saddle, saddle who has a good saddle

[firelady]

Thanks, I have been seriously thinking about a Brooks saddle but can't figure out if I want a short nose woman's saddle or the longer nosed men's saddle. Then I can't figure out which Brooks I want! Ahhhhhh. I am 6' tall and my sit bones measure 178 mm so I am just over the B17 and the Flyer. I do mostly long distance rides of 20 to 75 miles and most of those are on an "improved" bike path of cinders and limestone grating. I am now riding a Cannondale T2 (touring bike) so am in a moderate forward lean (not upright but not low like a racer). Ever since having children my girl parts are, well shall we say more pronounced then they use to be, so that becomes an issue too (cut out might be nice). Any suggestions are appreciated.

[Biciclista]

Thanks, I have been seriously thinking about a Brooks saddle but can't figure out if I want a short nose woman's saddle or the longer nosed men's saddle. Then I can't figure out which Brooks I want! Ahhhhhh. I am 6' tall and my sit bones measure 178 mm so I am just over the B17 and the Flyer. I do mostly long distance rides of 20 to 75 miles and most of those are on an "improved" bike path of cinders and limestone grating. I am now riding a Cannondale T2 (touring bike) so am in a moderate forward lean (not upright but not low like a racer). Ever since having children my girl parts are, well shall we say more pronounced then they use to be, so that becomes an issue too (cut out might be nice). Any suggestions are appreciated.

I'd strongly advise AGAINST the short nosed saddle unless you're on the back of a tandem. I think it's a terrible misnomer that the short nosed saddles are billed as "women's" when the original reason they made them for women was so that their voluminous dresses did not get caught on the longer nose saddle. So if you're not riding in a full length skirt, you don't need the shorter saddle...

[Dannielle]

I'd strongly advise AGAINST the short nosed saddle unless you're on the back of a tandem. I think it's a terrible misnomer that the short nosed saddles are billed as "women's" when the original reason they made them for women was so that their voluminous dresses did not get caught on the longer nose saddle. So if you're not riding in a full length skirt, you don't need the shorter saddle...

Why would you recommend against the short nosed saddles? What's the downside? Why would the exception be for the back of a tandem?

I have a short nosed saddle and don't notice anything missing. I don't have a road bike though...maybe that has something to do with it??

[KnottedYet]

Reasons why some folks don't like short noses:

*less control of bike if you like to steer with weight shift

*shorter rails (harder to adjust saddle placement)

*nose shackle under leather is closer to body, soft tissue can land on metal instead of suspended leather.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Reasons why some folks don't like short noses:

*less control of bike if you like to steer with weight shift

*shorter rails (harder to adjust saddle placement)

*nose shackle under leather is closer to body, soft tissue can land on metal instead of suspended leather.

Don't forget a very important issue of this:
Because of the shorter rails, you cannot shove your saddle nearly as far back as on the regular saddle model, which has rails more than an inch longer. This was a HUGE issue for me, because i needed desperately to get my center of gravity further back.

[Owlie]

Yeah, the Lady Gel Flow is pretty squishy, even in comparison with the Jett, which is not a very hard saddle. It's fine for my sitbones, but the nose and cutout padding were not terribly kind. (The shape was all wrong too, but that's a different thread.)

[Miranda]

I didn't read all of this thread word for word, so sorry if this is not in the ball park for you.... but... I ride this a Terry Butterfly, the Tri Gel version, with the leather cover, not lesser priced version, it's noted to be for long-distances and bad backs... which I fit both. It's this... http://www.rei.com/product/752407/te...-saddle-womens
which I don't see on TE or the Terry website... thus discontinued, so ooooooooohhhh no ...BUT, if you can find it somewhere on the net, it's great imo/e.

You mentioned something about bike adjustments... FWIW I had tried this exact same saddle before and it gave me pain... that was on my ill fit old road bike... on my new road bike that fits like a glove... the same saddle disappeared underneath me... as it should.

Good Luck.

EDIT ADD: Btw, I'm a peri-menopausal middle aged broad whose had a couple near ten pound kids the natural way (minus the stitches and scar tissue part)... so I know what you saying in a way... sometimes our tissues change with hormones and there are threads on TE about that... fortunately my ob-gyn doc is also a cyclists, so is his peds doc wife... we had some discussions about hormones, tissues and how it affects riding. Just more food for thought besides the saddle.

[Holland]

Thank you ladies. I ordered the Brooks B 67 and now I'm afraid it may be too hard cuz everyone warned me about it taking too long to break in. My 2000 mile trip leaves in a week. Am looking at Terry Liberator cuz saw it at a shop today. Also saw Selle Lady Flo but this looks harder than Terry Lib. Don't know.
Any further input? Thanks.

[OakLeaf]

With a short nosed saddle, there's that much less available for steering.

I'm guessing the stoker on a tandem doesn't do much if any body steering, so the nose wouldn't be missed... but having never ridden a tandem, I wonder if the captain does much body steering either, outside of racing situations?

[Dannielle]

Thanks for explaining. That makes sense. I'd like a road bike someday and I can see how it could make a difference for steering in a less upright position. My current bike has me sitting fairly upright so steering with the saddle isn't really an option.

[bikerHen]

Have you tried a Selle An-Atomica? I put one on my road bike a few years back and have been very happy. Since losing weight this year, I've had all kinds of comfort issues with the Brooks saddle on my Surly so I have sadly replaced it with an An-Atomica as well. So far so good. The real test comes in a week when I'm off to Canada for a two week, 500 mile tour. I'm REALLY hoping it works. My little three day tour over the fourth of July weekend was a little painful with the Brooks. No way would I have make it for two weeks. bikerHen

. . . I put the Brooks on the back of a Schwinn Twinn tandem vintage cruiser I just bought. We're taking it out for a flat 30 mile family ride our bike club is doing tomorrow. I'm hoping it will be more comfortable than the monster Schwinn Approved saddle that came with the bike. I get to be stoker while my husband and daughter share captain duty. Hopefully we'll all make it back alive and still talking to one another.

[ny biker]

Thanks, I have been seriously thinking about a Brooks saddle but can't figure out if I want a short nose woman's saddle or the longer nosed men's saddle. Then I can't figure out which Brooks I want! Ahhhhhh. I am 6' tall and my sit bones measure 178 mm so I am just over the B17 and the Flyer. I do mostly long distance rides of 20 to 75 miles and most of those are on an "improved" bike path of cinders and limestone grating. I am now riding a Cannondale T2 (touring bike) so am in a moderate forward lean (not upright but not low like a racer). Ever since having children my girl parts are, well shall we say more pronounced then they use to be, so that becomes an issue too (cut out might be nice). Any suggestions are appreciated.

Have you done the smoosh test?

[KnottedYet]

I am 6' tall and my sit bones measure 178 mm so I am just over the B17 and the Flyer.

You are well over the B17 and the Flyer.

The B17 is 170mm wide, HOWEVER the outer 10 mm on each side is metal cantle plate. You don't want to put your sit bones there. The actual sit bone space on any suspended leather saddle is ALWAYS less than the width.

In the Brooks saddles, the plate is 1 cm wide. Subtract the width of the plate (from both sides) and your sit bones need to fit within that measurement.

(Brooks saddle width) - (2x10mm) > or = (sit bone outside measurement)

So for a B17:
170mm - 20mm needs to be greater than or equal to 178mm

It's not just 8 mm off, it's 28 mm off.



- Now let's do the math with a B68 Imperial -

Saddle width: 210mm

210mm - 20mm = 190mm

190mm is > or = 178mm

Your sit bones will land on suspended leather on a B68 Imperial, clear of the cantle plate.
(also a B66, B67, B72, B18, etc etc etc)

[sundial]

I do mostly long distance rides of 20 to 75 miles and most of those are on an "improved" bike path of cinders and limestone grating.

I have ridden gravel roads with a Brooks sprung and unsprung saddle on my touring bike and I went with a sprung saddle--the Champion Flyer 'S'. It cut down on lower back fatigue considerably on the gravel grinder rides. As for whether to choose a women's saddle vs. a men's saddle, I think part of your decision should be based on your bike geometry. I personally like the women's saddles on the commuter/touring type bikes and the men's saddles on the road/mtb bikes. I do like the long ride comfort of the women's saddles as I have not felt like I'm sitting on the hardware. I personally haven't noticed that my steering is affected by the shorter nose but as others have indicated it could be an issue.

If you can't decide what Brooks saddle is right for you, I would contact Bill at Wallbike and ask for his suggestions. He is quite helpful and will patiently answer all of your questions. Good luck!