Written by racing bike saddles
I’m looking for a new bike saddle?
Right now, I’m riding a 2008 Fuji Roubaix RC. Even after a few hundred miles, the saddle just isn’t comfortable. Does anyone have experience with higher-end saddles?
Most of my riding takes in the mountains/hills, and I do occasional races.
Saddles are a personal fit to a certain degree. But there are several factors that contribute to riding comfort. What sort of pain are you experiencing? Knowing this I could zero in on the issue. I assume you know not to use soft, mushy, wide saddles for performance and long hours in the saddle.
You mentioned that you have put a few 100 miles on the saddle. That’s enough to know it’s not working for you. But have you adjusted the saddle to try to correct the problem? If the saddle is too high it will cause you to rock side to side making you sore quickly. Simply lower it a little. Is your saddle flat or level to the ground? This is the best angle to start at. If it’s tilted forward it causes you to slide forward onto your soft parts – that’s bad. You should always be perched on your sitting bones. Tilted too far back will put a lot of pressure on your soft parts again.
The final thing to analyze is you frame size/reach. Reaching too far for the bars causes you to roll your hips forward, again onto you soft parts. To fix a minor reach issue a shorter or extra rise stem may work fine. Adjusting the saddle forward will help as well.
Anytime you are sitting on your crotch and not the sitting bones you will get numb and sore. This is cause as much by saddle position and bike fit as the saddle itself. If the saddle’s too narrow, your sitting bones will get very sore too.
If you have done all this and have not had any luck then it’s time to look for a saddle. It is what many riders spend the most time on and once you find the right saddle and right way to adjust it on the bike you are set to go.
Saddles are so numerous, no one has tried even a small fraction of them. Performace saddles are not cheap and each takes several rides or more to know if it works for them. This can be an expensive and time comsumming process. You can do 3 things:
1. ask (like you did) for opinions from other cyclists that ride like you.
2. hit a bike shop that allows trade ins. Some good shops will allow you to buy a saddle and return it in >30 days for another saddle if you’re not happy. They may allow you to do this several times or endlessly. They won’t return your money but you can find a saddle if the 1st one doesn’t work out.
3. You could do like me. I bought several used saddles on EBay. I could find perfect condition saddles for less than 1/2 price. I bought 3 and the third was a charm. I then sold one to a friend and re-sold the other on ebay.
You can spend as little as $40 or so for a good new saddle or $300. I don’t think the higher price reflects better fit. Specialized shops may have a saddle fitting device (I have only heard of it) that measures the pressure in areas of the saddle to find the best fit. Specialized also sells several models in 2 widths to hit your sit bones just right.
Finally, my 2 favorite saddles are the Spacialized Toupe 143mm width and Selle Italia SLR. Both work great for me.
Cycling Apparel, Safety, Gear & Repair : An Overview of Bike Seats/Saddles
