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Hi all,
I have a Boardman CX, which is mainly used for a short commute to work and pootling around town (neither in padded shorts), the odd 50ish mile road ride with some offroad thrown in, and the very odd longer ride (230mile Dunwich Dynamno and back etc).
I currently have the standard Boardman saddle which is horrendous.
I've measured my sit-bone width using the foil-on-carpet trick, and it looks to be very roughly 130mm.
I'm not sure how best to translate that to a saddle width, as different sites suggest adding different amounts to your sit-bone width.
There is a saddle library nearby ( https://lbk.org.uk/pages/saddle-library) which also does a saddle fitment, and then allows you to borrow the saddle for 2 weeks, which sounds great. However, they have a fairly limited selection (in terms of brands), and I think most of the saddles are more than I want to spend (ideally I'd like to spend £30-40, happy to buy used), so even if the service is spot-on, I'm not sure how useful it will be.
I've never actually bought an after-market saddle for a road bike (only MTB where the fit is less crucial) - is buying one before trying a terrible idea? Any other thoughts would be great!
Thanks,
Duane.
Unfortunately saddles are one of those things that for every recommendation you get you'll get someone saying the opposite. Have you tried your MTB saddle on your CX bike?
I'm having a frustrating year as regards saddles myself, once getting discomfort within 45-75mins of riding, inside or outside and at 28mm tyre pressures from approx 80-95. I think there is also a factor for me of my favourite padded shorts (Funkier 14-panel) rotating under me as I ride, perhaps due to putting extra weight on over last winter that I'm struggling to shift, because the sore patch seems to happen around the edge of the gel padding. But there could also be issues with fore-aft and tilt setup too. I've been swapping between 4 or 5 spare saddles since spring and still having issues!
All the above is happening on my road bike, while all is fine on the Wazoo. I replaced the wide default saddle with a Charge Spoon (~£17 from Merlin last year IIRC) and to begin with, it felt uncomfortable. But now it feels great, I'm so tempted to use the Saddle Adjust app to check the tilt and then fit that setup to the road bike... And/or buy some new well padded shorts.
I’ve just borrowed a Fabric Line Shallow off a mate for my Reilly Spectre.
Combined with Rapha bib shorts it’s the comfiest thing my arse has ever perched on!
You can get them in two widths as well.
Will be purchasing one myself ASAP.
Planet X have a few of the Selle Italia saddles on Flash Sale ate the moment, I'm considering getting the Man specific one with the hole in the middle. The one that came with my Genesis is nice and comfy and I'm used to it but it's getting a little bit hard over longer distances.
Do the library thing, and then you'll get a good idea of shapes/widths that do/don't work for you. You can then try different brands that match, if needed.
Specific recommendations for saddles based on what works for someone else are fairly pointless - it's all about the fit, and that's personal to you.
As others have saddles are very individual. What is super comfy for ones butt maybe torture for someone else. A decent bike shop will have some test saddles you can try before you buy. This is a good option before buying multiple saddles before you find your perfect bottomly friend.
I personally found the fizik flexibility way to suit me. I ride an antares which is in the middle of the road.
Brooks Carbon Range
Find a shop that stocks a brand(s) that offers a comfort guarantee. Discuss needs / get measured etc and buy saddle. Give the saddle a good try, if it doesn't work, go back to the shop & discuss other options.
As mentioned ...its preference but I found a short nose tri saddle worked was I find I ride leant fowards and its plenty comfortable.. the boardman cx's have really rigid seatpost and not much frame flex so maybe try a more flexible saddle rail(fabric saddles are good for compliance and fit ok in the clamp) but do try to see if there's trail saddles to check the fit and position..
You'll need a wide saddle for sure but what is the issue you're getting with the saddles you have .... is it sit bone ache or putting your bits numb ?