Roadwork: Trek x or Trek y??

[KnottedYet]

Somewhere is a thread (Maybe in "Favorite Saddles"?) that describes how to measure your sit bones.

There are lots of cool ways to do it, and some really creative ones using things like plasticine clay between layers of waxed paper.

I put a piece of typing paper on the seat of my lightly-padded kitchen chair. Sat on the paper, and put my hands under my butt. Felt for the sit bones, and moved my fingers to the outer edges of each bone where it was sitting on the paper (they do angle a bit, so try to measure the part you feel most comfortable sitting on). Marked the paper there with my fingernails. Measured the distance between the marks.

I did that a few times, and averaged out my meausrements. I got 170-180mm. Added a cm or two to each end (so I don't sit on the edge of the saddle and to give me some wiggleroom to shift position for hills etc) and came up with a minimum saddle width of 190-200cm.

The saddle I fell in love with is slightly wider than that, and suits me so well that I bought a second one for my other bike, too.

One of the next saddle decisions is pear-shaped top or "T" shaped top. If you are getting chafing at the lower panty-line zone (like the fold where your buttock meets your thigh) you might want a saddle more "T" shaped than your current one.

Then there's length of nose. I like long noses to help me control the bike.

Narrow nose or wide nose? (I like narrow ones)

Padding or not? Lots or a little? (no padding for me, it irritates me)

Soft-tissue groove or cutout? (not for me since the saddle isn't padded and I sit back on the sitbones most of the time anyway.)

Color? (I have black on my black bike and honey on my gold bike) Color is, of course, very important. But not as important as comfort!

[Starfish]

One of the next saddle decisions is pear-shaped top or "T" shaped top. If you are getting chafing at the lower panty-line zone (like the fold where your buttock meets your thigh) you might want a saddle more "T" shaped than your current one.

Slight Hijack...Knot feel free to answer in another thread if appropriate. This is me. I love my Specialized Jett, except that there is just too much of it right in the area you describe.

I am having a hard time finding saddles to look at that are good performance saddes that are truly a T shape. Do you have a line on a few models?

The 155 width seems good for my bones, but the mid-saddle width is too much!

[KnottedYet]

I don't know of any that are only 155 mm wide. (cuz my sits are wider than that and I've only investigated ones that would fit me.)

The ones I like are the Brooks B66, B67, B68, and B72. They are very sharp "T"s, and legs slip nicely on the sleek leather so I've not had any chafing yet.

Some folks might not consider Brooks to be performance saddles, but you sure do see a lot of serious cyclists here in the Seattle area who have Brooks.

Maybe take a look at the Wallingford site www.wallbike.com and compare the tops of the narrower racy saddles to the saddle you have now? I know a few women who really like the B17 and the lighter racy versions of it, but I've never ridden one.

(about the only saddles I really investigated are Brooks, sorry, I've got limited knowlege!)