Saddle choices...

[Red Rock]

I have my new hardtail and it came with a specialized Format saddle. I rode the bike around and found out that I needed to have a cut out. So I have been looking into that. I went back onto to the Specialized site and was thinking about the Specialized Ariel SL.

Then I spoke with my brother and he said everyone he knew on his team used the Terry saddles (butterfly). I have the Terry butterfly on my road bike. So my question are:

1- is it abnormal to use a road saddle on a Hardtail/mtn bike?

2- I thought all mtn bikes or equivalents used the MTB brand.

Is my thinking off here, or am I not in tune with what the rest of the world is using/thinking.

Thankyou for your help.

Ellen

[Irulan]

]

There is no "MTB" brand. That is an abbreviation for "mountain bike".
Are you thinking WTB (Wilderness Trail Bikes?)

I have four mountain bikes, and they all have specialized saddles on them. Two have the Avatar gel which is a unisex, not mtb or road specific saddle,
https://shop.sunrisecyclery.com/item/35655/

and the other two have the two different versions of the Ariel., a women's mtb saddle
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqP...=42066&eid=348

note that these come in different widths. The width of your sit bones, not the size of your butt, determine the saddle size. Specialized dealers will have a measuring device. Most riders do not want a cushy wide saddle. Too much cush can increase discomfort, and too wide means you can't maneuver your body properly.

[pinkbikes]

Hi Red Rock

I have two mountain bikes and a roadie. They all have different saddles.

The first mountain bike (the hardtail) came with a "WTB Speed She" saddle. I read a few reviews on MTBR qbout that seat and was quite worried I'd hate it, as lots of people seemed to. It doesn't have a cutout as such, but has a channel down the middle of it and a pronounced sag in the middle to protect the squishy bits. I have found this saddle quite good, and even bought another to put on my touring tandem, although with the different seating postion it is not quite so good. The tandem tilts me a little more forward due to a longer cockpit.

The second mountain bike (the dual suspension) came with the Specialized Ariel saddle with titanium rails. It has a small women's cutout and comes in a few widths, and also with cro-mo rails (I don't expect I'd be able to tell the difference!) When I first sat on it I thought "Hmmm - that's a bit hard!" but it is just fantastic and I like it even better than the WTB one. I am actually thinking about going and buying another Ariel to put on the hardtail.

My roadie came with a horrid Tioga seat with men's cutout. It was soft and felt great until about 20km and then felt like somebody had turned on a pain switch and it just killed me! I then bought the second WTB Speed She and put it on and it was OK but only when you were sitting up on the hoods. Eventually I got an inexpensive BBB road seat with a women's cutout for the roadie, which has been better but still not perfect. I have thought about talking to the bike fitter where I bought my second moutain bike about what Specialized road seat will give a similar fit to the Ariel for the roadie. And I might even just buy the Ariel for the roadie!

So in summary:

- The Specialized Ariel is terrific for me!
- The WTB Speed She was pretty good for me even though it had bad reviews!
- It is fine to put whatever seat you like on whatever bike you like. It's your butt that has to sit on it! And so it might look a bit funny while it's parked, but nobody can see what seat it is while your butt is on there riding the wheels off it!
- Just be aware that you may sit differently on different bikes (ie pelvis can tilt a bit differently in roadie vs mountain bike) so what is really comfy for you on one bike may not be comfy on a different bike with a different posture.

Good luck!

[emily_in_nc]

I have a Terry Butterfly on my Titus Racer X. Tried a WTB saddle with channel but needed a cutout and more width. I don't see a problem with using a "road" saddle on a mtb, at least for someone like myself who is not a "technical" mountain biker -- I ride fireroads and easy single/double track. I use "mountain" pedals on my roadie too -- whatever works!

[Red Rock]

Irulan- your correct the MTB is a typo, I meant the WTB brand.

Thankyou for all of your input here. I will stop by the Specialized store to see of they will let me demo an Ariel saddle or perhaps work something out with my current shop.

I will keep looking and thinking about what I want.

Red Rock

[smurfalicious]

I vote use what works for you. I bought a Fizik Vitesse when I assume they were very new. At the time it was still being marketed as unisex and for road. Coming from the terrible Titec saddle that my bike came with anything was better.

On my roadie I have a white/pink Fizik Vitesse and plan to get a black one for the old Sugar I have my eye on.

Working in the industry and being more intimately involved with every friggin part, eh hem, I have noticed that the big differences start to appear when you really get into specialized riding. Sliding off the back, grabbing the nose with your thighs, grabbing the nose with your hands for crazy dirt jumps tricks (my dream) is when it makes a difference. I rode and raced on that Vitesse and I feel it allowed me to be very dynamic on my bike.

I say if it works for your needs and it's comfortable go for it. No saddle that causes discomfort is worth it. I'm flabbergasted by those of you who can rock a cut out. Can't tell you how many times folks have tried to sell me those. I have uh, fluffy, girl parts and those seem to pinch my "junk" as it were.

BTW I hate WTB saddles. I think they have a lot of awesome designs, and I rode one I really liked, but that turned down nose grosses me out. It looks like a bird beak leaving my crotchel area and I just can't deal with that.

[Cataboo]

I use the ariel on my road bikes & have an avatar on my mountain bike. I like them better than the terry butterflies.

The only caution about using a roadie saddle on a mtb is that many mtb saddles have reinforced edges, because if you're actually mtb'ing, you're going to end up laying down the bike and the saddle will get torn up if not reinforced.