Back in the saddle search again (or not)

[ny biker]

After trying the two new Bontrager saddles (Ajna and Yatra), I gave up and ordered one of the last remaining Affinities available. I did a few rides with the Yatra and liked the cutout, but it was uncomfortable in other ways and I ended up with a saddle sore that took a while to go away. I tried the Ajna with the bike on the indoor trainer at the LBS and quickly decided it was no better than the Yatra. We concluded that the problem with both was the dome shape -- the flatter Affinity is a better shape for me. Part of me would like to look for something shaped like the Affinity but with a cutout, but a bigger part has too many other things to spend time and money on. And I've been okay with the Affinity for years now -- it's not perfect it's good enough. Now I'm deciding if I want to buy another one and save it for when this new one wears out.

I vaguely recall trying a Selle Italia Ldy Gel Flo years ago, and it didn't work for me. But I bought it used and put it on the bike myself so the position was probably not quite right. I think Catrin liked the Diva Gel Flow? If it's the same size and shape as the Ldy Gel Flow, it sounds like it could be a good option for you. Good luck!

[emily_in_nc]

I'm looking forward to receiving my Diva (not until mid-month) and trying it out. I really hope I don't have to go through a series of saddles, as that gets very expensive!

The bike I've been riding the most often, my Trek, has a Bontrager Select Fit CRZ+ saddle, original to the bike, so it's a good 10 years old. When I first got the bike (used) in early 2013, the saddle was super comfy, but my body has changed since then, and perhaps the saddle has broken down some as well. I have the same issues on my SI Ldy Gel Flows on my other two bikes, both newer saddles than the Bontrager, though. They are bit harder but irritate the same place on my labia now. This is with shorts (Sugoi) that have always been very good for me.

Glad you are settled with your Affinity, NY. Sometimes it's best to leave well enough alone. I remember a terrible experiment years ago when I decided to try a Terry Damselfly since my Butterfly was heavier and less racy. Most miserable experience ever! Like riding a two-by-four, not to mention giving me a honking saddlesore that took a cortisone injection to relieve. So, since then, I have been loathe to try different saddles. The Ldy Gel Flow is basically exactly the same shape/size/form as the Butterfly, only a little less pricey.

[emily_in_nc]

The Diva has a much bigger cutout, and a lot of people have problems with their inner sitbones breaching the cutout, and becoming weightbearing. Which hurts (I lasted 40 miles on mine before I sent it back).

Otherwise, it's a nice saddle. I can see the Diva working if someone has a lot of space between their inner sitbones.

Interesting! I have no idea as I've never sat on the azz-o-meter, but I've always done better on wider saddles, FWIW. I won't return it if it doesn't work out, since I'm purchasing from the UK, but I might try to sell it on Ebay if it's a complete no go. Fortunately, there are enough good reviews that I figure I have a 50/50 chance of liking it. Crossing fingers!

[emily_in_nc]

So, I finally got my SI Diva saddle, DH installed it, and great weather for a ride today to try it out. One ride is probably not enough to base my opinion on, but so far, so good. It felt good immediately, and a 34.5 mile ride didn't bother my lady bits or sit bones at all. Yippee! I think my post-menopausal lady bits really needed that wide cutout to avoid chafing. Chamois butter just wasn't enough. I'm glad I ordered a new saddle to try before new shorts, as my favorite Sugoi shorts felt fine today.

So, two cautious thumbs up on the Diva!

[emily_in_nc]

Great!

This is one saddle where measuring your sits probably wouldn't give an accurate impression (pun intended?). Not on one of those gel thingies, anyway.

Yes, you're right, because my other saddles were perfectly wide enough for my sit bones, but the cutout was just narrow enough to pinch and chafe my inner bits. Owie!

After another successful ride with the Diva today (36.3 miles), I put my old Bontrager saddle out in the garbage area of our campground, but sitting on top of a can, late in the afternoon. Just checked during our after-dinner doggie walk, and it was gone. Happy about that as it wasn't good enough to bother selling (10+ years old and came stock on my bike), but I hate to throw anything out if it's still in decent condition.

[ny biker]

Great news, Emily.

I have done two short rides (17ish miles, slow and hilly, about 90 minutes each) with the new Affinity that replaced the old worn out one. And there was chafing on the right side both times. WTH? With the old saddle I would have minor chafing on the right on long rides, which I was able to manage with chamois cream and the right shorts. But I never had a problem on short rides before. So I was starting to wonder if I needed to check out the Specialized Riva sooner rather than later.

Also on the first test ride I could tell that the nose was tilted up a bit. So I adjusted that before the second ride. I also thought that maybe the nose was skewed left yet again, since that seems to always happen when a new saddle is put on my bike. So I nudged the nose to the right a tiny bit. During the second ride I could tell that leveling the saddle had made things better. But there was still chafing and I also felt like I was sitting too far back. Hmmm.

After I returned home I dug the old saddle out of the closet. While it was still on the bike, I had put blue painter's tape on the rails just behind the clamp, to have a record of the fore/aft position. I put the old saddle on top of the new one and aha! the new one is definitely too far forward. I think the guy on the LBS who had put the new saddle on the bike had misunderstood what the position of the blue tape was indicating, and I foolishly did not pay enough attention to note the problem sooner.

So I will move the new saddle back and try it again. Hopefully this will resolve the chafing issue on the short rides. In fact I might position it tiny bit farther back than the old one was to see if I can reduce the chafing on longer rides, too.

This is so typical of me -- switching out an old saddle with a new one that is exactly the same should be the kind of thing that you get right on the first try. I really should have paid more attention.

[emily_in_nc]

Hope you'll get it all sorted out, NY. Chafing is a bee-yotch!

I experienced that first hand today as we did a utility ride on our Bike Friday with racks and panniers, as we just couldn't put off a trip to Walmart any longer. HATE going there, but we had a huge list of pharmacy & household type stuff that we just couldn't find elsewhere closer by or at prices we are willing to pay. It's not a fun ride for me under the best of circumstances: hilly, 14 miles each way, partly on trails, which is fine, but partly in a very narrow bike lane on a busy road with cars whizzing by, several light crossings with steep climbs right after, and a steep climb into Walmart itself, then the usual hoards of people in the parking lot and inside the store. Blech.

But what this ride did show me is just how miserable my much-beloved Sella Italia Ldy Gel Flow saddles had become for me. UGH! After two blissful days riding the Diva, I figured "how bad can it be". I wore good shorts, used chamois butter, but I still had horrible chafing. Mine is also on the right. In my case I can only attribute this to menopausal changes, as I always loved these saddles before, and now they are really intolerable! I was rubbed raw by the time we finished the 29 mile round trip.

SO, I have now two more Divas on order (a lovely white one for my white Bike Friday and a black one for my MTB). I'm just not willing to be miserable on the bike, and I found a great source of these saddles in the UK at half the price of what a bunch of places in the US are charging: Wiggle.com. They have lots of cycling gear, free shipping to the US, and no tax. The saddles are only $65-66 US each (depending on color), which is amazing. I guess because they are made in Italy, buying from the UK really makes sense in this case!

[wnyrider]

After trying the two new Bontrager saddles (Ajna and Yatra), I gave up and ordered one of the last remaining Affinities available....
We concluded that the problem with both was the dome shape -- the flatter Affinity is a better shape for me. Part of me would like to look for something shaped like the Affinity but with a cutout, ....

ny biker, I hope you find that flatter saddle with a cutout because I would love to have one too! In the meantime, the new Affinity came yesterday. Good news-- it has the same measurement narrowing toward the nose as the old Affinity, but with the wider seat area for my sitbones. The bad news-- it has a shorter seat rails than the Romin or SMP. What this means is that with my setback seatpost, I am a wiggle farther back than I would prefer. I rode for an hour on the trainer and my knee began to object. I would like to keep this seatpost because I have a Brooks B17 that I also use on some shorter rides. Longer rides produce "urethral irritation" (thanks for the proper term Emily) . Might I also be schlepping an extra straight seatpost along?!! Wish that Turbomatic was flatter Muirenn. I am off to the bike shop with my Romin Evo and caliper to once again get measured and check out the Power model. Keeping the new Fizik Luce (large) in mind as well.

[ny biker]

WNYrider, have you looked at the Specialized Riva? I haven't taken a close look at it yet but based on Muirenn's suggestion, it sounds like it has potential. I hope you find something soon.

[ridingfiend]

Are there posts missing in this thread? It looks like someone is talking to themselves. Over and over again.

[Trek420]

Well, this thread is over 2 years old so not sure.