ATTN: wide sitbone ladies...saddles wider than 160mm ????

[csr1210]

Hi -- I'm starting the dreaded saddle hunt. My sit bones are in the neighborhood of 150, so I want a saddle at least 160 in width, preferably a little wider. I know about Brooks, but I also want to explore other options before I take the plunge.

Do any of you have non-brooks road saddles that are 160mm or wider? To compound the problem, I need a fairly skinny nose! A lot of websites don't list widths (what's up with that!?!), or 155 is the widest, so I thought I'd ask the "experts".

I would kinda like a specialized jett, but I ride the (stock) specialized dolce saddle (appears to be 155) and really think it's a little too narrow. I came to that conclusion in part due to measurements, but primarily due to tailbone pain. My tailbone doesn't hurt while riding, but sometimes it really aches afterward. I am wondering if sometimes I ride too far forward on the seat because it seems a little too pear shaped for me. (I am not good at telling which saddle are Ts and which are pears -- seems like it should be obvious, but oh well.) I do seem to do better if I make a real effort to stay as far back as possible on the seat. I've rode over 2000 miles on this saddle with no real discomfort other than the occasional tailbone thing, but I'd rather skip the tailbone thing if possible! I don't have soft tissue issues at least....

Thanks for any responses to my rambling!
Christy

[roadie gal]

How about this one?

http://www.terrybicycles.com/saddles...?item_no=21185

[dex]

Maybe the Topeak Allay? The large Allay Racing Sport 1.1 is 160mm. And the Sport 1.1 comes in both 160mm and 175mm.

[Thorn]

Welcome to the search...

+ Topeak Allay does have wider saddles and they are very T-shaped. However, the wider saddles are very, very soft. My experience (and, yours, of course may be different) as that the rear platform on the sport road model was so soft it was difficult to stay put on the rear platform. I waited expectantly for months for the saddles to hit the streets and harassed my LBS to order me one the minute I heard they were ready. Sigh....no luck.

+ Selle SMP Lady Strike may or may not work for you (Bike Mania and MasherZ both carry it). It is a little soft and, because it isn't a flat saddle, but, instead has a platform that is shaped kinda like /\ from behind--(very exaggerated), you might or might not find it good. If you try one, realize that you want the rear platform to be level when viewed from the side--that means its nose points up (like a Klingon Bird of Prey). The SMP does have a wide nose, though.

+ The Terry Rosie as mentioned above is on endless backorder. You might try getting an answer from Terry, but I'm losing faith. The saddle has been backorder listed for May 1, June1, July 1 and is currently listing July 25th as the backorder date. It looks like a very promising saddle--I just wish I could try it before Christmas....grumble...grumblle....

Personally, I ride the Selle SMP Lady Strike. I love the cutout and I love its nose (very supportive in the drops), but I don't quite fit right on it so occassionally my left leg goes numb. This vegetarian broke down and bought a Brooks B68 and then shipped it to Selle Anatomica for a cutout. The mutilated B68 is looking promising, but I've been so spoiled with the SMP cutout that I'm not quite convinced. However, the Brooks does do a good job at supporting the rear end.

[songlady]

Good thread. Has anyone actually gotten their hands on a Terry Rosie yet??

[Nokomis]

Specialized Sonoma 175 - perhaps more cushion than I'd like, but the width has worked well for me so far.

[anakiwa]

Avocet O2 Air 40 women's version. Unfortunately it's backordered right now and odds are you won't be able to find it (my LBS said August or so). There may also be a touring model.

The Selle SMP has a really wide nose- I found it rubbed too much.

The Rosie would be a good one to try if you want to avoid the Brooks- I think it is a little more pear shaped than the Avocet though.

Good luck- (and definitely let us know if you find something).

[csr1210]

Thanks for your replies!

I'm going to look at these and try to make a decision on what to try first. I just really dread the whole business of getting set up with height and fore/aft adjustments to get situated. The old one is getting pretty ragged, and the tailbone has been pretty grumpy the last week or two, so I guess I better get on with it!

Thanks again!
Christy

[indri]

Specialized Sonoma 175 is working for me so far too. My sitbones just slide over the edge on a 155. I think even a 165mm, if I could find one, a tad firmer than the Sonoma but with the same cutout, and with a slightly narrower nose (and leather, without those stupid patches of fuzzy fabric that take a day to dry if you get caught in the rain...what's up with that crap?) would be perfect.

[crazycanuck]

K..I have an odd q..

If i lose a bit more weight from my behind section, will my sit bones shrink?

I don't think so but i just thought i'd ask a crazy q on a friday

[alpinerabbit]

Thorn - same with my SMP but I haven't minded so far, the rest of the deal is too good to worry about it. What's your most epic ride length done with the SMP?


CrazyC- you'll lose padding around the bum but your bones won't shrink.

[crazycanuck]

I thought that if i lost weight from the behind section I might be able to buy the saddle I want?

I still have no clue if the Selle Italia saddle i've ordered will be ok..

[Nokomis]

Specialized Sonoma 175 is working for me so far too. My sitbones just slide over the edge on a 155. I think even a 165mm, if I could find one, a tad firmer than the Sonoma but with the same cutout, and with a slightly narrower nose (and leather, without those stupid patches of fuzzy fabric that take a day to dry if you get caught in the rain...what's up with that crap?) would be perfect.

I completely agree with this. I went with the Mens version (I think?) because it had fewer weird seams in bad places. Totally forgot about that until I read your description.

Crazycanuck - sorry, the bones won't shrink. The padding will, and you'll feel everything even more. (Which is why I couldn't continue on my brooks, what with feeling the rivets back there.)

[Thorn]

Thorn - same with my SMP but I haven't minded so far, the rest of the deal is too good to worry about it. What's your most epic ride length done with the SMP?

A couple of 100-ish miles (160 km). The SMP is odd. Sometimes I find the sit-bone area intensely painful at around 16km and then I re-bond with it and things are fine. While I find myself not quite supported correctly in the sitbones, that massive cutout seems to take off some of the weight and compensate.