A lighter firmer saddle than Sella Italia Gel Flow?

[deskrider]

I used the "Ldy" Selle Italia Gel Flow for 7500 miles and I was getting really sore muscles and a tight back and then realized that sitting on that saddle made me feel like I was sinking in a hammock. I replaced it with the Diva (wide cutout) model and it felt soooo good to be on a flat top firm saddle. After the first 100 miles the trouble started with the Diva and as others have described I was sinking into or putting too much pressure on the cutout and got some pretty painful issues with the soft tissue. No sitbone issues, but wow, it was uncomfortable. Today I just put on a new Lady Gel Flow again, and almost instantly the soft tissue problems was gone, but now I'm back to feeling like this saddle is a bit squishy and I don't know how many miles it will take before I feel like I'm in a hammock again. I really want a lighter weight saddle, but I have no idea what my specific problem with the Diva was. Maybe it was too flat? (The gel flow is not a flat top), maybe the wide cutout was too much? Or maybe the slightly narrower Diva was a bit too narrow? How do I know what to try next? I don't want a heavy saddle--I want to lighten the bike too.

[Hi Ho Silver]

Have you tried the Selle Italia Diva Gel version without the cutout? It is a fairly flat top design, not squishy like the "Gel" part of the name would lead you to believe. It is the first and only saddle that I have felt comfortable riding.

[deskrider]

Have you tried the Selle Italia Diva Gel version without the cutout? It is a fairly flat top design, not squishy like the "Gel" part of the name would lead you to believe. It is the first and only saddle that I have felt comfortable riding.

My understanding is that the non-cutout version of the diva was discontinued. If you have information otherwise please share a link or part-number so I can look for it. Thanks!!!!

[jyyanks]

I literally just bought the Selle Italia Diva without the cutout. I bought it on ebay. It looks like this

http://www.highonbikes.com/selle-ita...at-saddle.html

[deskrider]

That looks good. If I don't buy it from a regular store, though, I guess I have no way to try and return. I'm still not sure if the cutout was 100% of my problem, or if it was compounded with more of a flat-top saddle. Any way to google this and find a store with it online? Or is it only an ebay thing now that Selle Italia no longer makes them.

[ehirsch83]

If you are going to look into one without the cutout also check out WTB's Deva- I love it and have been riding it for the past 3 or 4 years(i'm on my 3rd saddle now but killed one in a crash). I have the SLT with TI rails, which is lighter then the Pro.

http://www.wtb.com/products/saddles/racing/deva/