Pooks, when you get your road bike, you should try riding with the saddle it comes with first. If after putting some long distance on the saddle you suffer from chafing or pain, then switch the saddle. I am saying this because you haven't put any distance on the saddle you have now. By distance, I mean rides that last 3 hours or longer. How a saddle feels for you will be completely different once you start going on longer rides. A saddle might feel great for a 10-20 mile ride, but start doing several 50-mile rides close together and the saddle might turn out to be quite painful for you to ride.

You can get just as much conflicting information on TE as you do by going to different bike shops. It is because cyclists are going to tell you what works for them, or what works for the cyclists they know. It doesn't mean that any of it will be valid for you and your cycling style. The cyclists on TE are varied, from those who don't cycle too much to long distance riders to avid racers, all with different cycling styles and histories.

You need to sift through all of the information, from the TE site and from the bike shops, and figure out what is best for yourself. Just because it is stated on TE, or by an LBS, doesn't mean the information is going to be something you should contemplate on doing.

My advice is to find an LBS, one you can learn to trust, and stick with that specific LBS. The people inside the LBS will get to know you and your cycling style, and they are best suited to help you when you have questions about fit and such. My LBS is a treasure and has been in business for over 30 years. I purchased my bike through the LBS; he was able to order it for me, and then get it adjusted for a final perfect fit. I put lots of miles on this bike every week, happy, comfortable wonderful miles, all because my LBS is there for me.

Oh, and I am using the original saddle that came with the bike, even though I've put in 1500 miles on the bike this year. The problems I've encountered didn't have anything to do with the bike or the saddle because it was the shorts that got too big, or learning to adjust my calories as I increased my miles, or figuring out that it is best for me to stop and relax off the bike maybe once an hour - that type of thing.

Darcy