Mtb saddle

[Jakoos]

Is there any bike shop in Pretoria where you can try out different mtb saddles before buying? For longer than a 5 second spin around the parking lot.

[Mike Dewing]

Measure your sit bone width..

https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-gear/how-to-measure-your-sit-bones-for-the-perfect-saddle-fit-its-easy/

 

use the Ergon saddle finder for best recommendation

https://www.ergonbike.com/en/saddle-selector.html
 

Search that saddle and buy it from someone locally.. worked pretty well for me.. love my saddle..

I can’t see any shop letting you try out saddles, unless they had demos of everything. 🤔

[madmarc]

Go to Spez shop and sit ontheir assometer get your width and take it from there 

[Jakoos]

Thanks for responding.  I have done the measurement and bought a saddle according to the size as recommended.  Unfortunately, I find it very uncomfortable and it leaves me with a sore butt after about 25km!  This is why I want to try out different saddles, but it seems I will have to go by trial and error and that is going to be an expensive exercise.  The other option I have is to play around with seat height and level a bit more to see if I can find a solution.  Can someone enlighten me regarding the length of the "nose" of the saddle and the role this plays in practical terms?  And maybe, some additional information that might be important:  I am 67, cycled for years as recreational rider, then stopped for a few years and only recently started riding again. 

[madmarc]

The pain you experience could be due to the fact you havnt ridden for a while - Your sit muscles need to get used to the saddle agian. I'm sure every new cyclist experiences this - even when ive been off the bike for a few months, I experience a bit of pain or discomfort for the first couple of weeks. Before i did the Spez shop assometer thingy I had a terrible time with sore ass on long rides. I found out my saddle was far too narrow and according to the meter i needed a 143 mm wide saddle - since then its sorted.

In terms of nose length, any normal saddle in my opinion has no affect. I use the short nose or power saddle design for MTB as I found the normal nose always hooking my cycling shorts with all the standing and sitting you do in MTBing. On my road bikes i use a standard nose saddle.

So if you have measured your sit bones properly and have the correct width saddle then toughh it out for a few weeks, it will get better. But also make sure your saddle height and fore/aft setting is correct as well as the level (It must be flat not tilted forward or backwards)

I also choose a saddle with a good ctr gap to reduce the pressure on the perinial nerves (spelling) 

I would spend some money and get a pro bike fit done its certainly worth the money   

[Jakoos]

Thanks, I will play around with the fore/aft position of the saddle a bit as well and see where it takes me.  I have been cycling for about a year now since I started again and decided the saddle on the bike when I bought it is not ideal.  The new saddle I bought is actually worse!  I have done about 60km in total with it, but I will stick with it and see where it takes me.  Where do I get a pro bike fit done?  I know higher end shops do that when you buy a bike from them. 

[RobertWhitehead]

You're welcome to try mine. I have a few options available 

[thebob]

Drop your saddle height 3cm and see if that doesn't fix the discomfort issues

Edited Saturday at 11:57 AM by thebob

[Jakoos]

@RobertWhitehead, thank you for the very generous offer!  I will contact you directly if I run out of options. 

@thebob, I have checked the saddle height first thing and I think I have it on the right height - I am not rocking in the saddle and so on.  If I have the seat to low uphills become a bigger issue than it currently is. 

I really appreciate the advice!

[love2fly]

4 hours ago, thebob said:

Drop your saddle height 3cm and see if that doesn't fix the discomfort issues

This +1. I've found if my saddle is istoo high I've got weight supported by my legs, resulting in a sore ass 

Also, as someone mentioned above, if you haven't ridden in a while or are new, in our groups experience it takes 4 to6 weeks.

Good luck!