Searching for a saddle - what to try next?

[Krysta]

I have endured my Ruby saddle for a year now and can no longer tolerate it.(born too suffer..) Pubic bone pain, only on the left, which now is affecting my pedal stoke. It's the first women's saddle I've used in 25 years and don't think I'll use another. What other saddles are people riding with comfort.
Thanks,
Krysta

[KnottedYet]

I have endured my Ruby saddle for a year now and can no longer tolerate it.(born too suffer..) Pubic bone pain, only on the left, which now is affecting my pedal stoke. It's the first women's saddle I've used in 25 years and don't think I'll use another. What other saddles are people riding with comfort.
Thanks,
Krysta

Measure your sit bones first.

Just like measuring your feet before trying on shoes, you need to know your sit bones so you know what width of saddles to start with.

T or Wedge?

If you have chafing on the lower "panty-line" where your butt meets your thigh, the transition on a saddle is too gradual for the angle of your hip joints (too wedge shaped viewed from above) and is wolloping your leg as it moves when you pedal.

Cut out or No?

Do you prefer saddles with a cut out? Wide cut-out or narrow? Short or long?

Padded or firm?

Some folks don't like padding because it jams up and chafes and causes pressure and numbness. Some folks can't stand firm saddles because it's too hard on their sit bones.

I guarantee, if you can give just a couple of these pieces of information and an idea of the kind of riding you do most, there will soon be several people with the perfect saddle who will chime in to help you!

[ny biker]

I have endured my Ruby saddle for a year now and can no longer tolerate it.(born too suffer..) Pubic bone pain, only on the left, which now is affecting my pedal stoke. It's the first women's saddle I've used in 25 years and don't think I'll use another. What other saddles are people riding with comfort.
Thanks,
Krysta

Pain on one side can mean the saddle is crooked. Make sure the nose is centered correctly.

[TrekTheKaty]

Pain on one side can mean the saddle is crooked. Make sure the nose is centered correctly.

NY Biker, you are a plethora of info. I just test rode a bike, and this was probably the problem. I would have ripped that puppy off of there and started over with a different saddle!

Moving around on the saddle isn't necessarily a bad thing, is it? I find I do it a lot at the beginning of the season, and less as my core muscles strengthen as the summer goes on.

Have you tried a Brooks? I find mine very forgiving.

[KnottedYet]

Pain on one side can mean the saddle is crooked. Make sure the nose is centered correctly.

It can also mean the saddle is too narrow and the rider has shifted to the side so one half the pelvis is supported. I did that on a borrowed bike (narrow saddle) and it really sucked.

[ny biker]

NY Biker, you are a plethora of info. I just test rode a bike, and this was probably the problem. I would have ripped that puppy off of there and started over with a different saddle!

I only know this because it recently happened to me! I emailed the fit guy at the LBS to ask if he had any suggestions, and he replied that the nose might be crooked, and he was right.

[Krysta]

Measure your sit bones first.

Just like measuring your feet before trying on shoes, you need to know your sit bones so you know what width of saddles to start with.

T or Wedge?

If you have chafing on the lower "panty-line" where your butt meets your thigh, the transition on a saddle is too gradual for the angle of your hip joints (too wedge shaped viewed from above) and is wolloping your leg as it moves when you pedal.

Cut out or No?

Do you prefer saddles with a cut out? Wide cut-out or narrow? Short or long?

Padded or firm?

Some folks don't like padding because it jams up and chafes and causes pressure and numbness. Some folks can't stand firm saddles because it's too hard on their sit bones.

I guarantee, if you can give just a couple of these pieces of information and an idea of the kind of riding you do most, there will soon be several people with the perfect saddle who will chime in to help you!

Thanks for the help on my Ruby issue. I was sized for a 143 Ruby. Previously, I have used a Selle Italia prolink, cut out, 144x 282. But my shorts would get caught on the nose when standing. It is way more padded than the Ruby, but I haven't noticed the less padding on the Ruby to be an issue. The nose is level; I do tend to move around a lot while riding, but mostly because I'm not comfortable. The pressure and brusing is on my medial ramus, if you follow your ishial tub all the way up, staying medial, that is where the pressure is. Girlie bits are ok, right side is happy. In the past, I have created two bilateral stress fractures on my pubic bones from riding and need to prevent this from reoccuring. I have a getto booty and generous gams which always rub against my saddle. (ruins my shorts) And no hips.
The 155 Ruby looks really wide compared to my previous saddle.(my gal pal uses that one). The idea of measuring your sit bones, I find very hit and miss. They are assuming you will maintain that posture while riding. I get sloppy when tired and feel my sit bones flex forward. Maybe I should have kept up with my pilates classes...
Thanks again for your help,

[bluebug32]

I find that women's saddles are too wide for me. My sit bones fall between 143 and 155. I loved my men's taupe saddle and rode it for a year a half. Then my bike fitter pointed out that I was sitting way off the back of it. I just switched to a Specialized Romin saddle. It tips the pelvis further forward, which seems to help with the IT band pain I was having.