measuring sit bones

[velogirl]

I don't think Specialized is recommending you fit on a saddle narrower than your sit bones. You'll note, the top right of the scale indicates "and wider."

I honestly have never measured a woman who had sit bones wider than 160mm. Most have been in the 130-140mm range.

And yes, these are only guidelines. For example, Specialized would fit me on a 143mm saddle. I've been riding a 130mm saddle since 2004. I like it. When I tried the 143mm saddle I ended up with saddle sores.

The fit process doesn't end when someone leaves my office. I guarantee my fit so if someone isn't happy with their fit or satisfied with their saddle, I will see them again until I can make them happy. And in all the years I've been performing fit, I've only ever needed to see someone again twice.

BTW, I've only been demo-ing Specialized saddles for a year but I've been performing bike fit for the past six years.

Now Knotted, tell me more about pelvic rehab. I sit firmly on my soft tissue (not my sit bones) and have been since I started riding about 10 years ago. I've noticed no negative issues.......what should I be looking for?

[KnottedYet]

If you are comfy on your soft tissues it's likely you are on the rami, which is exactly what the new saddles I saw are designed for. They are curved (top surface) to match the "ideal" rami angle for each sitbone width. (in their case, the sitbone width is only used as an indicator of rami angle)

The guy didn't have their widest new saddle for me to try, to see if it did match my rami angle, darn. (my rami are going to have a VERY shallow angle) It isn't in production yet.

There are an awful lot of important muscle attachments and nerves and blood vessels running around in the rami's neighborhood. If the seat top curve doesn't match the rami right, someone will be weightbearing on just a portion of the rami (not the whole thing, just a small contact point) and battering that point and yanking on the soft stuff. Or if it's completely off, they will be off the rami and into the tender goodies or even the pubic bone.

This weekend I rode a borrowed bike with a different brand women's saddle, which was way too narrow. I was definitely weightbearing on the rami, mostly on just one little spot. I'm a hurtin', and it was only a 10 mile ride. If someone tried one of the newer saddles and didn't know what it should feel like (comfy, like you are VG) I would worry about things like pudendal nerve entrapment and blood flow.

The guy was demo-ing with a female pelvis model and a sample of the 146mm saddle, and I was cringing at the thought of damage to those of us who don't match the statistics.

I was impressed that saddle designers are finally getting away from the oat-bran trendiness of over padded saddles and cut outs for women.

[OakLeaf]

I was impressed that saddle designers are finally getting away from the oat-bran trendiness of over padded saddles and cut outs for women.

Do you think that cutouts are always inappropriate? Or just for some women? (I have a hard time picturing where I'd put my very large, um, parts on a saddle without a cutout.)

[KnottedYet]

Do you think that cutouts are always inappropriate? Or just for some women? (I have a hard time picturing where I'd put my very large, um, parts on a saddle without a cutout.)

Oh, no! There are definitely folks and riding styles who need cut outs! What was starting to drive me up the wall was the way the women's saddles were getting gratuitiously over padded and over-cutoutted.

Like some company exec said "here, copy this Terry saddle for me, but make it more padded cuz it looks uncomfortable."

[KnottedYet]

Oh, and as far as statistics and sitbone widths I see; my sample is biased in that I'm seeing the women who have pelvic problems already. The ones who've always been miserable on a bike and never got into riding because it hurt too much.

They couldn't find equipment to fit them, so they never fell in love with riding, never got into a group like Velo Girls, never went to a coach for a fit, AND since they weren't serious bikers they never got included in the statistical samples used to design saddles.

It drives me nuts.

[velogirl]

this is interesting, Knotted. one of the participants @ the Women's Leadership Conference @ USA Cycling shared some information with us about her recent prolapse and the Manchester Procedure and basically told us that pelvic floor failure is more common with cyclists than we think. I don't really have any information about that, but I do know some women who've ridden for extended periods (8-10 years) who have suffered some sensory loss, incontinence, etc.

Hypothetically, do you think there's a relationship here?

Lorri

ps -- I can't ride a saddle without a cutout....

[Nokomis]

Like Knotted, I am also riding a Brooks, B68 - and I haven't found any other saddle that actually let me sit On the sit bones. (Okay, I lie - but I'm not about to put a phone book sized cruiser saddle on my road bike.) When I ride a standard saddle, even the wide ol' 155+ from Specialized - ow the pain! It hurts to walk or sit for days after - and introduces significant tailbone pain, plus numb toes & hands. Even tho my Brooks isn't 100% ideal and doesn't always dissapear beneath me, it's unreal the difference to be supported correctly on a saddle. I wish I could buy a saddle with a similar fit from some of the other manufacturers, as I'm a little nervous to abuse the leather in cross season.

[Andrea]

I have to 2nd the motion that cutouts & tons of padding stink!

I have 160mm seatbones (according to the new Trek measurement thing). Most of the saddles in that size are padded to he** and back with some sort of cutout. They are comfy at first until the padding breaks down and starts to squish the cutout closed... with your soft tissue inside

I need SOME sort of relief up there (which is why the Brooks never worked for me- way too much pressure when in the drops), but having that relief clogged up by excess foam is almost as bad as nothing at all!

I'm still waiting for someone to come out with the perfect saddle- very wide, minimally padded, relatively T shaped, with a channel or cutout for pressure relief. Under 300g would be nice, too since I'm spending so much to make the remaining parts of my bike lighter...

[mimitabby]

Great thread.
I am a brooks b67 rider, my sit bones measure apparently about 140 cm (using paper, ruler and fingers), but i've tried a lot of different saddles only to go back to the old safe and true. Yes, sometimes I get sore (from a deep pothole bump for example) but I can sit for hours without irritating delicate tissues.