Sitbones measured

I went to the bike shop and had my sitbones measured. I had a hard time doing the at-home method. There may be too much cushion there. :) So I sat on the squishy gel for a minute. The sales rep took two ball bearings and let them fall on the lower part of the indentation. He took a ruler and measured where the bearings sat. It came to 145 mm. I just wore regular cotton shorts.

The manager mentioned that the Terry Butterfly saddle I have may be too stiff. He said the Surly LHT is steel, but it is a rigid steel. He said that I may be just feeling the bumps too much with my 700 x 32 Continental tires and stiff saddle. He suggested the Terry Liberator. He has a LHT and a Brooks saddle. He said Brooks make good saddles, but it is a long-term commitment.

The store is an authorized Specialized dealer. I did try the Specialized Ariel 143mm seat. It seemed a bit narrow, but it wasn't as rigid as the Terry. I do feel the manager wants the me to have the best saddle and not just sell me the Specialized brand.

Mostly I do one-hour rides with two to three hour rides on weekends. I would like to do a supported two-day tour in September.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

145 mm is your center-to-center measurement. Some folks call that their "inside" measurement.

Center-to-center is important for contoured and padded saddles. You want the center of the saddle "cheeks" or dome to be 145 mm apart, otherwise your bones are missing the carefully engineered sit bone landing spot designed into the saddle.

145 mm + 20-30mm is probably your outside-to-outside. This is important for padded and contoured saddles because you definitely do NOT want the saddle to be LESS than your outside, and you might want a cm or two extra on the saddle, depending on how active a rider you are. If you tend to sit down and not move even a smidgen, then the extra wiggle room doesn't matter. But if you shift to change position and center of gravity for corners and hills and to increase power to pass folks, you will want a little leeway. (you don't want your bones to miss the saddle!)

Your outside measurement is also vital for suspended leather saddles (Brooks, Velo Orange, Selle An Atomica, etc.) Your outside measurement must fit within the width of the saddle MINUS the left and right widths of the cantle plate. Otherwise you land your bones onto the metal rather than onto the suspended leather. (for example, in all likelihood you would hit metal on a Brooks B17, but would be fine and dandy on a B67, B66, B68, B18, or B72 or similar)

I do not find my Surly steel to be any less forgiving than any of my other 3 steel bikes. It is butted steel. Not sure what the LBS guy is talking about, but different people feel different things. (for example I can feel road buzz on aluminum bikes, other people don't) If YOU find your bike to be rigid, then get a B67 if you want a leather saddle.

32mm tires are quite wide enough to absorb a lot of bumps. Not sure why he thinks you need wider tires or a more padded softer saddle. I ride 23 and 25 mm tires on one of my steel bikes, and that is the bike with the unsprung B68 leather saddle. No problem.

Yes, it can take a couple weeks to break in a Brooks. They last 30 to 40 years if you remember to rub proof hide on them every few months.

www.wallbike.com gives 6 months free trial on all Brooks saddles. You mentioned interest in a Brooks in another thread. If you don't find the Specialized dealer gets you a Specialized or Terry saddle that works, I'd suggest trying a Brooks through Bill at Wallingford Bicycle Parts (aka "Wallbike")

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KnottedYet

145 mm is your center-to-center measurement. Some folks call that their "inside" measurement.

---

Well now I'm confused! I thought inside meant the opposite of outside. My c-c (deepest point, not necessarily the midpoint) is more like 125...

Someone posted a great picture of her current saddle, with pennies marking where her sit bones land.

The pennies were on the very outside edges of the saddle, completely missing the carefully engineered contact points of the saddle.

I'm sorry, but I can't find it now.

It was a great photo, showing how important it is to know what to do with the c-to-c info about your sitz and the saddle. Hopefully someone else will be able to find it, and will post a link?

Knot-the-computer-illiterate :confused:

Voilà.


And for myself, I know I understand where I need to be (which is why I correctly chose a 155 even though what I've posted as my "inside" is 80) - but don't you need to know the actual inside measurement if the saddle has a cut-out or channel that extends that far back? You wouldn't want them falling into the moat, either.

Oak, darling! You are my hero!!! :D

I should clarify, the store manager didn't recommend different tires. He said the tires are good tires. He thought the combination of the Terry Butterfly and Continental 32s was the problem. He recommends keeping the tires, but switching to the Liberator.

I put two dimes on the Terry Liberator where my sitbones would be. The dimes fell off. My sitbones are near the edge.

The Liberator is wider, but not much. I am going to bypass that saddle too.

I should add the shop was helpful. The sales rep told me I needed to raise my saddle and that the saddle nose was pointing downwards.

Looking to make a decision soon. Thanks for the help.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bismarckgimpy

He thought the combination of the Terry Butterfly and Continental 32s was the problem. He recommends keeping the tires, but switching to the Liberator.

---

32 mm tires are very forgiving, and it is extraordinary that they'd be blamed for any part of any saddle pain.

I am truly gobsmacked by this dude's proclamations.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bismarckgimpy

The manager mentioned that the Terry Butterfly saddle I have may be too stiff.

---

This is unlikely.. honestly.. I think a majority of your problems come from the saddle not being wide enough for you. It's only 155mm across at the widest point, but when you consider the outside slope of the saddle, it's probably not enough.. when I tried a similar saddle (SI Lady Gelflow) I could literally feel my sit bones hanging OVER the edges of the saddle... it was not good.

I ride an unsprung brooks and it's not "too stiff" at all.. if your sit bones are properly supported you don't need padding.. squishy can actually contribute to soreness on longer rides too.

Thanks everyone for the help. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, KnottedYet. It's hard to find a saddle that is over 7" wide. I checked Koobi, Selle, Specialized, Bontragger, Brooks, Terry, WTB, Serfas, Avocet, and Fizik. Brooks, Bontragger and Serfas are the only ones that had saddles over 7". Some companies carry the indoor exercise bike saddle, but I didn't consider those.

The Bontragger and Serfas look a little too soft. So after much consideration, I think the B68 is the way to go. I am leaning towards the unsprung. Also, I need to figure out if I want the cutout or not.

Appreciate any other thoughts and comments.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Muirenn

Hee hee. The falling in the moat issue seems to get left out of the conversation a lot. I fall into the moat on the SI Diva with cutout. And it hurt!

---

I have noticed that too - it seems like that part of the equation is an important one but gets left off. When I got into position on the Butterfly I found that my inner crotch bones, as I will scientifically call them (pubic rami maybe?), hit directly ON the edges of the cutout. OUUUUUcccchhhhh. It seems like, with road biking anyway, the inside part of the equation is just about as important as the outside (the sitbones), but the only measuring that is done is of the sitbones. It confuses me.

Oak, Trista, Murienn -

Can you guys work up an equation for cut-outs and "falling in the moat"?

That would be so cool, and definitely useful!

(accumulating one equation at a time, TE will come to dominate the saddle fitting universe!):D

Then there'll be a "sit bone to saddle" ratio ap for that? ;)

First, I'm sorry if my writing reads a bit "weird" - I'm not so used to writing in English and therefore just kept "lurking" here until now :)

But I'm so confused right now with saddle width, that I have to ask:

If I get you right, bismarckgimpy, your LBD measured your sitbone width at 145mm. You then tried a Specialized Ariel 143mm (I guess that was the suggestion of the guy who fitted you).

I ordered a SI SLR Lady Gel Flow yesterday. The description says that it's 155mm wide. I measured my sitbones at home and got 135mm from center to center, so I thought that a 155 mm saddle would fit me. But the effective width of the SLR is much smaller - my sitbone-centers sit right in the same place as in the picture that OakLeaf posted from the other thread - I guess not where they should be (btw: I'm really sad about that because the SLR looks sooo nice and is quite hard, I would really love it if it wasn't too narrow :()

I also saw a SQ-lab 611 active at my LBS today. The biggest one (15 cm) is wider than the SLR, and the centers of my sitbones are closer to the center of the saddle, but still the Saddle is smaller than my outside-to-outside measurement - so my Sitbones would "hang of" of it at the outsides.

The SQlab 610 which is also available in 16cm width looks really big, I don't know if it would be comfortable for riding technical trails (getting behind the saddle). And, while it's not the most important thing, I wouldn't mind a more "sportive" look for my MTB.

Are the Specialized measurements different? I mean, if a Specialized saddle is "15cm" wide in its description, does that mean it's actually wider and has 15cm space to actually sit on (which isn't the case with the SI saddles)?

I'm confused with this whole saddle-width and measurement thing because from what I read here, 13.5 cm sitbone width is not unusual for women, but still it seems that I can't find a good fitting MTB saddle so easily.

Susan,

Re-read KnottedYet's post. It's the second one in this thread. Lots of good information. I read through it a couple of times for it to sink in.

It really didn't make sense for me to try the 143mm Specialized Ariel. Specialized makes the Body Geometry seats in 130/143/155 mm widths. The whole idea is that you get measured and since their are three widths available, one will fit you. Body Geometry is a great brand name, slogan or trademark (whatever you want to call it). In my opinion, the advertising campaign and product are misleading. Again in my opinion, the three widths really are extra small, small and medium. If you have a large or extra large sitbone width, well try something else.

I am full of opinions. :) I think saddle companies don't sell a lot of seats wider than 7" or 177mm because I think the public has the idea that they are for fat people, or for old ladies who want a pillow for a saddle. If you can't market a product, you ain't gonna sell it. My husband works in advertising. He agrees with that concept. Even Brooks lists the B68 as a Civic and Heavy Duty saddle. Though I'm guessing many people use it for touring.

I thought I saw in a thread, the breakdown of what percent of women have of what sitbone width. I am surprised and disappointed Terry doesn't have a wider saddle than 7".

Enough for now.