Bel air – comfy as a comfy thing, 8/10

Spesh Phenom – what saddle? 10/10

Selle Italia C2 – Alright, it’s noticeable but not in an uncomfortable way 8/10

Had plenty of saddles over the years that just didnt fit so the ones I do have now tend to look a little worse for wear as they’re not being replaced!

For me:
Back in the day – till about 2002 – Concor was the one for me – 10 for comfort.

SLRs for road + MTB – since 2002 – again a 10 for comfort. Unbelievably light at 135g + virtually no padding.

Such a personal thing though finding the right saddle. Shorts make a big difference to comfort – I always wear bib shorts under baggies for xc riding.

Avocet Air 40R Ti, got the skinnier race version and the slightly more padded mtb one, both the most comfy saddles I’ve ever sat on. 9.5

Selle Italia Trans alp I think it’s called, 7.5.

San Marco Rolls, 6.

Cannondale OEM one on me commuter, 4 at best. Really should get something more comfy really.

Trouble is, once you’ve found the ‘right’ saddle, it’s very difficult to replicate it, speshly if it’s discontinued.

Oh, and I rarely wear padded pants. Get the right saddle, and you don’t need them nearly as much.

+1 on that – I’d say that if you need specific shorts to make a saddle comfortable then you’re really only masking the fact that the saddle doesn’t really fit you right.

Of course, finding a saddle that fits you perfectly can be impossible which is where decent shorts then do come into the equation

Charge spoon on the mtb – 6/7 / 10. Not a fan when I put it on the road bike, but isn’t so picky about saddle angle.
Fi’zi:k arione on road and TT – 8/9 / 10 if dead flat. Any angle change and it is horrendous. Huge fan of it though, had it on the road bike a year and when choosing saddles for the TT bike I popped into my local specialized and Fi’zi:k dealer tried about 8 test saddles out on my bike on a turbo trainer. Arione was best by far aliante was quite nice as well though.
Have a planet-x arione copy on the track bike, would save me a fortune if it was a good as the real thing (could have one on every bike for the price of 1 arione!) sadly it’s not, ok on the nose in hard efforts but in a casual position it’s not good at all -5/10.

Iain

The WTB on my XC bike is not bad for a few hours not brilliant after a whole day though.
I’ve got an OEM job on my Road bike which is suprisingly good actually.
an old “BeOne” branded saddle on the SS bike which is not bad either.
And I us a BMX race saddle on my DH bike and it’s not actually very comfy but then I don’t really sit on it for very long… So not that’s not an issue…

Never been fitted or measured for one, but tend to spend some time adjusting them to get the best level of comfort I can.
I’ve found I keep putting the Nose down a little bit more than some others seem to but it just suits me better…

Love the comments about not needing padded shorts – you try riding big miles without padded shorts + your perfect saddle 😯

SLR for me too. Got them on road and MTB. Happy backside even after 11 hours of the Kielder 100. They just feel right. I don’t imagine they’d feel to good as your first foray into cycling though.

3 different saddles including a roadie one with no padding on my SS
None of them bither me much tbh I am used to it- no real pain but I would not actually call any comfortable

The only saddle I’d describe as “comfortable” is a well worn-in Brooks I tried a while back, and it wasn’t even moulded to my arse.

bel air 9/10
WTB Pure V 8.5/10
Gobi 7.5/10
Boardman 5/10

I’ll give the I-beam bel air a 10, rode for 3 weeks solid and not the slightest niggle. The standard railed version I’d only give a 7 – I figure my arse likes the firm base of the I-beam.

Spec Toupe 143 on teh rodabike is probably an 8.5; one day i love it the next it’s not quite right.

Off to scour ebay for an slr to strip down, I’ve a funny feeling I might like that.

Got a brooks and comfort is way off the scale, sat on normal saddles since and I can only ride for a few 100mtrs before its torture.

I like an SLR XP on the mtb and its OK on the road, but for racing and TTs I use a Selle SMP full carbon – looks like a torture device, has no padding at all but actually really comfy. Must be the shape of my arse.

MTB 1 – Old Selle Italia Octavia (no longer made). Just don’t notice it. Love it.
MTB 2 – WTB thing – awful
Road 1 – Selle Octavia. 9/10. Nose worn and taped up.
Road 2 – SLR. 6-7/10. Ought to be great, but isn’t quite right. Bought s/h (but unused).
CX – Selle Italia Filante (no longer made). Narrow. Stiff as a board. Love it – comfiest of the lot..!

My Fizik Gobi is around an 8 out if 10.

My original Flite Ti is a 9 out of 10.

I prefer the slightly narrower profile of the Flite when riding for a few hours.

The back of the Gobi is a bit wider which causes me a few ‘hotspots’ over a few hours.

I find that the key for myself is to make sure that the saddle is completely level.

Charge Spoon on the mountain bike, its fine. Begin to feel it a bit on longer rides, but I cant complain too much. 6/10

San Marco Blaze F on my fixie, been on there a good few years and its great, but i’m never on the fixie for more than an hour or so. 7/10

MOst Leopard on my road bike. So long as I’ve got the angle right, its by far the comfiest one I own. 100+ miles on it and no problems what so ever. 9/10

Spoon on the mtb – 7, would be more but for the seams on the top which rub after a few hours, especially with baggies.
Used to have Bel Airs, comfier but pricey and fall to bits within months.

Brooks on the commuter/tourer – 8. It’s a B17 narrow, which is great with drops but not so good with flat bars.

Velo TI with cut out on the road bike – 9. Pretty much perfect.

zangolin – Member
Love the comments about not needing padded shorts – you try riding big miles without padded shorts + your perfect saddle

Done it but then I’m lucky and have found a saddle that suits really well. I also don’t seem to suffer saddle sores as much as many.

I should add that I do wear padded shorts when I cycle but they’re not really ‘necessary’ for me most of the time. Where I find they make a difference is if it’s wet or if riding a long way on rough roads/trails.