saddle hunting: have I got this about right?

[VeloVT]

funny, the first thing I thought when I read that you were sliding back was whether your saddle was positioned properly. If the nose is tilted down too much, this can cause "scooting back" (because you've actually been sliding forward). The wrong fore/aft position could cause this too -- if your saddle is too far back, for instance, you may find yourself scooting back because your natural inclination is too sit on the nose (this puts you in the right relationship to the bottom bracket), but it's uncomfortable... If the saddle is too far forward, you just always feel like you need to be further back... so that might be worth looking into...

I seem to be in a serious minority on TE, but I actually prefer pear shaped saddles (but narrow, 130/132 mm widths). Everyone is different... there are also factors other than width and nose/rear transition that affect comfort (and are personal). Some saddles are very flat from tip to tail, while others have a pronounced curve (think Fizik Aliante, or a lot of the Bontrager saddles). Some saddles are convex from side to side in the rear, while others are not at all. These two elements of shape make a big difference to me in whether a saddle is comfortable (I like flat/convex -- but lots of people like more contouring from tip to tail, or get tailbone pain if a saddle is too convex from side to side).