What's in a seat/saddle?

[the snail]

Worth checking your saddle adjustment before experimenting with new saddles - if you have it too high, or the horizontal adjustment wrong then this can cause pain. this is worth a read imo:
http://wheel-easy.org.uk/uploads/documents/Bike Set Up 2017a.pdf

 

[Ice2911]

Lots of good advice already. When I found the one that suited me, and it is a personal thing, I put it on my road, mountain and tourer bike. Well done on going from 0-200 miles in a week, that’s a cracking effort and no wonder you may be feeling a little sore. Some shops let you try saddles before you buy as some can be very pricey. Just keep enjoying the ride.

 

[simon.r]

One point that hasn’t been mentioned is seatpost diameter. One of my bikes takes a 31.6mm seatpost as standard. Shimming it down to take a 27.2mm post made a noticeable difference. This is with ‘normal’ aluminium posts.

 

[carpenter]

You can measure your own "sit bone" distance - put a sheet of corrugated card (old delivery box) on dining table, lower yourself to sit on it.
Stand up! then use a piece of chalk rubbed sideways over card to highlight where indentations are and measure between them.

http://rivetcycleworks.com/which-saddle-is-right-for-me/

 

[Spoons47]

Thought I would throw this into the mix....
Just spoke to a trainer in a triathlon place near my work. Told him I’m expecting the sore bum while muscles harden up, but as soon as I said about sore and redness in my groin and scrotum, without hesitation he said I need a new saddle that is the be all and end all. Gutted really I’ve just ordered some chamois cream

 

[mcshroom]

If I weighed as much as the OP I would be knocking around on an MTB with nice comfy bump-absorbing 2" wide tyres, not a road bike, until I had shed several stones. I doubt the problem lies with just the saddle, it will be the frame geometry and the tyres as much as anything.

Why? I'm not quite as heavy as the OP but I'm perfectly happy with my road bike for 200km audaxes. Mountain bikes are all well and good, but there's nothing to stop larger cyclists riding road bikes. The only concession I've made on that bike is I've fitted 36 spoke wheels, but that's as much an audax thing as a weight thing.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I would have thought the OP would be pushing the weight limit of the tyres on any road bike, so would have to have them pumped up to some ridiculously high pressure just to avoid pinch-flatting them. That's any ride comfort gone out of the window.

 

[Doobiesis]

Hi All,

I have not upgraded any of my bike components as yet and wasn't intending to but wondered whether there is any benefit in upgrading a saddle? Being 21st, I feel every bump in the road and by the time I return home, I cannot sit down! I have purchased myself some cycling shorts from Decathlon, although I am upgrading these to their 900 road bike range, hopefully for better comfort! I wondered whether I would feel more comfort with a different saddle? Any suggestions/replies/ideas greatly received...

Having the saddle fitted correctly to your body is also important.

 

[RichardB]

Don't forget your fitness level. When you start, you probably have 90% of your bodyweight on the saddle and 10% on the pedals. As you get fitter, this ratio changes, so that a fit cyclist may well be pushing so hard on the pedals that only 50% of the bodyweight is on the saddle, and nothing at all when climbing. OK, I have made those numbers up, but when I was commuting every day I found a huge difference in saddle comfort as my fitness improved.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

When you start, you probably have 90% of your bodyweight on the saddle and 10% on the pedals. As you get fitter, this ratio changes, so that a fit cyclist may well be pushing so hard on the pedals that only 50% of the bodyweight is on the saddle, and nothing at all when climbing. .

You're making the assumption that all cyclists will stand on the pedals to accelerate or climb gradients. I don't do either. I take the view that if you can't push the gearing you're using whilst remaining in the saddle, you are in too high a gear.
It's probably true to say a fit cyclist will have less upper body fat and also bigger legs, so less total load will go on the saddle regardless of riding style. There's also the question of front/rear weight distribution depending on whether flat bars or drops are used.

 

[stoatsngroats]

If you want to have a charge spoon, I have one which you’re welcome to try, just DM me!?

 

[chriscross1966]

Saddles are enormously personal things, a mate of mine swears by his French Gilles-Berthiout and considers my Selle Italia an instrument of torture, and vice-versa... we both like Brooks but wildly different models... There will be a saddle that fits you, but what it will be needs a fitting to determine. When you find the right saddle, keep it if you sell the bike, put the old one back on....

 

[RichardB]

You're making the assumption that all cyclists will stand on the pedals to accelerate or climb gradients. I don't do either. I take the view that if you can't push the gearing you're using whilst remaining in the saddle, you are in too high a gear.
It's probably true to say a fit cyclist will have less upper body fat and also bigger legs, so less total load will go on the saddle regardless of riding style. There's also the question of front/rear weight distribution depending on whether flat bars or drops are used.

Where did I assume that? I wasn't talking about hill climbing.

A fitter cyclist will push the pedals harder, and more continuously, than an unfit one. More bodyweight will be supported by the feet and legs, and less by the perineum. The rider will experience that as the saddle feeling comfier as fitness levels improve.