measuring sit bones

[lattae]

Can you ladies tell me how you measure your sit bones, and once you have this info, how can you determine the correct width that a saddle should be?

[sundial]

Well.......the easiest way is to go to your local bike shop and ask them if they have a butt-o-meter. It's a cool device that you sit on and it measures your sit bones. Then you can determine what saddle is the right width for you.

A more difficult way is to take a piece of typing paper, place it on a stool or chair and see if you can make indentions with your sit bones. One TE'er had luck using Play Do to make her sit bone impressions.

Good luck and let us know what you find out.

[velogirl]

whatever you sit on (a little piece of foam would work), you need to elevate your feet to make your sit bones protrude. to do this, just place your feet on a chair at the same height as you are sitting. make sense?

btw, the "saddle measuring tool" is a specialized product, so you need to go to a specialized dealer to use it.

[lattae]

Thank you for the info. Once I obtain my 'sit bone size' is there a certain rule of width that the saddle should be? Should it be a inch or so wider than the sit bone measurement, or exactly the same size?
Hope you understand what I mean. Thank you ladies so much

[velogirl]

measure your sitbones in mm. there are ranges that will be most comfortable for your width and your style of riding.

here's the guideline from the "butt-o-meter" (yes, I have one because I use it for bike fits). the range on the narrow end is intended for those who ride in a more aero position (ie riding forward on the soft tissue), while the range on the wide end is intended for those who ride in a more upright position (ie sitting on their sit bones).

SIT BONE WIDTH -- SADDLE WIDTH RANGE

130-160mm -- 143mm -- 155mm and wider
100-130mm -- 143mm -- 155mm
70-100mm -- 130mm -- 143mm

I've been fitting women (and men) on Specialized saddles for over a year now. I have a saddle demo program with my bike fits. I'd say 60% of the women I fit on a 143mm saddle, 30% on a 155mm and 10% on a 130mm.

[Thorn]

But...that chart doesn't make sense to me. For the narrower measurements, they suggest saddle widths that are wider. If you're built wide, they suddenly switch over and say you can fit a saddle that is narrower than your sit bone width.

I don't mean to be contrary, but do women with wide sit bones actually ride saddles that are narrower than the bone width? By being uninformed I have done so with extremely negative consequences. So, in your experience is that valid or is that marketing from companies that dont' really have non-tractor saddles for wider widths? And I'm not picking on Specialized--I've read this elsewhere. Just curious.

[TxDoc]

I've been fitting women (and men) on Specialized saddles for over a year now. I have a saddle demo program with my bike fits. I'd say 60% of the women I fit on a 143mm saddle, 30% on a 155mm and 10% on a 130mm.

10% only?
I guess I belong to the minority!!! My saddles are 124 and 130...