Sitbones measured

[bismarckgimpy]

I went to the bike shop and had my sitbones measured. I had a hard time doing the at-home method. There may be too much cushion there. So I sat on the squishy gel for a minute. The sales rep took two ball bearings and let them fall on the lower part of the indentation. He took a ruler and measured where the bearings sat. It came to 145 mm. I just wore regular cotton shorts.

The manager mentioned that the Terry Butterfly saddle I have may be too stiff. He said the Surly LHT is steel, but it is a rigid steel. He said that I may be just feeling the bumps too much with my 700 x 32 Continental tires and stiff saddle. He suggested the Terry Liberator. He has a LHT and a Brooks saddle. He said Brooks make good saddles, but it is a long-term commitment.

The store is an authorized Specialized dealer. I did try the Specialized Ariel 143mm seat. It seemed a bit narrow, but it wasn't as rigid as the Terry. I do feel the manager wants the me to have the best saddle and not just sell me the Specialized brand.

Mostly I do one-hour rides with two to three hour rides on weekends. I would like to do a supported two-day tour in September.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

[KnottedYet]

145 mm is your center-to-center measurement. Some folks call that their "inside" measurement.

Center-to-center is important for contoured and padded saddles. You want the center of the saddle "cheeks" or dome to be 145 mm apart, otherwise your bones are missing the carefully engineered sit bone landing spot designed into the saddle.

145 mm + 20-30mm is probably your outside-to-outside. This is important for padded and contoured saddles because you definitely do NOT want the saddle to be LESS than your outside, and you might want a cm or two extra on the saddle, depending on how active a rider you are. If you tend to sit down and not move even a smidgen, then the extra wiggle room doesn't matter. But if you shift to change position and center of gravity for corners and hills and to increase power to pass folks, you will want a little leeway. (you don't want your bones to miss the saddle!)

Your outside measurement is also vital for suspended leather saddles (Brooks, Velo Orange, Selle An Atomica, etc.) Your outside measurement must fit within the width of the saddle MINUS the left and right widths of the cantle plate. Otherwise you land your bones onto the metal rather than onto the suspended leather. (for example, in all likelihood you would hit metal on a Brooks B17, but would be fine and dandy on a B67, B66, B68, B18, or B72 or similar)

I do not find my Surly steel to be any less forgiving than any of my other 3 steel bikes. It is butted steel. Not sure what the LBS guy is talking about, but different people feel different things. (for example I can feel road buzz on aluminum bikes, other people don't) If YOU find your bike to be rigid, then get a B67 if you want a leather saddle.

32mm tires are quite wide enough to absorb a lot of bumps. Not sure why he thinks you need wider tires or a more padded softer saddle. I ride 23 and 25 mm tires on one of my steel bikes, and that is the bike with the unsprung B68 leather saddle. No problem.

Yes, it can take a couple weeks to break in a Brooks. They last 30 to 40 years if you remember to rub proof hide on them every few months.

www.wallbike.com gives 6 months free trial on all Brooks saddles. You mentioned interest in a Brooks in another thread. If you don't find the Specialized dealer gets you a Specialized or Terry saddle that works, I'd suggest trying a Brooks through Bill at Wallingford Bicycle Parts (aka "Wallbike")

[OakLeaf]

145 mm is your center-to-center measurement. Some folks call that their "inside" measurement.

Well now I'm confused! I thought inside meant the opposite of outside. My c-c (deepest point, not necessarily the midpoint) is more like 125...

[KnottedYet]

Someone posted a great picture of her current saddle, with pennies marking where her sit bones land.

The pennies were on the very outside edges of the saddle, completely missing the carefully engineered contact points of the saddle.

I'm sorry, but I can't find it now.

It was a great photo, showing how important it is to know what to do with the c-to-c info about your sitz and the saddle. Hopefully someone else will be able to find it, and will post a link?

Knot-the-computer-illiterate

[OakLeaf]

Voilà.


And for myself, I know I understand where I need to be (which is why I correctly chose a 155 even though what I've posted as my "inside" is 80) - but don't you need to know the actual inside measurement if the saddle has a cut-out or channel that extends that far back? You wouldn't want them falling into the moat, either.

[KnottedYet]

Oak, darling! You are my hero!!!

[trista]

Hee hee. The falling in the moat issue seems to get left out of the conversation a lot. I fall into the moat on the SI Diva with cutout. And it hurt!

I have noticed that too - it seems like that part of the equation is an important one but gets left off. When I got into position on the Butterfly I found that my inner crotch bones, as I will scientifically call them (pubic rami maybe?), hit directly ON the edges of the cutout. OUUUUUcccchhhhh. It seems like, with road biking anyway, the inside part of the equation is just about as important as the outside (the sitbones), but the only measuring that is done is of the sitbones. It confuses me.

[sarahspins]

The manager mentioned that the Terry Butterfly saddle I have may be too stiff.

This is unlikely.. honestly.. I think a majority of your problems come from the saddle not being wide enough for you. It's only 155mm across at the widest point, but when you consider the outside slope of the saddle, it's probably not enough.. when I tried a similar saddle (SI Lady Gelflow) I could literally feel my sit bones hanging OVER the edges of the saddle... it was not good.

I ride an unsprung brooks and it's not "too stiff" at all.. if your sit bones are properly supported you don't need padding.. squishy can actually contribute to soreness on longer rides too.

[bismarckgimpy]

Thanks everyone for the help. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, KnottedYet. It's hard to find a saddle that is over 7" wide. I checked Koobi, Selle, Specialized, Bontragger, Brooks, Terry, WTB, Serfas, Avocet, and Fizik. Brooks, Bontragger and Serfas are the only ones that had saddles over 7". Some companies carry the indoor exercise bike saddle, but I didn't consider those.

The Bontragger and Serfas look a little too soft. So after much consideration, I think the B68 is the way to go. I am leaning towards the unsprung. Also, I need to figure out if I want the cutout or not.

Appreciate any other thoughts and comments.