Saddles – going wide

I’ve been happy with 143mm/regular width saddles for ages but this year (after 4-5 months off bike) I’ve been getting more and more uncomfortable around the perineum, to the point that it’s really disruptive in the second half of a ride.

My go-to saddles have a token cut-outs but it’s obviously not enough.

Now trying 155mm saddles and the difference is noticeable, I guess being wider supports the sit bones on a higher part of the saddle wing.

Am even tempted by some of the new Fizik Argo/Vento type saddles with mahoosive cut-outs AND 160mm width, just not sure my vanity would let me fit a 160mm saddle to a road bike!

I’ve been thinking the same, been on 143 for 20 years but the second half of yesterday’s ride was DEEPLY unpleasant – for me it was more about pain deep in the glutes as they seemed to seize up, and they’re still sore this morning

I’ve used 155mm Spesh Toupé for a decade or more

I don’t have a (particularly) lardy ass, it’s just bone structure

I also have a full head of my own hair :)

I am, unfortunately, an expert on saddle issues and have enough very lightly used saddles to open a warehouse.

Going too wide will cause its own variety of issues – mainly rubbing/chafing between the edge of the saddle and the very top of the back of your leg. It can also compromise your pedal stroke which, on a road bike, will become a niggly injury pretty quickly

Have you tried measuring your seatbones and putting the numbers in one of the many online calculators?

Going from using the classic Charge Spoon to the 155 Prologo Proxim Saddle that came on by e-bike was a game changer! Now running a roughly 155 wide Prologo saddle on all my bikes. W350 can be had for around £30.

Have you tried measuring your seatbones and putting the numbers in one of the many online calculators

In my case I used the tool from a Specialized dealer which suggested 143 for me

I also have a full head of my own hair :)

Haha, took me a minute to understand that one, thought you had been stalking me as I’m getting increasingly paranoid about my hairline!

for me it was more about pain deep in the glutes as they seemed to seize up

I had something similar with a Romin Evo saddle, I had it set up with the nose level or even a tiny bit nose down. Obviously the low back loved it and it took pressure off the perineum but the kicked up tail must have encouraged the hips to rotate further than they were used to which I think put more of a stretch on the piriformis, I could feel a sort if diagonal band of pain increasing across the glute. I’ve gone back to flatter saddles.

Have you tried measuring your seatbones and putting the numbers in one of the many online calculators?

Yeah, I think the measurement has changed or I’m measuring differently, either way I’ve always been on the cusp but previous experience going wider resulted in chafing. I think modern saddles (Fizik Antares and Specialized Power Arc) are narrower though and I haven’t experienced chafing this time around.

Re: pedal stroke I tried a 150mm SQLabs which genuinely seemed to improve my pedal stroke felt properly piston-like with the glutes really engaging, but the design seemed to offer so little support forward of the sit-bones that I felt real strain in my arms, was bracing against the bars constantly which got really uncomfortable after 100km. I sort of imagined it as a TT saddle without the TT arm rests!

I’ve tended to stick with 143-145mm saddles as I’ve not like the rubbing the inside of the thighs that wider ones can cause. However, I got a bit overexcited during the Chiggle implosion sale and spotted a titanium WTB SL8 saddle in wide for silly money. I tried WTB’s saddle sizing calculator (based on wrist size) and I was surprised when it came up wide. My sit bone measurements just touched the lower end of the width range for wide saddles too.

I gave the SL8 a go and it’s be fantastic – no rubbing, more comfortable than the Fabric Scoop it replaces and I no longer have numb genitals when climbing.

However, there’s more to saddle design that just width & the SL8 is a much flatter saddle than I’ve used before, has a full cut out and has thin padding (which I thought might be a problem but isn’t) so it’s hard to say whether an extra 5mm or so width is what’s making the difference.

https://www.wtb.com/pages/fit-right-system

That’s interesting, I do think that a flat (across the wings i.e. side-to-side) increases the functional width (SQlabs call it useable width) as your sitbones aren’t halfway down the side of the saddle wing, increasing pressure in the centre.

The issue then is that your pelvis isn’t as supported against sliding back and forth on the saddle, which I think is why SQlabs have the funny wee shelf sticking up at the back.