Rethinking my saddle

(This turned out to be a bit long, sorry) I know, I know...another saddle question. Ok, as you may recall I recently bought a Specialized Ruby Pro (did I mention I LOVE this bike!!!) with a Jett 143 saddle. That saddle is the same size as the saddle on my old bike. The only time I had problems on my old bike (after I broke my tushie in) was on long rides - which I didn't do very often. Usually I just rode 20 mile routes. Now I initially liked the Jett. It grips the slippery fabric of my shorts and I don't slide around on it like I did my old saddle. And I still do like it on 20 mile rides. But now my average rides are starting to creep into the 30+ mile range. I'm finding now that my sit bones are hurting around mile 30. I measured my sit bone distance by sitting on some playdough and measuring the distance from the middle of the indentations left by my sit bones. This was done sitting on a wooden chair with my thighs parallel to the floor. The distance was 140 mm. Now I'll finally get to my question. Is my saddle too narrow or do I just need to break my tush in to the longer rides? I know 5 or 8 more miles doesn't seem like a lot but when you're used to only doing 20-23... So should I just give it time? or will I just be wasting time trying to get used to it?

Sorry I can't help right now.
Let me get past the image of you sitting on playdough and get back to you.

li10up, if the saddle is uncomfortable at the 30-mile mark, I'd venture to say that the saddle isn't right for you. Whether it's a question of width, however, is harder to say. Can you describe what's uncomfortable about it? Ideally, you want one that's wide enough to support your sit bones, but there are other factors to consider too, e.g., the width and length of the nose, whether the saddle is too cushy, whether it's putting pressure on your female bits, whether it's level, etc.

I didn't love the saddle that came on my Bianchi and decided that I begin the search by trying one of Terry's saddles. I ended up with the Butterfly Tri-gel, which is considered one of their "all around" saddles. I've been happy with it so far. You might take a look at Terry's website to see their rather extenstive selection. They also have a liberal return policy.

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Originally Posted by zencentury

Sorry I can't help right now.
Let me get past the image of you sitting on playdough and get back to you.

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What??? Doesn't everybody do this? :p Does sound kind of weird. Hope that image isn't burned into your brain for long!


But seriously, in my search of previous threads the question was asked several times how to measure your sit bone distance in order to figure out what width saddle you needed. Nobody (that I saw) answered the question other than a special foam pad at the LBS. So I researched online and found the playdough idea. Another idea was sitting on a plastic bag of flour. I opted for the playdough.....otherwise I'd never be able to eat another baked good for the rest of my life. :eek:

Indy, it's my actual sit bones that hurt...well the flesh over them. That why I've been wondering if the saddle is too narrow. Maybe my sit bones aren't centered on the pads but hitting more on the sides of the saddle. I'll have to really focus during my next ride. It's been raining all week so far. With my measurement being at 140mm and the saddle at 143mm it seems like that could be the issue. But who knows how accurate the measurement is... Maybe its just that my rear isn't toughened to the longer rides. I don't want to keep pouring money into saddles if it's just a matter of me getting toughened up. I priced the Jett's and they are $100. I don't want to put a wider (and heavier) saddle on the bike if I don't need to. Plus I like the looks of the smaller saddles.

Maybe I could buy a cheap wider saddle just to see if it feels better.

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Originally Posted by zencentury

Sorry I can't help right now.
Let me get past the image of you sitting on playdough and get back to you.

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You crack me up! :D

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Originally Posted by li10up;

Indy, it's my actual sit bones that hurt...well the flesh over them. That why I've been wondering if the saddle is too narrow. Maybe my sit bones aren't centered on the pads but hitting more on the sides of the saddle. I'll have to really focus during my next ride. It's been raining all week so far. With my measurement being at 140mm and the saddle at 143mm it seems like that could be the issue. But who knows how accurate the measurement is... Maybe its just that my rear isn't toughened to the longer rides. I don't want to keep pouring money into saddles if it's just a matter of me getting toughened up. I priced the Jett's and they are $100. I don't want to put a wider (and heavier) saddle on the bike if I don't need to. Plus I like the looks of the smaller saddles.

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1) It may not be the width but the shape. Standing at the back of the bike with the saddle at eye level and looking forward over the saddle, does the saddle look like this /\ or this -- ? Saddles that look like this /\ kill my sit bones and it has nothing to do with overall width of the saddle, it is the shape of the sitting area. /\ can make your sit bones slide and separate. :eek: Some folks do fine with that shape. Maybe the saddle is too wide and you're sit bones are inside the place on the saddle designed to be sat upon (what a tortured sentence, but you get my drift).

And who friggin' cares if the saddle is heavier if it is more comfortable? There are lots of saddles out there narrower than mine that weigh more.

And your sit bones do have to acclimate to longer rides. The fitter you get, the lighter you sit on the saddle also.

I thought it was pretty clever to use play-doh. Although I almost spit my drink on my keyboard.

On another note, I think the saddle on your bike has a lot of people who didn't like it on the board.

I sort of had the same thing happen. I bought a Ruby Comp last year that came with the Jett 143. At first it was ok. As soon as I put on more mileage and approached 30 miles it killed. Yes we need to break our butts in, in the first few rides of the season but this never got better. I really tried to give it a chance, like around 5 weeks, and it just kept hurting. So I went to a another bike shop that sold Body Geometry saddles and got measured with the Specialized foam system. Your way with play dough is just as good. I found that I was on the line between the 143 and 155. With your measurement it really could be you are on the line as well. It also had seemed my sit bones were more toward the outer part of the seat but still on it. So I switched to a 155 Avatar (I get confused, names have switched between Alias and Avatar in the last couple of years). The Avatar is the same as the Jett but has some "gel pads" where the sit bones are. The saddle retains its sleek look. These gel pads are minimal, but enough to take the real pain away. That and some good shorts. The 155 gives me a little more real estate to shift around and that is better. The comfort level is better, but I still feel there might be a more comfortable saddle out there. I tried other saddles but they all hurt the girl parts or inner thigh. The reason I like Body Geometry, and is their point, is that the pressure is taken off sensitive parts but then the support is elsewhere - the sit bones. I like the long narrow nose, and the abrupt angle that the seat to nose has. But after doing a couple of metric centuries, I still had sit bone pain which transferred to my lower back for those distances. Some of it for me might be a not so strong core, need more mileage under my belt. Some of it is how I ride. If I'm doing shorter rides, then my pedaling cadence is consistent (no coasting) - my feet are putting pressure on the pedals and the weight displacement is a little less on the saddle. I have a lot of hills which means I'm most always pushing on the pedals as I go uphill, so less is on the sitbones. On longer rides, I might get more tired, or try to pace slower, so I can't constantly put out a high cadence over a long distance, and maybe I'll coast sometimes downhill or pedal slower, and that is when I'll end up sitting on the saddle with more weight because the pressure is off the pedals. Also the chamois in the shorts compress over time and distance as well. I would suggest trying other saddles; saddles that hurt just aren't fun. I don't think you have to pour money into many saddles. Most bike shops will let you test ride them for a week and bring it back if it's not good for you.

With 140mm center-to-center and a 143mm seat, well, I would think the seat wasn't wide enough. It's nice to have 10mm beyond each bone so you're on the actual saddle rather than weightbearing on the edges.

(so, with 140mm center-to-center I'd be looking for 160mm saddle. My measurements are around 180mm and I ride a 210mm saddle)

"Your mileage may vary"

I have a newish Jett 155, and I am also experiencing some sitbone pain. But, I LOVE that I never experience any numbness anymore, and I LOVE the saddle for climbing.

I think that, for me, it is going to be a matter of a little time to get used to the harder saddle. But, time will tell...

Earlier this year, I began a demo with the Specialized saddles. To date I've fit about 50 women on the Jett and the Alias (essentially the same saddles but the contours of the cut-outs are slightly different). I've personally been riding the Toupe 130 for the past 1,000 miles or so and I love it.

All the specialized saddles feel a bit firm on the sit bones when you first ride them. I didn't find this uncomfortable, just different, but I ride very tilted forward on my soft tissue (not back on my sit bones).

The more upright you sit on your saddle, the wider a saddle Specialized recommends. I'd say you should try the 155.

Another thought about saddles is that the more frequently you ride, the sooner your body will adapt to the new feel.

Hope this helps!

ps -- to get a truly accurate measurement of your sit bones, you should place your feet up on a 12-18" high surface (ie an ottoman or a footstool works well).

I have a Jett on my Ruby too and I really love it. It is very firm, but I get zero chafing or numbness from it and I got used to the firmness. After a little while on the rain bike, which had a Terry, switching back to the Jett was took a bit of getting used to again, but it remains a much more comfortable saddle in the end. So much so that I got another Jett for the rain bike so I wouldn't have to have the switch over ouchies.. (plus the Terry was a bit to wide in the back and would start to hurt my glutes)

I won't mention my Brooks because I am assuming everyone already knows how awesome they are and don't want one because they are worried about the extra ounces.

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Originally Posted by velogirl

ps -- to get a truly accurate measurement of your sit bones, you should place your feet up on a 12-18" high surface (ie an ottoman or a footstool works well).

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Does that affectively widen or narrow the distance between sit bones?

The saddle is flat - doesn't curve in either direction. It feels good in all other respects. I really like that I don't slide around on it. I like the narrow nose. It doesn't hurt me anywhere else.

Thanks for the input everyone. Maybe I can get the bike shop to loan me a 155 saddle so I can see if it helps. It may not be too late for them to swap out saddles for me if I'm going from one Jett to another.

You know, mimi, not everyone thinks Brooks are awesome, heavy or otherwise. I think my saddle is awesome (and RUSA women recommended it) but there are plenty who don't like it. I'm glad your Brooks saddle is awesome for you though.:)

SadieKate, who understands that everyone's tookas is unique.

My tookas is *very* unique.... ;)

Please. Don't tell us more. ;) :D

And, where are the grammar police?

'Tain't none of them there grammer's police round here twoday!

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Originally Posted by mimitabby

I won't mention my Brooks because I am assuming everyone already knows how awesome they are and don't want one because they are worried about the extra ounces.

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Yes, I realize that everyone doesn't fit them or like them, but there is always a possibility that the person asking doesn't know about them.

I recently had a bike fitter lower the nose of my saddle in an attempt to make it level. I was constantly sliding forward on it, and when I slid back where I should be, had 2 pressure points under my sit bones. Then I tipped the nose back up slightly to where I stayed put on the saddle, and I no longer had 2 pressure points under my sit bones, but was supported over a much wider region of my pelvis by the outer rear third of the saddle. Now very comfortable again. So guess I'm agreeing with SK on this.

Well, the Jett 155 hasn't caused me any problems but I've only done short rides on it. I've decided to stick with it instead of going back to the Jet 143.

But I have a new issue. My hands and arms are falling asleep on my new bike. I rode the old one the other day 'cause it looked like rain and even though I felt a little too stretched out at least my hands and arms didn't go numb. I took the new bike to the LBS and asked them to rotate the bars away from me a bit to see if uncocking my wrists a bit will help. The guy who does the $180 fittings (3 hrs @ $60 per hr) was there and he said he thought my seat needed to go back some. It was kind of weird because he wouldn't move it back. He said I was too far forward but he didn't want to move the seat. This was after I told him I wasn't having any knee issues - maybe he rethought his statement?? Anyhow it was determined I would try this and see how it works.

Does this seem like a logical adjustment to correct the numbness problem?

Grammar police:
tuchas, not tookas

I never would have understood "tuchas," but "tookas" I got right away!

Li10up: your numb hands thing -- I had that going on with my Roubaix, and bike dude loosened up the screw in the top thingie (there's a disk around the screw that says "specialized") and then he twisted something around down lower, he said they're shims, and that changed the angle of the handlebars, which stopped my hands from being numb. Maybe they can do something like that for you?

(Yup, i'm good at gizmo names. Told DH last night that I need to go spend some time with bike dude again, and get some widgets for my brakes, to make them reachable!)

Karen in Boise

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Originally Posted by li10up

Well, the Jett 155 hasn't caused me any problems but I've only done short rides on it. I've decided to stick with it instead of going back to the Jet 143.

But I have a new issue. My hands and arms are falling asleep on my new bike. I rode the old one the other day 'cause it looked like rain and even though I felt a little too stretched out at least my hands and arms didn't go numb. I took the new bike to the LBS and asked them to rotate the bars away from me a bit to see if uncocking my wrists a bit will help. The guy who does the $180 fittings (3 hrs @ $60 per hr) was there and he said he thought my seat needed to go back some. It was kind of weird because he wouldn't move it back. He said I was too far forward but he didn't want to move the seat. This was after I told him I wasn't having any knee issues - maybe he rethought his statement?? Anyhow it was determined I would try this and see how it works.

Does this seem like a logical adjustment to correct the numbness problem?

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Actually, yes. When you push your saddle back a bit you will pull your center of gravity back more. Pushing my saddle further back actually took some weight off my hands and stopped them from getting numb. Also gave me more leg power. Try it for a few days, what could it hurt? Easy enough to do yourself.