thanks for all these infos.

so far I have been riding mountainbikes (saddles = Ariel 130 mm and Ariel 143 mm) and road bike (Bontrager saddle -> changed for a selle Italia Gel Flow Lady). I can easily ride my road bike for 4-5 hours without any complaint (even when I used the original Bontrager).

The Brooks website says the "S" saddles are specifically for women. Why do you think that it isn't useful for a woman to buy an S saddle?

As for the springs: I believe now that I won't need them.