saddle should hold your sit bones firmly, which'll help keep your important bits out of the way, as it were. It took a Brooks B17 to make my bits happy. (Really good shorts and some lubricant don't hurt either.)

We're all built differently so the thing to do is try different saddles until you find one that fits you. Your LBS may have a return policy that will allow you to take a saddle out for a few days and exchange it for another if it doesn't work for you.

Maybe someday I'll fit someone's definition slim and trim but until then it's all about the comfort. :D

As Sparrow said, many LBS's will let you exchange a saddle that doesn't work for you. But if you can't find one that will do that for you, check with Terry Precision Cycling online--they DO let you exchange saddles. Also, last time I checked, they did not charge shipping for exchanged items.

And ditto on the shorts and chamois butter.

Sparrow, I'm interested in your experience with your B-17. They are such cool-looking saddles, but I've always been scared off because they also look so hard. I know we don't want a soft, cushy saddle, but still those Brooks saddles are scary looking. So, did it take you long to break it in?

--WileyGrrl

WileyGrrl, I was a bit dubious about the Brooks too but was getting a bit desperate in the saddle department, if you know what I mean. I finally nicked the one off my husband's bike and went for a long ride ... gotta tell ya, parts of me were smiling! When I got back from that ride I immediately jumped online and ordered one for myself. The hardness under the sit bones takes a wee bit of getting used to but there's a lot more "give" there than it looks like. The B17 is the most comfortable saddle I've been on right out of the box. I've only got about 150 miles on it so far but can't imagine using anything else ever again.

One thing that finally occurred to me, coming from horse background, is that people who are new to horses tend to go for really cushy padded saddles while the pros are all on lumps of leather stretched over wooden frames. That leather conforms to your butt over time and is wayyy more comfortable than a sofa cushion on long rides.

I got mine from Wallingford -- they have a six month, no questions asked return policy ... but they can't have mine back! :D

Oh, my husband says "tell her to get a green one ... they're faster."

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Originally posted by Sparrow
Oh, my husband says "tell her to get a green one ... they're faster."

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Thanks to your guy for the advice. ;)
Actually, I didn't know they came in green, but that would color-coordinate nicely with my green bike!

Thanks for the feedback, Sparrow. Only other feedback I've heard on Brooks saddles was from men, so I was never sure how they might work for this wide-hip-boned woman. Now I'm reconsidering about giving the Brooks a try.

--WileyG

I have the green Brooks Finesse on both my road bike and our tandem. I've a few thouand miles on both and would not ride anything else.

Veronica