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Hi all,
Just trying to figure out the best saddle, I have a specialised bridge comp with mimic, but the cover has started coming away so not too pleased with the longevity of it, having a look the Ergon SM Enduro Comp seems to get good reviews was just wondering what you folks would recommend?
I'm probably a left field saddle user... I have triathlon saddles on all my bikes - either the ISM Adamo saddle, or a Cobb / JCOB Maxx (John Cobb used to work for ISM) - those have a big groove cutout but joined at the end, not the 2-pronged ISM.
Gravel bike has a Selle SMP T1 tri saddle. Similar to the Cobb Maxx saddles but wider for my fat asre.
They look weird/ like a torture instrument- but work well for my rear, and have been going years for me. Expensive but worth it for me.
Ergon on both mountain bikes and the gravel bike. SM Pro on the MTB I think. One thing I will say though, if you're on the cusp between widths, size down.
I've got an old spesh phenom I think. 143 wide after sitting on their bum measuring device many many moons ago.
Has been fine for me
I have Specialized power saddles on both my drop bar bikes, really like them. I have a Bridge on my Kenevo SL, it's comfortable too so not replaced it. The good news is that I had an Ergon Enduro Comp on my previous bike and I got on well with that too (actually it's still in service on my uplift bike).
I didn't get on with either of the Ergon saddles I've tried. Smaller size felt like my sit bones were taking it in turns to slip off each side, and the larger size is huge. A couple of years back I mostly moved over to saddles with cut-outs, does what it says on the tin type of stuff. The exception is a Specialized Bridge on the Stumpy, which seems pretty good. Otherwise got a Selle Italia X-Bow Superflow, Nukeproof Horizon Enduro and Bontrager Verse. I found the Specialized Power had a good shape but was quite hard. The Nukeproof has a very similar shape, but way softer padding, although probably impossible to get hold of unless one comes up second hand.
I've a Specialized Power saddle on one bike - 152mm. I find it very comfortable, but it makes an absolute racket.
Fabric on the other bike. Not as nice, and the covering is getting worn away by the grit and my fat arse.
But my backside doesn't seem to care too much about saddles, I can't say i've ever found one particularly uncomfortable.
Specialized power on everything, I’m quite fussy with saddle shape, never been so comfortable.
Spesh Power here too but the Arc version - suits me perfectly. Note that the SWorks Power is the same shape as the Arc. Getting the fore/aft right is crucial in saddle comfort IMO. Especially with regard to chafing. A few mm makes a big difference.
Spesh Romin Evo's for me on road bikes (recently bought the 3D printed version to but it doesn't really feel any more comfy for me then the standard version).
On MTBs I'm less fussy, have a Charge Spoon on one and whatever came with the bike on another.
My favourite saddle was the Pro Atherton DH saddle. I put thousands of miles on it and was the most comfy thing (for me), shame they don’t exist anymore. I also loved my SDG I-Beam Bel Air (although I snapped a few) but alas they’re no more. Currently I like the SDG Bel Air V3 Max.
but I’d love to find an NOS Pro Atherton
Note that the SWorks Power is the same shape as the Arc.
Is that a typo? I had always understood the Arc was a different shape from the standard Power?
I went wider recently with good results, now on a 155mm Power Arc Elaston which lives up to the hype, very comfy.
I've also been using a Fizik Terra Argo which is a sofa in comparison to most saddles I've tried. I liked it but I think it was a touch wide between the thighs, would chafe if I was in the drops or stretched out for any length of time.
The Specialized Phenom on the CX bike is s good in-between I think.
All of them seem very sensitive to setup (actually maybe I'm the common factor there 😂) and none benefitted from being too 'nose down'.
I'm pretty lucky that most things work for me but on the full sus I had 4 rides on a Spec Power before breaking my wrist which seemed comfy, a Spec Phenom before that also worked well. The hardtail has a Nukeproof Horizon Enduro which also works well.
Specialized Power Expert 130mm - my comfiest ever.
I like most nuke proof components but the horizon saddle that came with my digger did not agree with me (or parts of me!) at all. Ergon SM on all my bikes. Some comp, some pro can't tell the difference. Still run the trusty charge spoon on my turbo.
Various Ergons on all of the bikes; all in their smaller size. Have also found Specialized Power to be comfortable.
So cong as the saddle is relatively flat, I'm OK. Two Spoons, one Fizzik, a Selle Italia SLR and a Colnago badged FSA or something.
Ergon is my choice too, think it was called the SME (when E stood for enduro, not eeb)
Fabric Scoop Radius is comfortable enough too, but a bit higher in stack.
WTB Koda. Flat as a flat thing, comfy and cheap.
Specialized Phenom or Power, ideally in 155mm width. But can get on with 143mm too.
I used to just be able to sit on anything and be comfortable, but the last couple of years I've been a serial saddle swapper. At the moment I'm on a Fizik Terra Argo, but I do have a Specialized Power Arc that might get another try soon. Like @oceanskipper I find fore/aft position super important with these, and my saddle has been moving further forward with good results. When I tried the Power before I think I had it too far back.
The most pointless question to ask. The world seems divided into those who can ride whatever came with the bike without issue, and those who are intensely loyal to a particular make and model. Try a load and see what works for you - buy lightly used on eBay and sell them again if they don't work until you find yours (there are always loads of people selling stuff that hasn't worked for them)
*Personally* have run some form of Selle Italia SLR on both my road and mtb's for many years now. Expensive at rrp but pick up when on sale. I used to run SLR T1's (time trial saddle) because you could sit on the big fat nose for climbing steep stuff but modern geo means thats not needed so now run X-Cross (which has slightly more padding and kevlar corners).
K runs the same but some form of "flow" cut out versions (which I find uncomfortable- the edges of the hole get me) in the 'boost' variant (which has a shorter nose) which make sense if you're a smaller rider as give you more space. (I'd probably try that in future despite being tall)
A new bike came with a Fizik Terra and I've got that on my hardtail at the moment and it seems comfortable. The Brompton has a Spank of some kind thats a bit wider and flatter (which suits the upright riding position)
I got one of the spesh saddles for K to try but neither of us got on with it. Used to ride Bel Airs. Weirdly a Giant road bike came with an SLR copy (all dimensions the same and shape) which I found unusable.
The most pointless question to ask.
+1
It's like asking "which size shoe is best". Some people have very average feet / arse, some find that they only get on with certain brands.
In simple terms they come in widths (which are proportional to your sit bone width), amount of cut out (which is kind of related to hip flexibility, if you pelvis is upright int he saddle you don't need it, if your pelvis leans forward you do), and shape (flat, 'hammock' or other).
I know I like 132mm wide saddles with a large cut out and a flat profile. If I stick to that when buying there's at least a 50/50 chance I'll like it. The exception that proves that rule is the Sonder saddle on my new bike, it ticks all the boxes, but gave me a massive saddle sore (possibly because it's not advisable to do a hundred miles the 2nd time out on a saddle you've not broken in.....). So it's back to my trusty method of buying whatever Selle Italia SLR variation fits the bill. My roadie one was well into three figures expensive, but worth every penny. But they do various £20 versions too that are fine for MTB where you're moving around more and sat down less so it doesn't matter so much.
Others will almost certainly like something completely different.
The exception that proves that rule is the Sonder saddle on my new bike, it ticks all the boxes, but gave me a massive saddle sore
See my Giant SLR copy experience above. I don't think theres any 'wearing in' of modern saddles - it's a plastic base with some think padding and a cover. If any of that changes in a few rides the saddle would wear out in no time. (clearly a classic leather brooks is going to be different, and it may be that a new slightly diffent saddle rubs somewhere for a few rides until your skin toughens up where it touches. ie you wear in, not the saddle)
This thread might give you a list to try, but presumably enough people like all of the saddles currently on the market that they sell in sufficient quantities to keep being made.
Charge Spoon on Full sus, hardtail and road bike. Works for me.
I don't think theres any 'wearing in' of modern saddles - it's a plastic base with some think padding and a cover.
Yea, not like a Brooks, but I suspect the carbon or reinforced nylon shells develop a little flex where you sit and the foam padding probably compacts a little over time.
Saddles do move a lot more than people think. I've got an old (worn out) Flite that sags so much the cover has worn off against the rails, that's a good centimeter of sag, on top of whatever it's Ti rails bend. I swapped the Sonder seatpost and saddle at the same time so can't completely isolate which is moving more but I use an old V1 Canyon VCLS post with it (the old one that looks like a conventional post, not the new leaf sprung one) . You can definitely feel that the more expensive / broken in SLR is giving a more springy vertical movement than the thicker sonder foam. And the Canyon post moves forward and back perceptibly. It's an incredibly comfortable combination (for me).
I must have quite a generic arse as I get on with most saddles, although my favourites have been my current SDG Bel Air 3.0 Lux and a Charge Spoon on a bike that got nicked.
Anyone who likes Selle Italia SLR's and so and so, Banana Industries have a load on sale.
Charge Spoon is my default although I have a Bel Air 2 on my full suss and have just ordered a Bel Air 3.
ANVL Forge here. Came as standard on my 2015 TR Scout and it fitted better than anything previously used. I now have one on all 3 of my bikes, 2 mtb and 1 road / CX bike and a spare in the box ready to go when the tear in my oldest one gets too big.
They don't come off well in reviews and often noted as a negative on TR bike reviews and to be fair, anyone that uses one of my bikes hates them. Oh well, low anti theft device maybe?
Selle SMP Extra on the road bike, Charge Spoon on the hybrid, early days but the Cannondale Scoop Shallow (?) on the ebike feels really comfy.
I'm a Selle SMP fan. Dynamic on the road bike, Hybrid on the CX that I commute on as I commute in normal clothes so need a bit of padding.
Looking for a new saddle for my HT as I'm not getting on with the Vitus one it came with, probably get another Hybrid.
Saddles do move a lot more than people think. I've got an old (worn out) Flite that sags so much the cover has worn off against the rails,
All of my saddles do this.
Various SQ Lab saddles on pretty much everything - just work really well for me. Oh, a Bontrager Aeolius, or however it's spelled, on my road bike. With hindsight I put up with sub-optimal saddle for years because I thought that's just how cycling was.
Until you've tried a really well designed saddle that fits you properly, I don't think you really know what a good saddle feels like tbh.
Charge Spoon - had them on my last few bikes.
Although the stock Nukeproof saddle on my Mega is pretty comfy - still on after nearly 3 years, I do have Spoon to swap it for but just not got round to it lol
Sqlab 610 ergolux here in 15cm width. When my all time favourite koobi enduro stopped getting imported, I cast about a bit and tried things like ergon, charge, wtb, etc. The sqlab seems to work, but only one particular saddle weirdly (have a different sqlab for sale if that's at all interesting that I knew after 1 ride wasn't right for me). Just got another 610, but it is the maximum dip version as that is all I could get hold of in 15cm width. Not completely convinced as yet.
charge Spoons on the mtbs and Charge Knife on the road bike.
Double post
5 x Specialized Power in 155mm width on 5 of the 6 bikes I own (the 6th isn't used anymore and I must get around to getting shut of it...)
I've found what works for me so no need to try anything else.
Is that a typo? I had always understood the Arc was a different shape from the standard Power?
The Arc has slightly larger “wings” than the standard Power and in non SWorks versions there are two variants - Arc and standard. The SWorks Power has only one version and it’s the same shape as the Power Arc.
Until you've tried a really well designed saddle that fits you properly, I don't think you really know what a good saddle feels like tbh.
There's also an element of MTB being forgiving of a poor saddle choice because you stand up so much and more around more. That and most people probably do get one well with the nicely padded ~145mm saddles most bikes are specified with.
On the road it's far more apparent when things aren't working.
On the turbo it's even worse. If you want to know if a saddle fits, just do a 1 hour seated turbo session. If you can do it without moving then it's the right saddle 😂
Anyone who likes Selle Italia SLR's and so and so, Banana Industries have a load on sale
Some right bargains there!
The 131mm SLS is a pretty good cheap option as a narrow MTB saddle with decent padding to make long days comfy. I use them on my gravel, commuter and hardtail.
Although at £50 I'm tempted to just pimp the whole fleet with SLR superflows!
Brooks b17 x1
Brooks flyer (sprung b17) X2
Chromag trail master X2
Selle Italia leather job that was massively cheaper than a brooks. The instructions said there was a 600 mile breaking in period. 200 miles in its.starting to get to ok.
The brooks saddles are heavy, the sprung ones are super heavy. After an all day bike ride my bum is normally fine.
My posh road bike came with a super light fizik saddle. It was massively better than expected, but still painful after 130 miles. The brooks flyer is better for me but it was painful to add 1kg of saddle to a carbon road bike
thisisnotaspoon nailed it there - if it works on a turbo it should be grand everywhere else!
FWIW I have WTB saddles on all my bikes (road, mountain, cross gravel and the zwiftbike) and I think they're great but they don't work for everyone.
Spesh BG Toupe on road and gravel bikes. I haven't owned a Spesh for 20 years, but I like the saddles
the best saddle
No such thing, I have found my arse seems to get on best with old WTB speed Vs, as someone above said ~145mm with a big ol' chunk of foam do seem to suit some of us (of somewhat "average" build).
Yes it's unfashionable and heavy, but definitely comfortable for me. I keep re-covering them now and use them on most of my bikes. But that's just me, I arrived at this not very stunning insight after a fair bit of trial and error, money spent doesn't necessarily equate to arse comfort, of course YMMV but IME spending more never made me more comfy.
+1 cookeaa
Grav bike - ergon all road
Drop bar MTB - WTB gravelier
HT - OEM bontrager saddle not sure of model
FS - charge spoon
SS - Brooks Cambium
HTH 😆
I don’t know if I’m weird or lucky but I’ve never had a saddle that I’ve had a problem with, so I just ride what’s on there! I got a Charge Spoon to replace a broken saddle years ago and stuck with the variants of that whenever needing a new saddle.
I was on the bike shop on Auchterarder today and looked at a new Fizik saddle - https://www.fizik.com/uk_en/vento-argo-r3-adaptive.html - looked really good and felt very comfy...no price tag, so I didn't bother asking as I suspected it would be over £100. Checked the price online and it is over £200!
I think I'm lucky as my backside tends to get very comfy on whatever saddle is on the bike I'm using, so I'm not needing to spend that. It looked very nice but not at that price!
Nukeproof Sam Hill Enduro, which unfortunately you can't get any more. Have them on two bikes, would have them on all my bikes if I could get them still