Oops. I've drunkenly signed up to a 100mile race in May, which means I need a (comfortable) new saddle to replace the razor blade Specialized thing I've got at the moment… What're the current favourites?

Start breaking in the Brooks now. 😯

I've found the Ritchey WCS Marathon I'm running at the moment incredibly comfy. one of the best I've found straight out the box.

I attempted 100 miles of the west highland way last year on a WTB Pure V. They're not sold as racing saddles but are relatively light yet supportive.

I didn't actually manage the full distance but suffered no discomfort from the saddle when I eventually bailed 70 miles in.

I can defo say not the speccy alias bg, I did 190 miles over a weekend in 2007 and truly discovered saddle sores

Get something good now and ride it so yo're used to it

Been using Selle Italia SLR for 100 mile road and 10 hour offroad events. Go for something you're used to and ride it as much as you can.

I think it's more about shorts than saddle – Assos F1s on the inside for comfort, Cannondale 1440s on the outside for a bit of padding. And four fingers of Assos chamois cream. Job done. No ring'o'fire at the end.

Any that you feel comfy as your butt is unique and above time to break the seat in!

Cheers for the suggestions, had a WTB Rocket a couple of years ago,until it broke in a crash – maybe another of those. I hadn't thought of Ritchey.

neil's-on-wheels – Member
Start breaking in the Brooks now.

Does the rider break in the Brooks, or is it the other way round?

get a spoon or sdg bel air sharpish, and see if you like it.

then ride, rinse, repeat til you achieve the desired result.

time on the bike is the important thing (along with set-up – try moving things, a little at a time, ideally one thing at a time), once you've found a saddle you get on with.

breaking yourself in is more important than breaking the saddle in i find.

i can give +1s for:

WTB Pure V
Speccy Avatar 153 (mm wide i think?)
and now and SDG belair

Er a very comfortable one?! Seriously, another vote for the WTB Pure V. V comfortable in fact. It's seen me through a few 24 hourers.

Whatever is comfortable for you and what your used to.
Selle Italia SLR is comfy for me even in 24hr solos. Been riding them for years and find them brilliant.

Brooks B17, I found it took minimal break in, and the give is better than 'gel'/padded saddle I've ever used.

Specialized saddles for me which when compared to fotorat's experience above, makes the point quite nicely that any recommendations in the posts on this thread are completely worthless other than giving you suggestions on models to try.

What works for others will have no bearing on what works for you

fizik arione, a road saddle but exceptionally comfortable

Kind of difficult to say really as everyone has different opinions on what they find to be a comfy saddle. I have a selle italia c64 saddle on my road bike and find it very comfortable and it has no padding at all – just a carbon shell. But I've always been a flite man.

Best advice is to get your ass saddle hardened, get some good quality shorts and a heap of chamois cream.

A comfy one would be best I guess but I could be wrong 😆

Whatever has been comfortable during training should be fine, just make sure it's a saddle you're used to and not a new one you're breaking in, along with padded shorts which you know also work for you, and some Assos chamois cream or similar would probably help. 😀

a comfy one. you'll have to find out for yourself which one that is….

Brooks B17 and as much assos cream as you can carry.

Just make sure you've ridden the thing a good few times before the ride so its bedded in!

For me WTB Rocket V, got 3 of them!

For distance I usually run a pair of thinly padded shorts with a pair of padded 3/4 shorts on top.

And SDG I-Beam saddle and post.

SDG Belle Air. Have covered about 15K miles over the last three years on and off-road on these, including 100 mile days. Never had a comfort issue

Used to use WTB Rocket V – very good but not quite as comfy as SDG.

You could buy the comfiest saddle available to man…….. but if youre not used to sitting on it – its no good!!!!!!!!!!

Spend your money on a good pair of padded shorts (like Endura's @£20) and get out and ride!

Start off with short rides and gradually eeeek them out to the desired distance!

whichever one you find comfortable or have done the most miles on

saddles are a personal thing

if i was in your situation i'd just use the saddle i've had longest

on a road bike i'd use my spec toupe

on an mtb it's be a WTB SST team

Ford Focus.

Spend your money on a good pair of padded shorts (like Endura's @£20)

Can I suggest you spend a bit more than £20 on a 'good' pair of shorts. I have £20 shorts and £100 shorts, the comfort difference between the two is massive.

Cheers for all the suggestions, I'll certainly get one long before the event to make sure I'm used to it. Chainreaction seems to be offering Belle Airs on sale, I'll probably give one of them a try.

And I'm going to get some botty cream, too 🙂

I did the SDW in a day on a WTB Pure Race. Very comfy, arse hurt less than expected at the end.

I did it with a £13 quid pair of endura shorts as well. Just make sure you lube up with the Sudo cream first.

wot the others said about the botty cream – assos or udderly, apply liberally to all moving parts!!

and decent shorts, I have some castelli, which I would recommend