There have been a lot of threads about choosing a saddle and it seems that there is no alternative to trying out a few until you find your perfect perch (sorry) but suppose you are finding your current saddle uncomfortable, how do you select the next one to try? Can you tell if the one you have is too narrow, or is it just the "wrong shape" somehow? And then what do you look for on the shop website (assuming you don't have a handy and well stocked LBS) to select the next one? Is there a rational way to choose? Or just close your eyes and click one?
Oh-ho!
I've tried soooo many in the last 12 months I genuinely wondered about trying to write a post about it!
For me, although my sit bone measurement would suggest a 143mm saddle, I think I tend to roll my pelvis forward more than average (anterior pelvic tilt) which means I spend more time on the narrower parts of the sitbones. That would be all fine and well but most saddles seem to taper from wide to narrow too quickly, so my sitbones very quickly run out of room. The results mostly in chafing as the lack of support results in rocking, or even low back pain for the same reason (lack of stability).
So I've been through a very expensive process of finding a saddle which is wide enough at the back and tapers gradually enough to the front. A chopped off TT saddle like an ISM might have done it, but lack of support at the front of the sitbones seems to result in hand and arm pain, hence not getting on at all well with an SQLabs saddle which effectively leaves nothing under the sitbones forward of the main point of contact. I guess this is why the people typically using chopped off TT saddles have aero bars and arm rests!
'Curve' from side to side reduces chafing on the inside of the leg but decreases available width and support, so I found e.g. the Specialized Power Arc was 'effectively' too narrow.
'Curve' from nose to tail seems to restrict how much you can move, when you're sat up the tail of the saddle is trying to push you forward, if you're tucked down on the rivet you're sat on the upslope of the nose which is uncomfortable. I guess you would need to learn your own particular flexibility here, if your lower/mid back is flexible then I think your pelvis can stay more static.Â
Edinburgh Bike Fitting/ Douglas Shaw does some good videos on saddle selection on Youtube, focussing on what shape you should consider depending on your position/ body type etc.
My top three 'triangular' saddles which provide support and stability throughout are:
Fizik Terra Argo - gradual taper, remains relatively wide right up to the nose, a wee bit too curved fore and aft so not ideal on a road bike (too fat and padded for the road bike anyway!).
Selle Italia Novus - gradual taper, remains relatively wide right up to the nose, flatter than the Terra Argo from nose to tail so allows more freedom of movement between sitting up and tucking down. I had a gravel one but the extra thick padding was causing chafing I think, fancy trying a firmer model on the road bike again.
San Marco Aspide - very gradual taper in the 140mm model but sadly for me I think this is just slightly too narrow as I find myself sitting right back on the wings to find width. The 155mm version tapers to sharply so you just end up sat on the narrow nose again.
I could easily tell you what saddle I'll buy next, or at least I could if Fabric would just make a Scoop Radius with a cutout. Still the only saddles I've tried that are comfortable. I've got a a 143 on the road bike and a155 on the mountain bike. Sit bones are approx 105 mm apart so in theory I should be on a narrow saddle but I'm not sure how much difference width makes to me. It seems shape front to rear and curve side to side are what I need to be right. I don't seem to get any issues without a cutout but I'd still like to find a comfortable saddle with oneÂ
