how long to give a new saddle before you pitch it?

i have a general saddle question.... what is a good amount of time to "break-in" a saddle before you decide you hate it?

i rode on a new saddle (the butterfly i mentioned in another post) last weekend for 2 rides (about 45 and 40 miles), then this weekend for 47 and 30. i did not ride all week (no motivation :eek: )

i'm going to ride again after work today.. on that fast becoming most hated saddle! cuz i'm wondering if i'm just not used to riding since i didn't ride all week?????

if (uhm.. when) i get ride of this thing and buy another... how long (hours? miles?) do i ride it to give it a chance?

i THOUGHT we had gotten it adjusted half way decent last weekend.. but apparently not (or i got out of being used to being on it) cuz this weekend i barely made my whole ride saturday and sunday i just quit at 30 even though i wanted to go futher! i just couldn't.. my tushie said NO!

i'm not saddle sore (that i can tell or notice) off the bike like i remember being a bit when i first starting riding last summer...

I apparently have no patience at all when it comes to saddles. During my last saddle hunt I think the longest I rode an uncomfortable saddle was a half of an hour! Once I had the right saddle I pretty much knew immediately...

--- Denise

my husband kinda knew immediately too.. well.. he had to make a couple minor adjustments cuz he new seat (a fi'zi:k) was a lot longer.. but he sings it's praises (he got it the same time i got mine!)

he had the specialized alias and complained about it til he took it off and took it back!

I take about as long as the store will let me return it ;) Terry Liberator Race is the only one I ride anymore.

I agree with sarah and denise - you Know its either the right one or not. Think of it another way - how long does it take you to decide a pair of shoes fits right or not??.......for most people, the first time they wear them!

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Originally Posted by CorsairMac

I agree with sarah and denise - you Know its either the right one or not. Think of it another way - how long does it take you to decide a pair of shoes fits right or not??.......for most people, the first time they wear them!

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But it might be the right one for a 10 mile ride, but not the right one for a century. Also, for newbies, there might not be a saddle on earth that is comfortable for them. But once they get a little "tougher" the saddle might be fine. Just my $.02...

ok.... so i got the new ruby about a month and a half ago.... it has a specialized jett saddle... (looks pretty on the bike :rolleyes: )

i hadn't been riding very much for a couple of weeks before getting her... although the time on the bike picked up some... not nearly the amount of time i had been spending on the bike throughout the summer and fall...

sooooo when i was first having saddle pain... i assumed it was cuz i hadn't been riding much....

i haven't been putting on a lot of miles.. but did a couple 40 milers.. and last weekend my first metric on ruby.... my butt was irritated.. (however on the dolce a metric would have been "nothing" to my butt).... i rode sunday... a very SHORT ride wednesday.. then my first century since october was yesterday....

i was miserable from the beginning! a lot of times on rides around home... i'll be uncomfortable when i start out (even with the jett) but it would ease off to a point as i rode more)... well yesterday i was miserable from the first mile (even told hubby i was turning around at rest stop 1! bad start! lol!)

i continued... and my butt got more sore... and more sore! usually after a century.. even if when my butt is sore that day... the next day i can still ride... well today i can barely sit in a chair.. much less on a bike!

so do i need to admit the jett isn't working? or is my butt out of shape (i only put 592 miles on the ruby/bike in december and 170 in january prior to the century.. so now 270 miles for january! plus over 8200 miles on the bike total for 2005))

i want to give the saddle a fair shake... heck.. it looks nice on the bike! lol! but if i can't ride... and it's not an adjustment phase.. it needs to go and go quickly! but i sure hate to put a dolce seat on it... (i NEVER had issues with the dolce seat! :confused: )

suggestions? comments? recommendation??????

Looking nice really doesn't say anything about comfort. As I said before, the longest I would give a saddle is about a half an hour. It sounds to me like the saddle on your bike is not the right saddle for you.

--- Denise

Cali -- I hated the Specialized saddles on my Dolces comp and elite, and I replaced them w/Sellas. I find Specialized saddles way too soft.

Denise---I hear ya! I ended up having to get bright red Sellas, as that's all TE had left. Definitely not my first choice, but I was willing to sacrifice looks for comfort! ;)

i actually loved the dolce saddle! never had a problem with it! the jett is hard! a completely different saddle.. which is why i'm still giving it a chance after all this time... maybe my bum is used to the soft squishy dolce and needs to "harden up" a bit for the harder race type jett?

i've got 4 weeks til my next century... i'll give the jett a couple more rides... but if not.. then i'm putting a squishy dolce on my ruby! :eek:

Maybe you could use the Dolce for the next century and then try the "pretty" one again? For me persistence was worth it:

I have a Fiz'ik Poggio on mine and its gold and red (matches the frame, see?) and I hated it at first. In fact I hated it for several weeks. I persisted because it looked divine and I am not ashamed to say it! It was the first road saddle I had ridden so I didn't really know if it should hurt or not! The biggest difference came when I adjusted the tilt. It only took a few degrees to off-load the front "bits" and once I sussed out sitting my seat-bones on the soft part I was fine.

It did take a few 40 - 50 milers before it got better and now its Purrrfect. I did a century without padded shorts last year! For supreme comfort I love my Pearl Izumi shorts with the thicker pad at the seat-bones and the rim of padding that off-loads the front niceley too - SHweeet.

Love your bike BTW. I drooled and drooled.

fortunately i have 3 weeks til the next century... so depending on the weather... i can get miles on it.... i keep going back and forth.. change it.. don't change it.. change it.. don't!

hubby has your thinking... it's a completely different and harder saddle... i haven't been riding as many miles as i was... he says i'm just not used to it... he's been right in every other bike advice he has given me (he's my mentor!)

i was able to ride monday... it wasn't gastly sore... but by the end of ride (32 miles) i was getting done.... so we'll see how it feels this weekend... i'm hoping for nice weather so we can do some climbing and a longer ride!

i may try to adjust the tilt.. although i have no issues on the front part.. just right where i'm sitting! it's tilted up a bit cuz i was slipping off.... maybe we'll try to level it back out and see if i'm not slipping and it it alleviates any sit pressure!

Hey, Cali--I got the Jett, too. I have only been able to put about 25 miles on it so far--weather. It's surely the best on the soft tissue so far. I, too, noticed that my sit bones were feeling it more. I hope that it's just because I haven't been riding much. I think if I were you, I'd ride that Dolce for the moment and then build up to the Jett.

Cali,

Oh - I hate to be negative! But it sounds like the Jett is NOT the saddle for you. :( You've given it time - you've given it quite a fair amount of saddle time. Your tush has been put to the test, it seems. I suppose it is possible to fit yourself to the saddle instead of finding one that fits you, but you should not need to do that. Pain is NOT a good thing! There are a good number of saddles out there. There's GOT to be one for you, besides the Dolce, if that one doesn't please you aesthetically. Might take some searching and test riding. I am hoping you are able to find an LBS that allowings such testing. Don't give in too easily. Find something that feels good to you. Good luck!!!!

annie

hi annie! someone at another forum suggested i try an avatar... it's similar to my jett.. but with a little gel were my sensitive sit bones go!

if all else fails.. i'll go dolce... i think we'll make a trip to the bike store this weekend and see if they have an avatar for me to try out!

(hubby has an avatar on his tricross.. but it's too narrow for me... i was trying to feel the difference... but there isn't much! however he had an alias (men's version of the jett) and hated it.. he loves his avatar.. so there may be something to it! plus it looks nicer than the dolce! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Caligirl--I took my Dolce saddles off both my Elite and Comp (they are 2005 models). I know I still have the Comp and I think have the Elite saddle somewhere. Would you like either or both of them? They weren't used much. I live on the East Coast, but I can mail them out to you. Let me know. :)

awwww that's sweet of you! how much would you want for them? (i could use one to replace the very ripped one on my dolce. too! :eek: :eek: :eek: i kept meaning to replace it.. and it ripped more and more! but then i knew i was getting a new bike and didn't worry about it... bad bike mommy!)

If you want, you can get me a TE gift certificate for them [I'm not using them and they are just collecting dust. To be honest, I'm OK w/letting you have them gratis]. All I ask is that you pay for the shipping. I definitely have the Dolce Comp saddle. I have to find the Dolce Elite saddle---I'm pretty sure that I didn't throw it out---just stashed it away somewhere! Send me a email (pghcolleen@att.net) and give me your address. I'll let you know if I can turn up the other saddle.

Did you ever decide on a saddle? I have the same problem. I have a 2007 S-Works Ruby which is an upgrade to my 2005 Specialized Dolce Elite. I had the Dolce saddle and I loved it but it is big and ugly. My new bike came with the Specialized Jett Saddle. I like the saddle but it is too hard for distance rides like I do. I tried a Terry Butterfly Ti and it is not working for me either. Has anyone tried the Specialized Lithia Gel? Help? This saddle mess is killing me!!!!

How does the Dolce saddle treat you on long rides?

Even though you think it is big and ugly looking, if it feels good maybe you should use it as your benchmark saddle?

The dolce saddle was great on long rides. I read some of the other discussions and I am thinking it might be the width of my new saddle that is the problem. I attempted to measure my sit bones last night. My Specialized Jett saddle is a 143mm and my dolce was a 155mm. I am thinking of trying a Jett or Lithia in a 155 to see if that helps. My bike is also larger than my last one so I am stretched out a bit more which might be causing some extra forward lean. Hopefully I will get used to that since my new bike has been sized better for me but it will just take a little time to adjust to. Did a century on that Terry Butterfly Ti saddle and was miserable.

I have the Lithia gel on my bike. It's actually more comfortable than the big gel Serfas I have on my other bike. I like it a lot.

I recently changed to an "Easy Seat" and I love it. It has 2 parts and is open in the middle so there is absolutely no pressure on sensitive areas.