Worn-out saddle -- how long does yours last?

[ny biker]

I suppose total hours in the saddle is a better measure than total miles for this. For example at my pace, a 60-mile ride lasts 5 hours or more. Someone who rides faster would be sitting in the saddle for only 3-4 hours over that same distance.

But my brain is too full right now to try to estimate the number of hours I spent on all those rides, especially since my weekly hill rides are at a much slower pace. I think I might be able to get the numbers from Garmin Connect. I will check.

[azfiddle]

I bought a slightly used Specialized Jett from a TE member in 2010. I replaced it this winter, with somewhere between 15,000 and 20,00 miles on it....The leather was starting to tear.

[Owlie]

Cut-out saddles don't last as long as "solid" saddles, but 3000 miles seems low. My roadie's Jett is about at that point and is perfectly fine...(and I'm slow!)

[Catrin]

My first SI LDY Gel Flow lasted less than 2K miles - my fitter tells me that there is something about my positioning that causes a different wear pattern than he normally sees in cutout saddles. Both of my saddles (same brand) showed the same wear pattern so it seemed apparent that it wasn't a factory problem.

[emily_in_nc]

I suppose total hours in the saddle is a better measure than total miles for this. For example at my pace, a 60-mile ride lasts 5 hours or more. Someone who rides faster would be sitting in the saddle for only 3-4 hours over that same distance.

I'm slow too...typically average 13-14 mph. DH is faster when he rides alone, but not always -- when he rides with me, he rides my pace...so the numbers I gave you were with that kind of time in the saddle.

[Crankin]

I wear saddles out quickly (around 2 years) and we always have an extra Terry Falcon X around because it happens suddenly. I am "crooked," seriously, and I wear out the left side in a noticeable way. I ride between 2,000 and 3,300 miles a year. It's just the way it is. I also go through helmets like crazy. The parts (padding) inside fall off, get weird from the copious amount of sweat I produce. I now have 2 helmets that I switch between, but even the newest one I have is already messed up looking.

[Catrin]

TIS rather than mileage makes sense, I hadn't thought about it that way. My average speed is around 12mph, so it takes me longer than many to go the same distance. Perhaps that 2k wasn't as short as I realized...

[ny biker]

I suppose weight has an effect in addition to total ride time. I'm a good 35 lbs heavier than Crankin and Emily.

I bought the new saddle and had it put on the bike last night. The foam in the old one definitely feels less firm than the new one. If the weather people are right and our lunch-time rain storm really does move out of here in the next couple of hours, I should be able to do a short ride on it tonight. That's not enough to see if the chafing is solved, but I can at least see if the feeling of the saddle being tilted is gone.

[OakLeaf]

Rider weight, rider boniness, how aggressively you ride, how bumpy the roads are, whether you do a lot of climbing which takes weight out of the saddle even if you climb seated, particulars of how you fit on the saddle, particulars of how the saddle is constructed ... I think it's as individual as how long running shoes last. There's a range that people quote as a general rule, but in the case of shoes it's a very large range, and I'd expect it's the same thing with saddles.

Just like shoes, there's generally visible compression in the saddle a good while before I notice the ride starting to degrade. It sounds like the compression you're seeing is fairly advanced, so I'm sure you're right about the saddle being worn out.

[ny biker]

Holy cow, what a difference. The new RXL is so much firmer than the old one had become, I'm surprised my sit bones aren't sore from last night's ride. It was certainly the first time in a while that I could feel them supporting me on the saddle. If I hadn't bought both saddles myself, I wouldn't believe they were the same make and model.