[Closed] Comfortable saddles???

Get yourself to your local Specialized dealer (as I did today) they have a jig that measures your sit bones & a range of saddles in different widths to suit.

I also ran with a Spoon, bought a Specialized Avatar toady, similar general shape to a Spoon, but with more relief:

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I couldn't get on with the charge spoon either. I have an OEM Specialized one atm butt ( ha ha ) its only good for about 3 or so hours. I'm in the market for a new saddle also. I've been recommended to measure my ' sit-bones ' and get one that fits other than trial and error. Possibly Specialized or SQ-Lab.

A bit of a cliche but - Brooks B17 narrow for me. Only trouble is, they are bloody heavy and somewhat over priced.

Mrs SWSD likes the Specialized body geometry saddles. She's never been measured for one though - apparently 90% of women take the medium.

I used to love specialized alias saddles but then I lost some weight. Now loving the sdg bel-air. A real sofa of a saddle. Road one 6 days on the bounce, all day long and never noticed it.

+1 Bel-air

Just measured mmy seatbones but using the DIY method

Hmm, I'm dubious about any arse measuring claims. I'd have reckoned there was more to it myself. Shape, muscle, posture etc.

SDG work fantastic for me but saddles are so personal. (Although to be fair, I seem to be able to get on with any saddle, I think once you have a huge amount of miles on your arse it'll sit on anything quite happily.)

bel air, even the ti flow is comfy too, if you want lighter

It's taken me several years to find the right one, but my fizik aliante gamma xm has been worth every penny.

Even contemplating buying another in the event they stop making them.

I was happy with a Bel Air for years. When it wore out I got an SLR XC Flow, which i find not only more comfortable but also100g lighter. Plus just looking at it makes non-cyclists wince, which is a bonus.

Cliche - one that fits...

A few other brands will feel you up these days not just specialized so there is some more options. Sometimes it's just luck and trying also consider what is between your arse and the saddle for longer rides

Brooks b17 (not the narrow one)
Brooks b17 with springs can't remember what its called -120 mile the other day, 10h- fine

WBT rocket- 2 weeks in the alps absolutley fine.

Its just about finding what fits you.

SDG Bel air..... I am quite heavy 100+ Kg & it works a treat, spent an age trying to find the right saddle....

B17 was my "saddle you can ride, even in jeans, and is always comfortable" saddle. My other favorite is the classic Flite TI, now reissued. That isn't a coincidence, they have a pretty similar profile. The B17 needs a lot of love when used off road.

Truth is I have a narrow arse and can sit on just about anything. My road ride is currently a Fizik Arione. The one exception was a Brookes Colt - that really was a thing of torture!

There's also stuff to consider like the shape of the tail and nose, if you shuffle right off the nose of the saddle then you might want a wider nose to spread that pressure, or if you shuffle back on the flats to generate more power then one with more of a scoop at the back will help.

The size of the cut out depends on how much your pelvis is rotated forewards (common if you work behind a desk or drive a lot), the more it's rotated the more your soft mushy bits take the weight rather than the sit bones, so the bigger the cut out. Which is why some people swear by cut out saddles and others have no problems on normal ones.

On the other hand I find just riding a lot and they bed in after a few hundred miles (or your arse gets used to them).

(or your arse gets used to them)

I found that riding in a 'prone' position then the likes of the specialized 'phenom' saddles with their hammocking action could be useful.

It wasn't till I switched to proper back-swept handlebars and a more upright position that I came to appreciate the Charge Spoon. It made better sense to me in this role than for 'racier' postures.

Only problem with the 'spoon' is that at near 20st in weight, my behind is too wide and the saddle too narrow at the back to negate the feeling that I'm going to slide off the back of it!

So I decided to add a few grammes to the bike and bought a re-branded 'selle' comfort saddle from crc. Works an absolute treat now.

My Spoon was too wide for me, switched to Knives which are flatter and narrower, also less padded so all in all ought to be less comfy but fit is everything, and these fit.

Really no substitute for trying out options- see if you can borrow from mates etc. Even companies that offer fit can't tell you if their padding or angles will suit you.

Higher end version of WTB rocket V is my default on my MTB's, not tried much else, but seems right.. but I LOOOOVE my prologo nago pas on my roadie, can sit on that forever. just fits my bum perfect, If I see any up for sale 2nd hand I'll buy em for my mtb's. It's just a personal thing.

I don't find the Spoon all that comfy either, it's too wide for me. The Knife is better, but is still a tad wide for me. My favourite saddle I've ever had is my SDG I-Fly. It looks like a rock hard narrow razor but fits me really well, even on a hardtail.

+1 on finding the Charge Spoon the work of the devil. Never had any real issues with saddle comfort until I bought one of them to fit on my newly built Inbred.
I thought that it was the fact I was on a hardtail that made it so uncomfortable until I got one for my FSR. That only lasted a couple of rides before being ebayed.

I recently bought the Avatar Comp that alandavidpetrie79 has put a pic of above and it's pretty comfy. Using it on my road bike, then if I decide I like it enough will get one for both mountain bikes too. I wanted a Romin, but they are a bit spendy.

WTB saddles are generally very comfy, although can be a bit heavier. I've had a Rocket V for years (currently back on the Inbred) and it's still very comfortable.

I've spent a bloody fortune on saddles over the years, but by far and away the best for me is the humble Spoon, which cost me less than £20.

I've tried the Spesh Arse-O-Meter and have a Phenom on my XC bike. I get on okay with it, but I get some aches that I don't get with my Spoon. My AM bike has a I-Beam Bel Air, which is supposedly meant to be quite unforgiving, but it's ace. I rate the Bel Air very highly.

Spesh also do a range of test saddles too, I believe. If you talk to your local dealer they might sort one out on a loan for you to try.