HELP!! Struggles with saddles...

[Rosie road]

I'm on my fourth saddle in 6 months and still not happy with any of them. Most recently I used the terry gelissimo which started out okay but then really chafed my inner thighs after it broke in. Bike shop says I wasn't sitting back far enough and needed to move it forward but it still felt too wide. I ride about 50-80 miles a week in 2-3 rides on a road bike. Try to make one of those at least 35-50 miles if I can find the time. I'm thinking of trying the Fizik Vitesse LIFE Saddle that REI carries. Anyone have luck with this saddle? Or others that are long ride oriented for someone that seems to have uber sensitivity?

[OakLeaf]

I'm on my fourth saddle in 6 months and still not happy with any of them. Most recently I used the terry gelissimo which started out okay but then really chafed my inner thighs after it broke in. Bike shop says I wasn't sitting back far enough and needed to move it forward but it still felt too wide. I ride about 50-80 miles a week in 2-3 rides on a road bike. Try to make one of those at least 35-50 miles if I can find the time. I'm thinking of trying the Fizik Vitesse LIFE Saddle that REI carries. Anyone have luck with this saddle? Or others that are long ride oriented for someone that seems to have uber sensitivity?

Moving the saddle forward rarely changes your position on the saddle - it just changes the position of your knees over your pedals. If your knees were happy before, then moving the saddle isn't the way to go. You may be able to move yourself back on the saddle by using a shorter and/or steeper stem.

Inner thigh chafing plus being forced too far forward on the saddle sounds to me like your saddle is pear-shaped and you need a more T-shaped one. I was definitely having the problem of my Terry Liberator Race forcing me forward because of its pear shape.

[erichi]

My issue with gel saddles is they make me sweat alot. I recently bought a new bike for commuting to work which had a gel saddle on it. I thought cool something softer and won't need to wear padded shorts. It was comfortable but it made my crotch so sweaty, where I already have temp control issues. (sorry if too much info) And I felt it was a bit wide (see below)

I'm so glad to hear mention of irritation in the inner thigh/groin area. I've been reading the posts regarding saddle recommendations, since I too am still trying to find the right one, and the issues people list are always with the sit bones. Mine never hurt, my issue is in the groin (girly bits to thigh).

I'm trying out a terry butterfly which I don't need to wear padded shorts with since only a 7 mile ride to work but definitely does not work for longer rides even with shorts. I think the nose is too wide and too thick (I have cushy inner thighs). I also tried a specialized (don't have model on hand) but it's on the too narrow side. I have a san marco that I love but always gotta use shorts with that one but have it on a separate road bike.

I think the tips on a less pear more T shaped is a good tip that I never realized and where I need to start trying to move towards, the Terry is definitely pear.

[Rosie road]

I hadn't heard that notion of t vs. pear but it makes sense. Any specific recommendations?

[OakLeaf]

I'm riding a Specialized Lithia saddle now which is pretty T-shaped. It comes in three widths (130, 143, 155) like a lot of their women's saddles.

They have several different saddles that are pretty much the same shape, but different levels of firmness. The Lithia is a little squishy for me and I think I'm going to a Jett next time. If you've read on here about people complaining about the seams on the Jett, I guess Specialized was listening, because the '09 Jett has a lot fewer seams.

For an even wider T-shaped saddle, there are a lot of people here who just adore their Brooks saddles, and if you need a cut-out there's the Selle An-Atomica which is basically a Brooks with a cut-out.