Ouch! Seat advice please

[RoadRider400]

Another vote for Selle SMP TRK saddles.

 

[KnittyNorah]

I tend to keep any pinkness in my wardrobe restricted to "smalls" and whimsical novelty socks - outside of that, I'm not terribly girly.

's weird - I'm not sure, really, that I do actually 'hate' it; I quite like pink sweet peas, roses and dahlias. It's more a burning resentment of everything it represents in our culture. I come from a family of very strong women - and strong, supportive men - and every generation of the women of whom I'm aware has had their activities or ambitions circumscribed or restricted because of what blasted PINK represents.

 

[rivers]

My current saddles of choice are a fizik tempo argo and a fizik vento argo (same shape, slightly different padding type). Both are fairly firm saddles with very little padding. But they work for me (and are unisex). Before that saddle, I had a selle italia diva gel flow. It was pretty good for me, but not perfect, and a little more padded. If you're near Bristol, I still have the diva gel flow kicking about and am happy for you to give it a go

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

First ride in years is likely to be somewhat uncomfortable.

It's the nature of the beast that is cycling

 

[Cycleops]

You’ll get used to bike saddles but it can take a while. Another thing which aids comfort is tyres and tyre pressures. A change to fatter tyres, if your frame can accommodate them, may help you. Don’t run them at max pressure.
Try padded shorts they do make a difference.
@DCBassman recommenced a Charge Ladle, might be a help for you, here’s a review:
https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/components/saddles/charge-ladle-womens-saddle-review/

 

[FrankCrank]

Saddles eh - the endless search for the least uncomfortable one is the best way I'd put it. My current 2 favourites are a Brooks B66, and a cheapo no name one from Aliexpress. Spending big money is not the answer, more a game of luck really.

For real comfort I ride recumbents, but that's cos I build them myself and live in an area that suits them. Still enjoy riding regular bikes as well - good to have variety

 

[Reynard]

's weird - I'm not sure, really, that I do actually 'hate' it; I quite like pink sweet peas, roses and dahlias. It's more a burning resentment of everything it represents in our culture. I come from a family of very strong women - and strong, supportive men - and every generation of the women of whom I'm aware has had their activities or ambitions circumscribed or restricted because of what blasted PINK represents.

I totally get that - it's a pain when everyone assumes that because you're female, you'll be wanting everything in pink and purple. And that includes cycling kit and fitness wear. Less said of the men in my family the better - fortunately I only have myself to answer to these days.

Although my motor racing hero (whose helmet is my avatar) drove a mostly pink car, sooooooo...

 

[Reynard]

And another. I know they will be frowned on by the "harder is better" tendency (The SMP Trk is well padded) but swapping from Brooks to SMP enabled me to up my distances considerably. It was my bum that was limiting me, not my legs.

But that's just me. Everyone's different.

Everyone is different. I don't like the SMP saddles for three reasons. One, they're too padded, two, they don't support my sit bones in a way that's comfortable for me (wrong shape), and three, the nose is too long and too wide.

I have one in my parts bin, but it's there for emergencies only. I can tolerate it for about half an hour, but after that, it starts to pinch and chafe and it's very painful.

 

[Reynard]

You’ll get used to bike saddles but it can take a while. Another thing which aids comfort is tyres and tyre pressures. A change to fatter tyres, if your frame can accommodate them, may help you. Don’t run them at max pressure.
Try padded shorts they do make a difference.
@DCBassman recommenced a Charge Ladle, might be a help for you, here’s a review:
https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/components/saddles/charge-ladle-womens-saddle-review/

Charge Ladle is almost impossible to find right now. Sure, you can import from the US via the Bay of E, but it turns a £30 saddle into a £50 saddle with all the fees and add-ons included.

The Madison Leia is pretty well much the same thing. It's a couple of mm narrower and longer than the Ladle, but when you put the two next to each other, it's barely noticeable.

 

[Reynard]

That's why these threads can be less than helpful.

People trot out their own preferences/received wisdom, like "padding is bad" (nope, not always) "SMP are good" (nope, not always) "Brooks can be tolerable" (that's debatable )

When the fact is what you need to do is find your own way, often by trial and error, maybe by using a bum-o-meter or whatever those things are called. Listening too much to others' preconceptions (including mine) could prevent them from getting a good result.

For instance my wife uses a gel saddle cover that we picked up in a supermarket in France for 5 euros because the supplied saddle on her Spesh Vita was killing her. If you believe the received wisdom of CC such a thing can only result in misery. But for the short occasional rides she does it suits her fine.

Measuring your sit bones - definitely. That's exactly what I did. Easy enough to do with some tin foil and stairs. That's probably the best starting point when looking for a saddle, as at least you can then cross off what's too wide and what's too narrow. Shape, padding and curvature, well you only figure out what works by sitting on stuff.

I got lucky scoring a saddle that suits me on my first try after giving up on the horrible OEM thing that came with my road bike. The Charge Ladle does seem to suit a lot of ladies' bums - and it's inexpensive. Same can be said of the Madison saddle. It's a pretty reasonable first port of call.

N.B. The SMP came with a bike I bought secondhand

 

[annedonnelly]

I'm going to save up for an electric bike I think because the hills are almost impossible 😲

No harm in saving up but if you haven't ridden for years and you start riding regularly & have the bike set up correctly as people have advised the hills will get much easier.

 

[Mralexrides]

Hi everyone, just got a bike today for the first time in years, for 3 reasons mainly;

1) to get fit
2) to stop using the car as much
3) to enjoy riding with the kids

Anyway, my first outing was horrific and I remember now why I hate cycling, because quite frankly even though my rear end is fairly padded (ok quite a lot padded), it seems that the seat manages to find bones and it hurts! I want to love cycling, please tell me someone has found a seat that feels like a sofa?!

🤪

Also, hope I'm in the right forum, this is the first one I found, if there's a more suitable place for me to be please direct me!

I got a brooks B17 and now its broken in its amazing can do two hour rides no numbness at all after. Its hell breaking it in plus now I don't wear any padding. Doesn't feel like a sofa but the firmness is good got some flex in it too. Also another benefit of the brooks is it will mould to your sit bones over time.

 

[Reynard]

I got a brooks B17 and now its broken in its amazing can do two hour rides no numbness at all after. Its hell breaking it in plus now I don't wear any padding. Doesn't feel like a sofa but the firmness is good got some flex in it too. Also another benefit of the brooks is it will mould to your sit bones over time.

Mmmmm, but does the OP, who is a new rider, want to spend north of three figures on a saddle that may or may not suit? Assuming it's not just sit bones unused to cycling rather than a saddle made by torquemada...

 

[boydj]

I like the minimalism of the Fabric range. I have a Scoop on each of my bikes. Little padding, but a bit of flex providing the comfort, and they don't cost a bomb. I'm sure there will be something in there to suit a female frame.

 

[Saluki]

Seamless running briefs are your friend here.



Not necessarily. It's down to personal preference. I ride mostly unpadded.

Yes. We are all different. I ride unpadded too, from time to time but, when I first got back into the saddle after a 9 year hiatus, those shorts were my absolute best friend.