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8 comments
I tried lots of saddles and eventually settled on a Selle San Marco Mantra (the old version - there seems to have been a bit of a redesign in recent years). Expensive, but has a huge cut-out and I found it transformational in terms of comfort vs. other saddles.
I then spent ~2.5 years off the bike as a result of problems with my knees, then lost 9kg in weight (now a lean 72kg), and coming back found the saddle nowhere near as comfortable - possibly as a result of much less natural padding... But still, interesting how the same saddle that I swore by 3 years ago is now really not so great for me.
So, what everyone else above says - find some way of trying saddles. Worth noting though that a saddle you find comfortable for 30 minutes, you might not find so comfortable over 2 hours. That's what happened for me - I tried a fizik and a Selle Italia, both of which seemed good, but didn't work for me when I was getting past 90mins. I used eBay as my method for trying numerous saddles (as suggested above).
Alternatively, if you can, try some friends' saddles on your usual rides.
Selle SMP Hell on my cross bike. Unfortunate about the name, but best saddle I've ever tried. On the pricey side, but worth it. (Funny enough, buying it from Chain Reaction Cycles and shipping it over to my country via cargo forwarder ends up being much cheaper than buying it locally.)
WTB Silverado Sport on my folding bike. This is 1/6 the price of the SMP, but remarkably good for the price.
Neither is what you'd call lightweight but both are comfortable.
My first 20 mile ride on a Fabric Spoon that came with my Synapse told my posterior that it wasn't going to be a marriage made in heaven.
Ebay is a great source of cheap saddles that you can tryout and then re-sell before you find the perfect one.
I settled on a Selle Italia Flite after 4 differnet makes.
One rider's cushion is another rider's ice pick. You just have to keep trying to find a saddle that suits you. Have your sit bones measured is a start.
Specialized romin for me is excellent. After 10 hours of the Marmotte, was still comfortable.
Specialized 143 saddle. Perfect match to me . With cyclists saddle and tyre choice is defended like their religion . All others are
No two tooshies are alike. An individual may rave about a certain saddle while the next person finds it horrible. See if your LBS has free try outs then go for a spin. Your toosh will vote yay or nay.
like some people ask how long it takes for a saddle to become comfortable, I reckon if it doesnt feel right from the start it's unlikely to get any better.