With the sanitary napkin analogy, I'm wondering if she's talking about them being too wide in the nose, not in the rear at all? I need a narrow nose and a wide rear. (And no, I don't have children, I come by my wide sitbones naturally.)
Speed comes from what you put behind you. - Judi Ketteler
Another Brooks mens' saddle rider here.
I tried a Brooks woman's saddle (I think it was a B17S) but I couldn't stand it.
I've been riding standard B17 saddles for a few years now, but just recently I switched to the Brooks Team Pro, which is slightly narrower in the nose area, but as far as I can tell about the same width in the rear.
2009 Lynskey R230 Houseblend - Brooks Team Pro
2007 Rivendell Bleriot - Rivet Pearl
Brooks makes their 'women's' saddles shorter, which sure doesn't work for me either.
I ride their widest saddle- the B68, but in the 'men's' versions, which is 'normal' length. It's wide whether it's the men's or women's version.
Thus, I think it's more accurate to just refer to the width and shape of saddles, because saddles are not neatly split into Men's and Women's.
Some women have WIDE sitbones and have never had children, and some friends of mine have had several children yet they have very narrow pelvises and need narrow saddles.
It's mostly about your genetics and bone structure. When pregnant, our bodies do produce more Relaxin- a natural hormone which makes connective tissue and ligaments in the pelvis more flexible, so the pelvis can actually spread a bit during childbirth. That doesn't mean you have wider sitbones after having children, but it means the joints in the pelvis can move more during pregnancy to accommodate a baby's head passing through. After pregnancy we supposedly go back to normal Relaxin levels and the effect fades.
Lisa
My mountain dulcimer network...FOTMD.com...and my mountain dulcimer blog
My personal blog:My blog
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