Saddle rec for a tween-ish boy?

We got our 11 year old son a wonderful Redline Conquest 24 for Christmas, but he hasn't really had opportunity to get out and ride it. Last weekend we did an indoor cycling event (on trainers) and he pedaled for an hour. But we noticed that he is not comfortable with his hands on the handlebars and instead would really only sit upright, sometimes even putting one hand on the nose of his saddle to push himself upright.

His saddle (whatever small stock saddle Redline uses on their kids' bikes) seems to be a little lopsided in shape (the back end is not symmetrical from side-to-side...looks a little defective) and has a REALLY skinny and domed nose. He said it wasn't comfortable. He's also not particularly comfortable on the similarly shaped SI saddle that's on the back of our tandem.

I'm suspicious that he may be a guy who benefits from a cut-out/dent, but I can't get him to level with me. I'm encouraging DH to get more details from him.

Are there any moms of pre-pubescent boys who might have found saddles for their sons that work well? DS is a super skinny kid. I don't know his sit bone width, but I imagine it's very narrow, so anything much wider than 130 will likely be too wide.

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Originally Posted by zoom-zoom

We got our 11 year old son a wonderful Redline Conquest 24 for Christmas, but he hasn't really had opportunity to get out and ride it. Last weekend we did an indoor cycling event (on trainers) and he pedaled for an hour. But we noticed that he is not comfortable with his hands on the handlebars and instead would really only sit upright, sometimes even putting one hand on the nose of his saddle to push himself upright.

His saddle (whatever small stock saddle Redline uses on their kids' bikes) seems to be a little lopsided in shape (the back end is not symmetrical from side-to-side...looks a little defective) and has a REALLY skinny and domed nose. He said it wasn't comfortable. He's also not particularly comfortable on the similarly shaped SI saddle that's on the back of our tandem.

I'm suspicious that he may be a guy who benefits from a cut-out/dent, but I can't get him to level with me. I'm encouraging DH to get more details from him.

Are there any moms of pre-pubescent boys who might have found saddles for their sons that work well? DS is a super skinny kid. I don't know his sit bone width, but I imagine it's very narrow, so anything much wider than 130 will likely be too wide.

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Let me go ask the boyfriend and I'll get back to you. I think he was about your son's age when his Scout troop started doing this stuff.

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Originally Posted by Owlie

Let me go ask the boyfriend and I'll get back to you. I think he was about your son's age when his Scout troop started doing this stuff.

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Excellent! My hubby's not of much help...he pretty much plops his butt on anything and it works, though he's finding that a Fizik saddle that he formerly liked isn't working great for him (which causes me a bit of amusement, since he never before quite got how miserable saddles could make me).

get him a $30.00 saddle, anything will be better than a cheap and defective one! the bike might not fit right though; the problem might NOT be the saddle.

One of my super skinny-azzed riding buddies has one of those Cobbs and seems plenty happy with it (though I haven't asked him particulars :cool:). If he can handle a true wedge shape, those things have a huge cut-out.

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Originally Posted by Biciclista

get him a $30.00 saddle, anything will be better than a cheap and defective one! the bike might not fit right though; the problem might NOT be the saddle.

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Yeah, I've wondered about that, too. I think his bike is a little big for him, since it's geared for kids from 9-13. In addition to finding a saddle that's not wonky we likely need to move it a bit forward on the rails. Life will be so much easier when he stops growing (in 10 years!). :p

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

One of my super skinny-azzed riding buddies has one of those Cobbs and seems plenty happy with it (though I haven't asked him particulars :cool:). If he can handle a true wedge shape, those things have a huge cut-out.

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I don't think we'd want to spend that much, but I'm suspecting that some sort of relief up-front would help him. As much as I love my Bontragers I'm thinking one of their mtn. bike saddles might be perfect for him, especially since they come as small as 128 wide.

I have a Jett 130 with Ti rail. Ohh just checked. It has bit of pink trim on it. It does have a cut out. Would he try it out and see if the cutout would work for him?

If the cutout works for him then you can go out and find him a seat with a cutout and feel bit more confident that the new seat will work for him. I could send it to you for free and he could try it out. Then you can send it back or we can talk about it. I highly doubt any self respecting boy would use any gear with pink.

smilingcat

I think I have a Biologic Aria from my folder that I can send you. I never used it because I switched it out for a Brooks and it's just laying around. If you want it, PM me.

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Originally Posted by jyyanks

I think I have a Biologic Aria from my folder that I can send you. I never used it because I switched it out for a Brooks and it's just laying around. If you want it, PM me.

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Any idea on the size? I looked at photos and it appears sort of short and wide, but it's hard to tell much about a saddle from photos (as I have found, myself).

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Originally Posted by smilingcat

I have a Jett 130 with Ti rail. Ohh just checked. It has bit of pink trim on it. It does have a cut out. Would he try it out and see if the cutout would work for him?

If the cutout works for him then you can go out and find him a seat with a cutout and feel bit more confident that the new seat will work for him. I could send it to you for free and he could try it out. Then you can send it back or we can talk about it. I highly doubt any self respecting boy would use any gear with pink.

smilingcat

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Let me ask him...in the past he's never had aversions to pink, but he's starting to hit that age where peep pressure is making a bigger difference than it used to. But he could at least try it to noodle-around the neighborhood.

The other thing we realized is that the nearest Trek/Bontrager dealer is really good about doing demos, so it's possible that he could demo a Bontrager Inform model, that way. That's how I ended up with my Affinity saddle.

a sharpie marker can take care of pink on a saddle.

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Originally Posted by Biciclista

a sharpie marker can take care of pink on a saddle.

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'Tis true!

My son did well with a Terry Sport.

I'll dig it out of my closet and get back to you with measurements.

The WTB Pure V seems to be a universal favorite. Some Bianchi bikes now ship with this type of saddle and they are very comfortable.

http://www.wtb.com/products/saddles/performance/purev/

My skinny 17yr old DS uses a WTB SST on his daily rider. It's the stock saddle that comes on a LHT. Our local bike shop had so many in the extra parts bin they gave it my DS for free. He swears it feels fine - and there is no way he is going to let his mom measure his sit bones..lol.

http://www.wtb.com/products/saddles/saddles-sst/

Hmmm...looks like the Pure V is about 145 wide. I have a feeling that would be too big for him, at least now. He's such a tiny little beanpole.

OK I just measured with a ruler. The Aria saddle is 10.5 inches in length and is 5.5 inches at its widest point.

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Originally Posted by jyyanks

OK I just measured with a ruler. The Aria saddle is 10.5 inches in length and is 5.5 inches at its widest point.

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SmilingCat's sending her Jett 130 for us to try, but if it's for some reason too narrow I will definitely take you up on your offer. :)

Sure - no problem - just let me know!

Another thought is to go to your LBS and see if they have any take off saddles in the back that they sell cheap.

A lot of shops do(when people swap out for the stock saddle or upgrade or return something,etc). That way DS could actually give a few a try. I know one of ours sell the take offs for anywhere from $5-20.

That's a good idea, too. I know our LBS has a bargain bin and sells some old demo saddles, as well.

As an update to the thread, after borrowing smilingcat's Jett we knew we were in the right general size and shape. DS was happier with a cut-out. Most saddles of the right shape and size were still pretty pricey, though.

I checked Amazon and happened upon this Ritchey saddle. It's an older version of a saddle that they actually market for cyclocross--perfect! The nose is a little shorter than what's on most road bike saddles, which is too long for a smallish kid on a tiny bike (his frame is probably comparable to a 40cm CX bike). AND it's <$30 WITH shipping on Amazon.

Thanks for all the help, ladies. I'm going to have to get more videos of the happy monkey bombing around on his bike. He's been out 2x. The first time he was really nervous and not entirely happy. Yesterday was like a 180. He was squealing and zipping around and saying how much he loves his bike. He's even thinking about doing a CX race in <4 weeks. :D