saddle issue - but only during tri

[Brina]

Do I just suck it up?

I have a specialized saddle. It came with the Ruby, not sure of its name. I know that Caligirl loves it - I saw her post about it when I was searching for reviews of the Ruby (mine is the comp, hers is the pro, but she likes the saddle that comes on my bike better). Overall, I am happy with this saddle. I have used it for training rides whle wearing my Shebeest SSS shorts and never felt uncomfortable. However, when wearing trishorts it is hell on my girly bits. Is it worth going through saddle shopping hell just for races? Do I just suck it up during races?

What do you ladies think?

[Artisan]

I don't do tri's but I'll share my opinion. If you have sufficient time to test out new saddles, I would say a most definite YES! I had a 40k time trail that I did in the aero position and thought I was going to die. It effected my time because I was trying to stay off my seat most of the time. I forced myself to finish the race but my time was horrible.

Edited to correctly say...No, don't suck it up...YES, look for a new saddle.

[Lise]

Yep, I'd say look for a new saddle. If you want to keep doing tris, you're going to train for tris, and that means training in the way you race. Which means pain with this saddle.

I'm in the same boat, but about three saddles later. Still haven't found what I'm looking for...and the search goes on. The Terry Fly was OK when I'm not in the aerobars, but I was sore for a week after the tri. I'm willing to angle it down a bit and try again on a long ride when I can go aero, but I'm also willing to return it to the LBS and keep hunting. SK's LBS recommended one that I'd probably try next.