B68 Imperial Mens or Womens?

[SpinSpinSugar]

I was just reading BuffyBike's thread below regarding feeling the outline of the cantle on her B17 saddle. That is exactly what I am experiencing on my B17 imperial (standard), and I can already see big sit bone dents in the leather going all the way back up onto the frame. I raised the seat back up to where it should be but the saddle has already sagged pretty badly in those two spots so all I can feel is the metal frame of the saddle pushing up into my poor bruised, sore tushy.

I tried a B68 Imperial (Mens) on the bike for about 5 minutes once and it felt too "T" shaped and interfered with my legs. At that time there was an 80mm stem and very slight drop from the saddle to the handlebars. Now I have a 60mm stem and a (very) slight rise to the bars on the bike and would like to give the B68 a shot again. My LBS wants to know which model to order.. the Mens or the Womens version.. so I would like input from those who have tried it.

Thanks!
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[sarahspins]

It seems that most are happier with the men's because of the longer rails and longer nose (more control). I have the women's and I honestly don't notice anything I can directly connect to it's shorter length... I don't seem to have fit issues with it, which tends to be the main problem (the rails are lots shorter than the men's).

[Thorn]

Men's. The rails on the B68 men's saddle are short and can make it hard to position, I can't imagine if the rails are even shorter.

That said, if you use the B68 on a road bike, expect a little extra breaking in time. The B68 has an abrupt transition from the top of the saddle to the sides--compare with the B17 that curves over.

This transition isn't an issue if you're riding more upright, but you can feel it if you're more road-ish oriented. I found that I need a couple hundred miles of hot weather (aka sweaty) riding to smooth out that transition. Once I've broken that down, no issues.

[SpinSpinSugar]

Excellent info ladies thank you very much. I have asked my LBS to order the MENS version.. it should be here in a couple of days! I'm planning on riding a double century in a few weeks. A couple of hundred sweaty miles will hopefully round things off so to speak...

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[Biciclista]

yeah, unless you are wearing voluminous riding skirts that go down to your ankles, the men's version is better!