Saddle Fit: Tests, Tips, and Tricks

[Owlie]

Those might be ingrown hairs, caused by irritation from the saddle--I get those too, even with the Jett, which is the best saddle that I've tried so far. (No broken skin, just feels bruised and irritated.) They weren't as bad with the Selle Italia I tried, but it's hard to gauge because half the time I was sitting on the nose because of how pear-shaped that saddle was, and because my rides on that were shorter.

What didn't you like about the Ruby? Specialized's offerings are among the most t-shaped out there, at least for commonly available saddles.

[CindyK]

What didn't you like about the Ruby? Specialized's offerings are among the most t-shaped out there, at least for commonly available saddles.

The Ruby just didn't seem to have enough padding, esp considering I'd been riding a Terry saddle for 8 years or so. But I got my bike fit after I changed saddles...Having the seat height, handlebars, and so on dialed in might help so I'm going to try it again. It is more T shaped than either of the other saddles and the cutout is a little longer too. I have high hopes

[Owlie]

The Ruby just didn't seem to have enough padding, esp considering I'd been riding a Terry saddle for 8 years or so. But I got my bike fit after I changed saddles...Having the seat height, handlebars, and so on dialed in might help so I'm going to try it again. It is more T shaped than either of the other saddles and the cutout is a little longer too. I have high hopes

If the Ruby still seems too hard, try a Jett. The footprint is very similar, just more padding.

[CindyK]

If the Ruby still seems too hard, try a Jett. The footprint is very similar, just more padding.

Thanks! I tried my old Ruby today, the one I have isn't wide enough for one thing but I think I'd still prefer a little more padding and I was wondering if the Jett had a similar shape. It's hard to tell from the pics on Specialized's website.

I got a Bontrager - can't remember which one off the top of my head - on loan from my LBS to try out. But I don't think it's wide enough either. I expect I'll be ordering a Jett soon enough.

[CindyK]

The saddle I tried was the Bontrager Affinity SL. It's shaped almost exactly like the Ruby. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I was worried about not having a cutout but my girlie bits were actually quite comfy, better than with either Terry OR the Ruby, so now I wonder if maybe cutouts aren't a good thing for me. Anyway...

It felt a little narrow when I sat up on the hoods, perfect in the drops. I was planning to get a little more agressive with my position anyway, so I think I'll do that and then see if this one works or if I need a wider one - the one I have now is the medium width, 143.

[Trek420]

Fame and fortune await? Read this saddle tips thread from "Cervello Engineers". It's almost word for word (and exactly word for word in bits) what we discussed here.

http://www.cervelo.com/en/engineerin...-saddles-.html

The word is getting out: women need saddles that fit and wrenches need to know how to do that.

[OakLeaf]

Sounds like we need to double down on figuring out that shape test for them.

[OakLeaf]

That needs a caveat.

The page is open to comments ...

[damon_rinard]

Whoa! That's a little earie. Looks like they're TE lurkers!

Hi Sheila, Sorry to be a spook - yes, I am an occasional lurker here, mostly because of the high-quality problem solving demonstrated by this group of smart women not afraid to discuss the details that really matter. I've avoided posting until now, out of respect and also in order not to disturb the cooperative spirit here, which I think could be partly the result of a (virtually) women-only environment. I'm only posting now because Trek420 graciously invited me to do so; I hope it's okay. This is my second post. My first post is introducing myself in the "Getting to know you" thread.

Even the percentile of men and women being such and such a width. I've linked to that discussion many times for people here. That is the thread where someone placed the coins on a saddle and took a picture. Really great discussion. And play-doh, huh? Wonder whose idea that was?

I agree, the stats on sit bone width are a nice reference. I guess we used the same database. Is the play-doh technique yours? If so please let me know how you'd like to be named and I'll revise the article to give proper credit, as I did for the Cutout Test after Knott called me on the phone. I had PMed her but not in time for her to see it, so I was really happy to hear from her and be able to use her real name in giving credit for the test!

The point of taking center to center and adding 2 centimeters to get saddle width is a problem, though. My center to center is 118, and yet my outside distance is around 155. I can't use a saddle more narrow than 150, and wider is better. Yet this puts me on a 138. That needs a caveat.

Agreed, and as OakLeaf mentioned, maybe you'd like to add that as a comment on the article? I'm aware of that concept, which is why I wrote: "...equal or greater than the center-to-center spacing between your sit bones, plus about 1 centimeter on each side."
And "Saddle width >= sit bone spacing + 2cm" (emphasis added).

What do you think?

Respectfully,

Damon Rinard