Best saddle for sore sit bones?

[La_Cycliste]

Yes.... yet another saddle thread...

A few weeks ago, I bought my first real road bike, a 2013 Specialized Ruby Sport, moving up from my clunky Schwinn hybrid (which I kept for in-town trips). After having my sit bones measured, I traded the original 143mm Specialized Lithia Gel saddle for the 155mm model. I absolutely love the bike and feel very comfortable -- except for the inside of my sit bones. The pain (ouch!!) appears to be from pressure on the saddle and not from chafing -- no skin issues at all. I can feel the pain in my sit bones when I sit on a hard wooden chair. (My girl bits are just fine, thank you very much.)

I was hoping I just needed to toughen up and strengthen my core, but it doesn't seem to be getting better. I have tried shorts with different chamois thicknesses and adjusting the saddle position, but nothing seems to make a difference. The pain is really affecting my riding.

After reading lots of advice on this and other forums, I'm considering trying the Terry Butterfly saddle. I will probably have to order it, so should I try the original Butterfly or get the gel saddle? What is the difference in feel? Is the Butterfly really going to be different than the Specialized Lithia Gel saddle? Any others you would recommend for this issue?

Thank you for your help!

Sore Sit Bones is Sacramento

[TigerMom]

Personally, I would not buy another saddle at the moment. It took me 1 month of riding my bike 3 times/week before my sit bones stopped hurting. You are very lucky to have found saddles that don't hurt your girl bits...because that is a more difficult problem to find the right saddle for.

So far, for sit bone pain, I like the Century Shorts for women by aerotechdesigns.

I guess my point is that I would only start looking for another saddle if your sit bones still hurt after 1 month of frequent riding. Take some Motrin in the meantime???
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2012 Specialized Amira Elite, upgraded carbon handle bars, Jett saddle 143mm switched to 145mm 2012 Selle Italia Max SLR Gel Flow saddle
2010 Santa Cruz Juliana with R kit and Crampon pedals
2011 Specialized Ariel Sport,suspension post,Serfas Rx Women's Microfiber saddle (sold)

[tulip]

I agree with TigerMom. A few weeks is not enough time to toughen up your sit bones. If it wasn't your sitbones, I'd be more concerned. How many times have you ridden since you have had the bike?

[Owlie]

How often are you riding? It does take time to develop your "butt calluses." Frequent short rides are better than occasional long rides.

[indysteel]

I've also had some sit bone soreness when my saddles wasn't at the right height. Have you had a bike fitting? Is it possible that your saddle is a tad high? Do you feel your hips rocking at all as you pedal?

[La_Cycliste]

Thanks, all! I signed up for a fitting this week. I was riding 15-25 miles almost every day until the rain came last week. The few days off seemed to help a bit - I rode 30 miles on Friday and Saturday and, although I was still a bit sore, my sit bones seemed much better. The pain is actually on the inside forward part of my sit bones... I'm wondering if the channel on the Lithia saddle is too wide (my sit bones measure about 135mm on center). I will also look into the Century Shorts.

I have adjusted the height and tilt. I'm definitely not rocking, so I don't think the saddle is too high. We'll see what the fitter says...

In other news, I had my first fall in my clipless pedals! Scraped up my knee really bad and seriously bruised my ego, but otherwise me and the bike are just fine.