Which comes first -- bike fitting or new saddle?

[OakLeaf]

I don't have a lot of detailed input, but I can tell you your thread title is a chicken-egg sort of thing. Bike fit will affect how you sit on your saddle. What saddle you're using will affect your bike fit.

I guess my #1 suggestion would be when you get your fit done, do it somewhere that lets you come back for tweaks at no additional charge for a certain period of time. Since your saddle works for you when you're upright, I'd start where you are - get your fitting done, see how your saddle works with your new position, try other saddles if you still need to, then if/when you find a better saddle, get your fit tweaked again.

My experience is that depending on the community, unfortunately a lot of bike fitters know very little about saddle fitting. So one thing you might do when you're shopping for your fit is pose the question to them ... if they tell you that your saddle won't affect your fit, or suggest saddles for you without asking you about your specific saddle needs, then go someplace else.

I'd say also that embarrassment vs. openness is kind of self-reinforcing. If they're embarrassed by the question, they probably don't know much about it, and your embarrassment will be increased. If they can talk about saddle pressure with the same objectivity as they talk about your wrists, then just like disrobing for a male health care practitioner, you'll build trust and be less embarrassed to talk about your issues.

[Sky King]

The Bike Hermit and I spent 3 hours with a bike fitter the other day - blog post coming soon. One of the biggest reasons we liked him is he refuses to be affiliated with just one bike shop and he does his fittings based on what style of riding the bike owner wants to do. (We tend to have bike fitters here that fit all riders in a more aggressive racing posture, regardless)
Perhaps there is someone similar where you are. He confessed that in his opinion, saddle fit is one of the weakest aspects of fitting. Although I was impressed with his ability to look at the "wear" points on a saddle and discuss the fit challenges the rider may be experiencing. I probably have a bit of a prejudice though as he had very little knowledge of leather saddles but am happy to say we gave him a lesson
We did discuss that setting up the bike comes first for him then fine tuning with saddle position so as you do have the money to do the fit, make some phone calls, ask questions, express your concerns and perhaps ask for references and then call them.
Getting a fit is a big deal and being happy with the fit is even a bigger deal. I assume you have been reading the saddle forums too and have done your measurements, etc.
Finally, if you think a new saddle is in order make sure they have an exchange/return policy when you purchase.

[Penny4]

I found the easiest thing to say to the LBS guys is just, "I'm looking for a new saddle as this one causes soft tissue problems" (and hope that the 16 y/o kid who only works on weekends is not the one to help me, lol)
The angle of your saddle may be causing some problems too.
Did you get a fitting when you bought the bike?

[fallstoclimb]

Looking forward to reading that blog post, Sky King! I like that he isn't affiliated with a shop...I don't know anyone like that around here, but I am open to recommendations in the DC/Baltimore area if anyone has any! The shop I'm most loyal to doesn't do real fits so I'm going to have to go elsewhere regardless.

Penny, I got a very minimal fitting when I bought the bike....20 minutes tops. Then another 10 minute fitting when I got clipless pedals. Like I said, I don't really have any problems per se but it would be a miracle if there wasn't something on my bike that can't be tweaked to improve comfort or efficiency.