Wish I knew how I was supposed to sit on my bike...

[Aggie_Ama]

Mellow Johnny's is the only shop in town I have seen the inform at. I was very curious about it myself but didn't need to spend the money the last time I was in there. I wonder how their policy is on trying them out?

[ny biker]

Trek has a 90-day comfort guarantee on all saddles.

I tried out the Inform RL in three different widths last fall before deciding that it wasn't the saddle for me. At which point I returned the third one. By then I had lost the receipt but the LBS took it back anyway (I had worked directly with the store manager when I first bought it, so he knew I had bought it there).

I really liked the way the nose of the saddle was designed, but unfortunately it was too pear-shaped for me, which is why I returned it.

[Aggie_Ama]

Trek has a 90-day comfort guarantee on all saddles.

Well then I may just buy the inform for my road bike! Oh and if I went this weekend the Livestrong Team will be at Mellow Johnny's. Think my husband would disown me if he caught me drooling on Axel Merckx? The rest of those boys are barely 18!

Alley- REI told me I could return my saddle no questions asked even if I rode it for awhile. I despise Performance and have avoided them for some time after dealing with one of the managers who was a pain. They also gave me a hard time about returning a light that was defective when I had a receipt that was 3 days old. I am glad you had a good experience because my customer service experiences have been horrible. Including I had to drive back from way in the boonies because my box of pedals only had one pedal in it. That has all been over a year, maybe I should give them another chance?

Is that a men's saddle, the SLR Gel? I have one to try but haven't put it on my bike yet. I ride the women's Lady Gel Flow and it is huge, I thought I had wide sit bones but maybe not. I wanted to try the firm so someone gave me this one for free.

[alleyoop]

Is that a men's saddle, the SLR Gel? I have one to try but haven't put it on my bike yet. I ride the women's Lady Gel Flow and it is huge, I thought I had wide sit bones but maybe not. I wanted to try the firm so someone gave me this one for free.[/QUOTE]

I have this one, but I don't know if it is the men's or women's. It doesn't say Women's on it, so it might be the men's.

[VeloVT]

glad you like the handlebars, Oakleaf .

I think there is a fair amount of individual variation in what is comfortable and sustainable for different people. Most of the time, I ride with my hips tilted farther forward than most people would suggest is optimal -- there's some weight on my sit bones, but probably more on the ischium (as Andrea's diagram shows). This is comfortable for me. None of the *men* who have fitted me have noticed it at all, as far as I know, mostly because it does result in a very flat back which seems to be more what they notice rather than your hip position per se. It's only in the past year (I've been riding for three now) that I've learned how to ride no-hands for any distance, and it does require consciously pulling my tailbone under. At any rate, this riding position is what feels natural to me, and I've found a saddle that accomodates it.

It does sound to me like the issues you are having may be more complicated than just your saddle, though. If you are feeling like your weight isn't comfortably balanced on the bike, it may be a sign that you need adjustments to reach or setback.

[cylegoddess]

I have a selle italia my riding buddy pulled out of his garage, that was hand me down from another guy. I have narrow hips and small sit bones, so I find that the mens saddles work best for me. I am getting the one with the cut out spoken as above, new as a present( what a great present!) , and I will tell you how I go too.
I have had some problems training myself to sit properly too, not being strong enough for group rides yet so riding alone for last year.I had pain in my shoulders( moved seat down a bit, it was quit high as I was so flexible thru yoga, my good salesman thought perhaps it may suit me).
Then I had elbow pain( stopped locking my elbows,mainly in spin class, and concentrated on doing just that on every ride), then numb hands. I suffer from bad circulation in hands, so Im not sure if Its leaning to far forward or body design problem.
Sitting up higher make a huge difference in arm pain for me.I am tired when I come home from work, and leaning on hands ( due to tired back and tummy) and not keeping abs tight seems to cause pain.
Pilates, as said before is great. I do sit ups too.

[alleyoop]

Mellow Johnny's is the only shop in town I have seen the inform at. I was very curious about it myself but didn't need to spend the money the last time I was in there. I wonder how their policy is on trying them out?

I can't answer to MJ, but when I was on my saddle quest, I bought and returned 9! I can say with confidence that you can return saddles at REI and Performance. Actually, I bought 5 saddles from Performance one day, with the intention of returning 4 or 5 of them. I was seriously on the hunt! BSS gave me the evil eye, but took them back. When I knew what I was looking for I could tell within a mile if it was "in the running" or not. So buy a lot, try a lot.

THings got much better for me when I pushed way back in the saddle, concentrating on squeezing my abs to round my back (so that I felt like I looked like the TE click-to-shop chic) and found the Sel Italia Gel Flow saddle @ Performance. Distinct T shaped, thin nose, little padding (who knew!), full cutout-split design. Yum. This one even works on my Mt. Bike I love it so!

Good luck!