recommended saddle for hybrid?

[momof4greatkids]

This is my first post, but I've been lurking for a while! I really appreciate any advice you can offer me.

I am riding a Trek 7.5fx hybrid, with about 500 miles of riding in the past 6 weeks. I'm loving everything but the saddle. Mainly the discomfort is up front on the soft tissue.

Does anyone have a suggestion for the better saddle for a hybrid? My position on the bike is definitely not upright, but bent forward. It's that forward bend that causes the pressure on the front parts. It feels like I am not sitting on my sit bones, but with the slightly bent riding position, I am on the soft tissue in the front.........definitely a problem after about 20 miles, I am beginning to get quite miserable! I do wear padded shorts (commando).

I was thinking about a Selle lookin 3-d womans saddle. It is wider in the back and shorter in the front.

I see the Selle SMP strike has some pretty good reviews, but I don't know if this would be the right type of saddle for a hybrid?

Thank you in advance.

Colleen

[KnottedYet]

Have you checked the angle of the seat you have now? Is it level? You could try tipping the nose down very slightly and see if that helps. Too much downward tilt will make you weightbear on your hands, and you'll know right away if it's too much!

On my hybrid I had a B67 by Brooks. http://www.wallbike.com/B67.html

When I got a road bike I moved that seat to my road bike. Now, going to a Brooks is a whole new kettle of fish, so I'd recommend reading the Brooks thread before you buy one. (its a long thread, but has a lot of info that will help you no matter what brand of saddle you end up buying)

Saddles are incredibly individual: you've got width, length, "pear" vs. "T", padding (or no padding), plastic, leather, and so on.

Playing around with the fore/aft placement, height, and tilt of your current saddle can help you learn a lot about what your body wants on the bike. Also measure your sit bones. (for example, I have 180mm outside sitbone measurement, which tells me right away that a sexy 160mm Fizik saddle is NOT gonna work for me!) All that will give you info to help you choose a new saddle when you need one.

[momof4greatkids]

Have you checked the angle of the seat you have now? Is it level? You could try tipping the nose down very slightly and see if that helps. Too much downward tilt will make you weightbear on your hands, and you'll know right away if it's too much!

.

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I had the seat tilted downward, and I came upon a seasoned roadie who told me it was probably tilted forward too much. I didn't feel much pressure on my hands, though. But just yesterday I changed the position and made it almost level. I'll see how that goes on my next ride. Probably not today, unfortunately, as work and life are interfering w/my leisure pursuits.

[/QUOTE]
On my hybrid I had a B67 by Brooks. http://www.wallbike.com/B67.html

When I got a road bike I moved that seat to my road bike. Now, going to a Brooks is a whole new kettle of fish, so I'd recommend reading the Brooks thread before you buy one. (its a long thread, but has a lot of info that will help you no matter what brand of saddle you end up buying)

Saddles are incredibly individual: you've got width, length, "pear" vs. "T", padding (or no padding), plastic, leather, and so on.

Playing around with the fore/aft placement, height, and tilt of your current saddle can help you learn a lot about what your body wants on the bike. Also measure your sit bones. (for example, I have 180mm outside sitbone measurement, which tells me right away that a sexy 160mm Fizik saddle is NOT gonna work for me!) All that will give you info to help you choose a new saddle when you need one[/QUOTE]

duly noted, thanks again for the info. I will review the Brooks thread, and go from there.

Colleen

[emily_in_nc]

I will review the Brooks thread, and go from there.

See you in a month or so!

(The Brooks thread is quite lengthy...)

[momof4greatkids]

See you in a month or so!

(The Brooks thread is quite lengthy...)

You're not kidding! I started at the beginning (seems a good place to start :-) ) and I'm working my way through and taking notes.

I'm completely flummoxed regarding "sprung" and "unsprung", though.

I ride for fitness, I'm surely not making any speed records, but I like to go long, so far as long as 42 miles and I want to get better. I see myself completing a century next year. Maybe doing some touring. What difference do the springs make? I'm thinking springs=comfort, but on a vain note, I don't want to look like I'm riding my grandmother's bicycle!!



Colleen

[Grog]

You can have any saddle on a hybrid, even a triathlon saddle if it strikes your fancy (although I doubt it would be comfortable!!). [SOAPBOX]I have always thought the enormous saddles they put on these bikes are absolute nonsense, but a bike shop owner/friend of the family told me that clients are looking for that so companies put them up... Anyways... [/SOAPBOX]

This being said, try different things, read the Favorite/Least Favorite Saddles threads and try out different saddles.

Your hips should indeed be tilted to have you leaning forward a little bit. However, most of the weight should still be on your sitbones. Maybe the saddle is slightly tilted up (higher at the nose)? You definitely would want to put it level (look at it for a minute, you'll easily figure out how to do that with some simple tools).

Good luck!

[mimitabby]

I agree with Grog, those saddles they put on those bikes are disgusting!
OW OW OW OW.

I ride a brooks too. I have one on my hybrid, i have one on my road bike
and i have 2 on my tandem yep, my husband's a convert too.
he has one on each of his road bikes!

[xeney]

I agree that a Brooks could work well on a hybrid, but I also liked the Terry Liberator on my hybrid, and they can be had for much less money than a Brooks. Performance sometimes has them on sale for under $40.

[recycle613]

My best hybrid (less than bolt upright, but not bent 45 degrees forward, either) saddle is Brooks B17. I like their regular model because I feel the longer nose makes for a little more give in the soft tissue region. The width is perfect for me. YMMV. I got the 2 x 4 feeling from my Terry Liberator until I rode it in a more aggressive position forward (go figure that). I love it on my fixie with bull horns, but not on a hybrid.

Saddles are really hard to get right. Try to find somewhere to work with that has a nice return policy. 30 days, no questions asked, or something like that. That way you can really ride the saddle a bunch of times if necessary to decide. Also, take rides with your Allen wrench in your pocket so you can tweak, tweak, tweak the set-up ... the perfect saddle might be just 1/16" from absolute misery. Or, so I've found.

Best of luck!

[momof4greatkids]

My best hybrid (less than bolt upright, but not bent 45 degrees forward, either) saddle is Brooks B17. I like their regular model because I feel the longer nose makes for a little more give in the soft tissue region. The width is perfect for me. YMMV. I got the 2 x 4 feeling from my Terry Liberator until I rode it in a more aggressive position forward (go figure that). I love it on my fixie with bull horns, but not on a hybrid.

Saddles are really hard to get right. Try to find somewhere to work with that has a nice return policy. 30 days, no questions asked, or something like that. That way you can really ride the saddle a bunch of times if necessary to decide. Also, take rides with your Allen wrench in your pocket so you can tweak, tweak, tweak the set-up ... the perfect saddle might be just 1/16" from absolute misery. Or, so I've found.

Best of luck!

I hope you re-visit this thread because I want to pick your brain as to why you chose the regular b-17, not the women's model.

Understanding that this is a highly individualized and subjective choice, BUT, can you tell me why you prefer the standard B-17, as opposed to the woman's version? I know the woman's is wider, and shorter. But in my limited experience, it seems like biking items that are specific to women are made w/smaller women in mind. And I definitely don't fit that description, I am 5'8" and a hundred and plenty pounds.

But OTOH, realizing the benefit of a wider saddle to accomodate my womanly anatomical differences in that "region", I feel inclined to choose the woman's saddle.

So, I am in a quandry, and I've read the Brooks thread here, and several at bikeforum.net.

One thing that is nudging me to the standard B-17 is that wallbikes has that one in stock in black, and has only the honey colored in the woman's model. They don't know when they will get more black woman's B-17s saddles, either.


Colleen