New Saddle

Hey, I'm new on here and new to cycling so hello all!!

Need some advice on saddles, my bike came with a fizik aliante which is absolutely killing me! So I need to find a better replacement, I've been reading up on here and gone and got my seat bones measured. The measurement came out on average at 135 :o- so I was wondering if anyone was similar and had found some suitable saddles that would help narrow the search? At the moment I'm cnsidering the specialized toupe but at 70 pounds it is fairley pricey so can't really afford to get it wrong!
Any help would be much appreciated
Thanks!!

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Originally Posted by cass

my bike came with a fizik aliante which is absolutely killing me!

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Welcome. With narrow sit bones, you have lots of saddle options. If you could tell us what about the aliante doesn't work for you, I bet we could provide better advice. Does it chafe? If so, where? Does it hurt when you're riding? If so, where? My apologies if this is "personal", but, well...uh...err...saddles do get a little personal.

Whatever saddle you purchase, make sure there's a return policy. Ideally, if you can return it in 10 days, you can try it out and it if doesn't work, you can return it with original packaging and in perfect condition and exchange it for another.

hmm, thats the problem, I can't find anywhere in London that actually lets you try a saddle first - or return it if it doesn't fit. Not sure 135 is narrow, think its unfortunately large:o the diagram on the measurement thing seemed to think I would need either a 143 saddle or a 155 depending on my riding position, which has got me slightly confused. I have a road bike so guess that would fall in the 143?

The Aliante basically is just super uncomfortable, I have perservered with it as I thought I might just adjust but I just go completely numb and as I can't seem to find my seat bones on it I think it must be too narrow so my lady parts are taking the brunt of my weight..eek!. No problems with chaffing or caddle sores or anything but then I haven't ridden longer than 2hrs on it as its just too uncomfortable.. So I now have an incredibly sore lower back as I think I have been trying to lift my weight from it without realising! I have tilted the nose down which helped alot but think I probably need a cut out saddle which was why I was considering the Toupe?

However having read alot of the posts on hear about chaffing and saddle sores I am terrified of purchasing the wrong saddle!

Any suggestions?

You can't really go by what other people like. Try anything that's 135 and wider (within reason- something over 150mm is likely to feel too wide). Be sure you are fit to whatever you try. Even a saddle that may be great for you will be a torture device if it's set up wrong.

My new bike came with an aliante. Tried it and knew in 30 mins it was not for me.
Now I have an SMP (glider model, pricey) and I would recommend you to get one. There are lots of models in a wide price range.

Mine seems too narrow (136mm) for my sit bones (round 140) - but it is perfect, so I don't buy the sitbone width thing.

Try finding a UK place online with an exchange policy.

Yep, time to find a source with a return policy. Thoughts to consider:

+ A cutout isn't always the best way to release pressure on the tender bits. Some cutouts are so narrow that they might just pinch you. Also consider saddles with channels (e.g., the new Bontrager is channeled, not cutout).
+ One indicator that a saddle might be too narrow is after riding for a while, when you get off the saddle, the tailbone area hurts.
+ Not all saddles are designed to sit on the sit bones. Alpine's SMP is a classic saddle that supports you on the ramps/angles of the sit bones. [Personally, no saddle does a better job of releasing pressure in the tender bits than the SMP--if you can find one that fits you, you need look no further].
+ Angle and fore/aft position are amazingly critical.
+ What works for one person won't work for another. There are people here who will tell you Saddle XYZ is the one, true saddle. Nonsense. Don't feel bad if their perfect saddle is your nightmare.

Introduce your butt to many saddles. Consider taking your bike into a shop and just trying various saddles on the trainer. See if the shop has a loaner program or find an on-line dealer that does loaners.

I have been persevering with a saddle on my roadbike but it has been giving me grief despite tilting the nose down to get a little relief. I finally decided it was time to look at another saddle and headed off to my LBS to talk to the bike fitter there, who is quite a genius and specialises in fitting women.

He had already measured my sitbones at 145 and decided that the 143 width in the Specialized Lithia Gel would be a good starting point. So I turned up with my bike to give it a try. (Not sure why in the original post sitbones at 135 would suggest a 143 or 155 width saddle - seems illogical)

He took one look at my bike and said "erm...that bike and your body don't work for me" which was a bit of a shock. Next thing you know I was doing laps in the carpark while he looked at me and fiddled with my hand position.

After quite a few laps he took my bike inside and measured all sorts of things, gave me the non-optional lecture on women's anatomy and how it sits on seats, and why the cutout is there and what happens when you try to bend something that doesn't bend......

He then told me I was riding too long and needed a shorter stem and to lower my seat by 2mm! His expectation is that once I am not leaning quite so much and have a little less pressure on the girl bits I will be able to lift the saddle nose and ride happily. Cost $45 for a stem and not $149 for a seat!

If anybody else told me all this I would call them a crackpot, but he fitted me for my MTB when I bought it and spent 2hours getting it just perfect and it has been an absolute dream to ride. Women cyclists swear by him. This weekend I'll fit the stem and make the adjustment and we'll see how it goes!

If it works, I will believe him when he says it's not always about the seat!

I'm really enjoying my Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow. It's a great saddle and no pain at all!

I've had luck with most of the specialized saddles in 155. I'm finding the ruby a bit hard right now, but I think my bum's just out of shape after not being on a saddle so long. I do especially like the ariel.