Ok...so I stopped by 2 different Specialized dealers yesterday. The first one measured me on the Specialized butt-o-meter device (looked like a black squishy padded seat). The gal helping me, said I measured a 143 on it...which put me in the "middle" (143mm) category for Specialized saddles. She then also measured me on the Bontrager device...and that measurement came out to 150...which she said is also the "middle" for the Bontrager saddles. I thought it was odd, that the measurement readings were fairly far off. She said it "really doesn't matter, because you measure in the middle for both of them". Huh??? Ok, whatever. They didn't have much in the way of saddles that I was interested in (Jett, Ruby, Avatar). Most of the ones I was interested in, were already on bikes and she didn't seem to open to the idea of taking one off to sell it to me. Oh well...her loss. But I did, at least, get to sit on them to feel 'em out. The Ruby felt VERY firm to me. They didn't have a Jett to try, but they did have an Avatar on a bike. I sat on it, and liked it a lot...had pretty much made up my mind that the Avatar was the saddle I wanted.

Left that dealer and made our way to dealer #2 a few towns away. Had the owner of that dealer helping me. He is a "certified 3-D BG fitter"...whatever that means. He had both the Specialized and Bontrager measuring devices in his shop...but in his opinion, he felt that the Bontrager device was more accurate. He measured me on it, but then took that measurement and using the Specialized device to interpret it...came up with a 147. Yet he insisted that the middle size 143mm Specialized saddle would be fine for me...???? I'm a little confused by this. I thought the saddle had to be WIDER than the sit bone measurement in order to properly support them.

When all was said and done, I walked out with a 143mm Specialized Phenom...which is actually a men's MTB saddle. It's a firm saddle with very minimal padding and has an independent rear flange design, so it "flexes" with your sit bones. Hubby put it on last night, and today I rode 80 miles on it! It actually wasn't too bad. Sure I was sore, but I would be sore riding 80 miles regardless of which saddle was on my bike. The good news is...I had very minimal butt numbness. Felt a tiny twinge of numbness at mile 45, but then it dissipated and never returned. So, I think I'll give this saddle a few more long rides before I decide if it's a "keeper". The nice thing is, the dealer I bought it from said that if I don't like it after a few rides...I can exchange it for another Specialized saddle - either a different model or size, until I find one that works for me. I've already decided that if this Phenom saddle doesn't work out, I want to try the Avatar next.