I realise of course that saddle choice is an entirely personal choice but I’m hoping the collective wisdom of STW can come up with some general pointers on saddle choice for my other half. I also realise no saddle is going to leave you feeling as fresh as a daisy after a long ride but having done many long distance events on a hardtail, and coming away feeling OK, saddles needn’t be instruments of torture!

She enjoys a variety of mtb, from local rides taking in bridleways and techy singletrack to trail centres such as Glentress, and whilst her bike couldn’t really be more perfect (I’d love it) her saddle is a real weak point causing pain which often lasts for several days.

The saddle currently fitted is a Bonty Inform WSD saddle, which I thought would be OK based on reviews (though it could be the wrong width – she refuses to have her arse measured!) and had a WTB Speed She on her previous bike which didn’t suit either.

Somebody must make good saddles for the womenz!

Hi, i;ve had loads of saddle trouble over the years untill i read about a “Rido” saddle. it looks very odd, my mate reckons its a chinese throwing star!! Anyway, i tried one and it really works for me. The idea is that the 2 pads allow your “sit bones” to find their own ideal place to get padding and for men it holds the perenium? tube from being pressured which causes the numbness, in men anyway. I don’t see why it should’nt work for ladies too. I have’nt got any links but if you google Rido, its sure to come up.

HTH, Rob.

Mrs R has been through a heap of saddles. Spech Windie XC Sport seems to have ended the hunt for the perfect fit. However, she has her eye on something from Selle SMP.

Lizzie uses a basic Scott one, and finds it fine. Takes a while to find the sweet angle though.

There is a Rido for sale on ebay! I hear they are great too.

gf has been very happy with the charge ladle – although as its now a bit tired its been replaced (this evening) by the madison breeze (almost identical but a few mm narrower and longer) will have to report back in due course!

Ive got Specialized Jett 143s on all my bikes, they dont look comfy but never leave me sore

Where is she sore? Is it the area round the bum bones or is it, well, the very private parts ?
If the former, then she should really get her head round getting her butt measured to find the one whihc best fits her bones.
If it is the latter, I suggest find a saddle with a large cutout, eg the Selle Diva Gel Flow, comes in two versions, one a wider type which is not quite as expensive, and the race version, which is very expensive. I’ve got the race one on my techie mountain bike as I get behind the saddle easier (and back on!) and the wider one on all my other bikes. Never looked back after having lots of pain too.

+1 Selle Diva Gel Flow, and the Lady Gel Flow. The wife likes these.

Thanks for comments so far. I’m not sure how else I can explain the measure is a measure of her sit bones only, not the size of her arse!

Hadn’t thought of Selle Italia or even heard of the Rido will check these out and see if I can get her down to an LBS.

Dave, it’s nothing to do with the size of her bum, what I meant if she’s sore on the bones or the f@nny bits… she’ll know what I mean if you ask her…

I would suggest that she needs to look at both shorts and saddle. Personally I find it more comfy having gone ‘minimalist’ for both shorts and saddle. This is what I have on all my bikes and you will see that it’s an open back design:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/selle-italia-slk-gel-flow-ladies-saddle/

Also being leather it does ‘give’. My shorts have very little padding and just find there’s less to chafe, as it were!

orangina – sorry yup I did realise what you meant. Pain/discomfort seems to be all over so combination of a saddle which is possibly designed for different sit bone width and a nose which is I guess either too wide or doesn’t have enough of a cut out. There is a bit of a pressure release part but it’s more of a recess than a full on cut out like the Gel Flow.

Idea behind getting her measured is that if we did go down the Spesh BG or Bonty WSD route at least we know which width to get – rather than just picking off random width ones until we find which fits.