Love my new bike, not sold on the saddle. Where to from here?

I've put about 40 miles on my new Specialized Ruby Comp since it came home last week, and I adore it -- except that the jury's still out on the saddle. It's the stock Lithia saddle that comes with the bike.

My sit bones are fine, but farther forward (soft tissue?) winds up really pretty sore. It's almost like it's too wide. I don't think it's just 'beginning of the season' soreness, because I've been spinning 3x/week for about 2 months, and have totally worked through any soreness in other areas.

I know saddles are a pretty specific thing to pick out, but how does one go about the process of choosing one? I really liked the fitter I worked with at my LBS, but there aren't any women who work there. It feels like an odd thing to discuss (although I'm sure they're very used to it).

Any tips?

did you have an older bike with a saddle that you liked better? swap them?
if soft tissue is hurting then your sit bones are NOT supporting you/keeping you off those soft tissues.
Have you been to our saddle threads? you might start here: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/forumdisplay.php?f=36

welcome to TE

Hi Susie. Welcome to the saddle hunt :eek:

To answer a few of the questions...

It's a 130mm saddle. My fitter did measure the width of my sit bones, so I'm guessing that should be correct. Just maybe a case of right size, wrong saddle?

I've never really had one I loved, but I've also never really shopped that hard for one before either. I've also never used one with a large cutout.

I don't know if my LBS lends/rents/etc. saddles, but since my bike is less than a week old, I'm guessing they will likely try to help somehow.

Thanks for the thread link. I will check that out.

FWIW, I was just looking at Specialized saddles, and the Jett has a more gradual transition from front to back than the Lithia. I didn't actually measure them, but I think the nose of the Jett is wider than the Lithia in the area that's bothering you.

Do you feel like your pubic bones are bruised, or is there too much pressure on the soft tissues themselves?

Are you sure your sit bones are on the saddle when you sit on it? How close to the edge are they?

I assume the fitter positioned the saddle for you, in terms of correct height, front/back position and leveling. But if not, they should do that for you.

It could also be that too much pressure is on the edges around the cutout. If that's the case, you might be happier with a saddle that has a channel or indentation rather than a full cut-out.

I did the Specialized BG fit, and they put me on a "smooshy seat" then measured my sit bones from the identation I left behind and found the right (Specialized) saddle for me. I'm happy with it so far, but haven't had much time on it yet.