saddles... what to buy

[Veebee]

San Marco Shortfit, prefer this over the Spez Power.

[Dusty]

I've been riding bikes for 20 odd years and never ever bought a saddle...  Every time I bought/built a bike I used whatever saddle it came with the bike / frame and I've never really considered replacing it...  Some were better, some were worse but with a bit of riding I seemed to get used to whatever saddle I had.

 

I own 3 older bikes and it happens to be that all of the saddles have seen better days...

 

I also happened to see some youtube videos from Spez and Fizik who claims to now have way better saddle tech (shorter noze etc.) than we were used to...

 

Questions:

 

1) Are the "latest" tech in saddles really that much better, and is it worth spending R3k on a good saddle vs R700 for a cheapie?

2) What are the key features to look for (is it materials of construction, geometry etc.)

3) How do you go about testing one...  i't not like you can ask your LBS to slap on a range of saddles and go for 3 hour rides to compare?

 

I found that almost anything is okay up to ~4 hours, but I've taken some serious beating on 12+hr rides / stage races in the past.  I've got some long stuff coming up, so maybe I can find something that makes those long rides a little less terrible.

 

Any thoughts/comments would be great

Some of your bigger bike shops will have Test Saddles. If you are in Gauteng, Solomons has quite a wide range. Use this facility. It's a whole lot cheaper in the long run as saddle fit and comfort is such a personal thing.

Edited June 22, 2020 by Dusty

[FondTF2]

Fabric Line - Awesome comfort and does not break the bank

[broncoza]

If weight penalty is less important than comfort, one word - Brooks

 

Cambium great on MTB or the old faithful B17

[BikeisLife]

Have a look at the new Fabric Line S saddle, it’s a short nose saddle and super comfy. Comes in a carbon rail option if you after the lighter weight.

[Wayne pudding Mol]

I rode with spaz phenom - I had them measure me up and that’s what their machine told me to use. They are great but...

So go into a store and if it tells you you need a phenom buy a Farr saddle

[Pikey]

Have tried so many saddles. Now ride a 155 (according to Spez Arseometer) power saddle on every bike. Had tried 143 ,didn’t work.

Took a while to find the prefect tilt (which I didn’t personally )which i think is very small. Went for a bike fit and hey presto .

 

Now I use the same tilt regardless of type of bike or bar drop. Use the level app on my Phone to get it exact every time .

 

A mate who has power saddle tried a Farr on his other bike and said it’s as comfortable.

[Hairy]

Some of your bigger bike shops will have Test Saddles. If you are in Gauteng, Solomons has quite a wide range. Use this facility. It's a whole lot cheaper in the long run as saddle fit snd comfort is such a personal thing.

and then please make sure you use the services of the LBS that made the effort (Financial and administrative) of ensuring they have test saddles for you to use.

[WW87]

Been struggling with this myself too lately

 

Are there any LBS's with a wide variety of test saddles in Cape Town? Tried CWC but they have a super limited number available

[TIB]

Saddles are like shoes. Buy the one that fits.

 

Especially good leather shoes.

 

Buy a Brooks..... 

 

Like a saddlebag, not so fashionable, but it works like a charm.... best on long rides

Edited June 22, 2020 by TIB

[Brakepad]

A saddle is a very difficult thing to recommend . If you want to be absolute safe look for one which you can really test . On a 30 min ride almost all saddles are comfy.

[DieselnDust]

Okes, those "arseometers" are a load of b*ll*c*s. They don't give accurate readings as different people have different amounts of padding around the bones. Also you are only really placing weight on those bones if you are sitting very upright. Its not the sit bones only that's key to comfort  for most people but rather the narrow bones in the perineal area are of great influence to comfort.

 

https://blog.sellesmp.com/en/the-prostate-saddle-works-a-medical-study-confirms-it/

 

This is why many saddles have started to mimic the central to rear area of SMP saddles. Key to comfort is the amount of padding on the beams of the central channel.

[xamnam]

Have I mentioned Brooks

[Popit]

Which shops in Gauteng stock ProLogo saddles ?/

I am looking for a white Dimension NDR .

[DieselnDust]

Have I mentioned Brooks

 

 

No but i'm sure if you subscribe to this thread somebody will shortly

[dsw]

I thought Brooks saddles are only used by Hipsters and Postmen.