Wide saddles besides Brooks?

[turbohappy]

Hi everyone! I am a new rider and just cannot find a saddle that I am comfortable with. My sit bones were recently measured at 170mm, unfortunately the widest Specialized seat (besides the comfort seat) was a 175mm and it just isn't wide enough. I liked the style (Sonoma Gel), but it is just too narrow, weight is carried inside of my sit bones. I tried out a Brooks and I really cannot understand how that is supposed to be comfortable! I am having a hard time finding something wide enough besides the comfort seats and they are too wide at the nose for any sort of aggressive seating position (MTB by the way). Help!

[Thorn]

A B68 Brooks? What about it didn't you like?

Being of the big pelvis variety and being vegetarian I tried very hard to find a wide saddle besides the leather Brooks. In the end, I bought the Brooks. All of my bikes are outfitted with a B68 with a cut-out (added by Selle-Anatomica).

I rode a Selle SMP Lady Strike for quite a while. It was almost wide enough, but the Strike variations are heavily padded. They were only good for about 50-60 miles and then foam fatigue set in.

The Terry Rosie is wider and REI sells a Respiro saddle that is really wide. Needless to say I wasn't impressed with either.

The problem in the market is that saddle manufacturers think wide means fluffy. You can find wide saddles, but to find a wide saddle without thick padding....

[KnottedYet]

Which Brooks did you try?

Did you level the nose, or the entire saddle? People will often level the entire saddle, which leads to a very uncomfortable experience. (the cantle should start off higher than the nose, and the nose itself should be level) Because Brooks are thick leather it can take a couple hundred miles to soften and begin forming to your butt, which is why places who know the saddles like www.wallbike.com have such loooooooong free trial periods.

I had a Serfas Niva once that was just wide enough for me. It was a bit too padded and too pear shaped for my happiness. It had a cut-out, and so the nose was fairly wide, but not horrible. Maybe you can look for one of them?

[turbohappy]

I tried a B67 at a store. It felt like sitting on concrete I'm a pretty new rider, not doing 50 miles yet by any means, but all the "comfort" seats chafe my legs, not good at all.

[Biciclista]

you might go try that concrete saddle again.

[turbohappy]

Hmmm. I've been reading that they take a while to wear in and then they get comfortable, would be nice to be able to try one already pre-worn I'm not doing 50-milers yet, at about 5 miles I start getting a lot of pain so I haven't made it past 8-10 miles. If that is my only real option maybe I am going to have to find a way to love it. It's crazy to me that there would only be 1 seat available for those of us with wider sit bones.

[sarahspins]

I tried a B67 at a store. It felt like sitting on concrete

Everyone fits a brooks slightly differently, and it's possible that the one in the store was just not set up the way you need it... the tilt of the seat matters a LOT in terms of comfort. When set up right, the saddle should virtually disappear underneath you. When it's not right, you'll be constantly aware of slipping fore/aft on the seat, and it's not comfortable at all.

If you wear bike shorts, that can help some with the "concrete"... though be careful, too much padding can be a bad thing.

I was a Brooks skeptic until I had actually TRIED one.. then I loved it instantly! I was intimidated by not only the lack of padding, but the price tag too... however, if you order from somewhere like wallbike you're covered if you don't like it. The 6 month return period is generous, and odds are good that you'll know within a week or two if you'll really like it or not.

My brooks have been comfortable from day one.. I am trying an Imperial out right now to see if that is any different for me, but I wasn't unhappy with my non-cutout seats, more curious about what I was missing

[Dannielle]

If a dark brown saddle is ok with you, the Brooks pre-aged saddles are softer than the non-pre-aged right out of the box and break in pretty darn fast.

I have a Brooks B66 in the pre-aged. I picked it because the color matched my bike. I'm glad I did because it has broken in really fast.

My daughter is working on breaking in her new Brooks saddle. Hers is black and it was much harder out of the box and seems like it's going to take a lot longer to start forming to her shape than mine did.

Mine already has divots for my sit bones with less than 100 miles on it.