selle san marco vs. selle italia

[kgorrell]

I received a lot of helpful information regarding saddle issues/problems a few months ago and so I thought I would ask for advice again on this issue.

I purchased a specialized saddle and because of their saddle swap program tried out 6 or 7 saddles until I found one that worked "ok". What I mean by "ok" is that it wasn't as bad as the rest of them and I was so tired of the entire process of switching saddles that I basically settled on the one I have now which is the specialized lithia. It isn't painful, like some of the ones I tried, but I still believe there has to be something out there that is more comfortable. The uncomfortability is on my sit bones (it feels like they are bruising if that makes any sense). So, I have been riding the lithia for several months now and feel like I might have the energy to give this saddle buying process another shot because I'm not content on settling.

I have read ALL of the threads dealing with saddles (which were very helpful) and seem to be leaning towards either a san marco or selle italia saddle (as far as the brand goes). The demo program that selle italia has seems like it might be worth a shot to test out what their saddles are like. Anyway, does anyone have any feedback on these brands (or others, I am open to suggestions). I know everyone is different but maybe someone has more experience buying/riding different saddles and can offer some guidance. If not, it was worth putting it out there. By the way, the measurement I took on the specialized test indicated I am a 143 if that makes any difference.

Thanks,

Katharine

[Misandal]

Katharine,

I'm all over the saddle threads, praising the Selle San Marco Aspide Glamour. That is definitely my saddle of choice, after much trial and error.

That being said, I don't personally have any experience with the Selle Italia. But there was one other woman on my Blue Ridge Parkway Tour and she rode the Selle Italia Lady. I asked her after a couple days of riding if she still liked her saddle and she said yeah, it was doing well for her. (And these were long days!) You might try that one first, over the Aspide Glamour, if you need a little more padding for your sit bones. The Glamour is pretty firm, and the Lady appeared to be more padded at the rear. Also, do you know if you prefer a cutout? The Glamour does not have one; the Lady does.

I hope that helps! There are just so many choices. But we were 5 days in the saddle and she and I were both still pretty comfortable. A lot of the men could not say the same!

Missy

[Tokie]

Katharine - I am about to send back my demo saddles at the end of the week. It was a very cool thing to have the saddles at home and compare them to what I have already that I do and don't like.My current saddle is the Selle Italia "Lady Sport gel flow" which I have always liked except that it flares at the back too soon and hits my thigh under my butt when I pedal. I have have the Selle Italia "Lady gel flow" - I like it less, it is a bit wider than the Lady Sport. When I got them home, I saw that the Diva saddles(w and w/out cutout) were a bit wider than both Lady saddles, the SLK was too narrow and firm, and ahhhh- for me the Lady SLR gel flow was just right. A bit narrower than the other "lady" saddles, with a narrower nose and later flare. It is firmer too, but not as firm as the SLK. And it has good flex, which compensates a bit for the firmness. They didn't have it in white, which would match my bike though , but I'll live! It's covered by my butt most of the time anyway! good luck! Tokie

[Andrea]

I've tried the SSM Glamour Aspide, and it ended up being too flexible, and the channel was not quite deep enough for sufficient soft tissue relief. I've got an SLR lady gelflow on the way to my house right now. I'll let you know how it works!

[kgorrell]

Thank you for the information you all have provided. It has been really helpful.

Tokie, so you had a good experience with the demo program through Pro Net Inc.? Do I just call that number you provided in an earlier posting? Did you think 10 days was long enough (10 days right?) to try out the saddles? I'm most likely going to do that because I think that will be the best way to get an idea of whether I will like selle italia saddles.

Thanks again for the information and Andrea, definitely let me know how the SLR lady gelflow works for you after you get a chance to try it out.

Katharine

[kgorrell]

Tokie, do you know what your sit bones measurement is (143, etc.?)