hi everyone,

i'm new to these boards and in search of a new saddle to replace the stock that came on my trek pilot 5.0 wsd.

i'm having issues with pain in the area where my legs attach...also girly parts are starting to get mashed. i have found that i do ok as long as my rides are short in length (timewise), say, less than 2hr. but after that, on longer rides (like 4hr this past saturday), there was pain in the joint area and too much mashing. ended up with some lower back pain as well. i spend most of my time on the hoods, but would like to ride in the drops more, but there is just WAY too much mashing to be anywhere comfortable doing that. there also seems to be more mashing while on the hoods unless i sit up a lot more.

i haven't done the paper on the sidewalk measurement yet, but did do the "sit on your hands and have your husband measure between where you felt the bones" measurement. that came out to be around 5-5.25" or close to 130mm. i just don't know where to start when selecting a saddle. i do gather that, if my sit bones are 130mm apart, that i would want to get a saddle that is, maybe, 140mm wide??

i'm going to call my lbs (specialized dealer) and see if they have an a$$-o-meter, get measured there and see what they recommend. i just don't want to go spend a 100 bucks on a saddle and it not be right or hard to return as i would hear about it from the non-riding spouse....

thanks, karen.