[Skyking1231]

i am in the never ending search for that 'comfy' saddle. i've tried WTB silverado...sqlab ...and they become painful after about 45min or so. the WTB i seem to go a little longer. anyone have any other suggestions ?

doens't need to be the lightest, but reasonable weight...

 

[blkangel]

Brooks

 

[VegasSingleSpeed]

Selle Anatomica

 

[J.B. Weld]

Some reputable bike fitters claim that saddle pain is usually due to improper fit and/or riding style, not the saddle itself. Also fitness.

Getting out of the saddle periodically helps a lot, and better fitness means less weight on the saddle.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't continue your search for a better one but just mentioning that there are other factors involved besides the seat. IME a comfy saddle need not be cushy or heavy, and for me firm and minimal is best.

 

[Crash_FLMB]

Have you ever been 'fitted' for a seat? Once you know your tailbone width, it makes it easier to find the right seat. The WTB Rocket V in 127mm fits me perfectly. I've been riding it as long as I can remember. I ordered one a year or so ago and the 142mm version showed up. I used it for a short time but had to change it out. Those 15mm are a huge difference maker.

Call around and find a LBS that has one of those fitters. I think specialized makes it.

Sent from my LM-G710VM using Tapatalk

 

[scottzg]

Some reputable bike fitters claim that saddle pain is usually due to improper fit and/or riding style, not the saddle itself. Also fitness.

This is mostly true, but it's nuanced. You need some give. If it's not happening sufficiently in the tires and frameset, the saddle is the last place to make it happen.

For me, my stiff roadie saddle was super uncomfortable on my gravel bike, but it was delightful when i moved it to my flexier road bike. I stuck an old friend on the gravel bike- a selle italia max gel flow, and now it's delightful. That saddle has like 20mm of suspension built in to the chassis. Kinda excessive, but i hate using a chamois.

 

[Hurricane Jeff]

When I bought my new(est) bike, it came with a Ergon Pro saddle. Although it was a familiar shape, I've never tried or ridden one previously. My first ride proved to how comfortable this saddle is and thinking about swapping out all my saddles on all my bikes to the Ergons.

 

[jrm]

Ive gotten good results with the charge spoon saddles.

 

[J.B. Weld]

Specialized Phenom works great for me. So far 5 recommendations and 5 different choices

Gotta measure and try a few if possible, consider riding position.

For me a good bib short with a quality chamois makes a world of difference, you can cover them with normal shorts.

 

[KingOfOrd]

Specialized Phenom works great for me. So far 5 recommendations and 5 different choices

For me a good bib short with a quality chamois makes a world of difference, you can cover them with normal shorts.

+1 on the phenom and +1 on the bib shorts. Although, I'm not very picky about saddle, as long as it is set to the correct height and tilt.

 

[Forest Rider]

Definitely personal preference.

I have had 1 out of 5 seats be uncomfortable (caused numbing).

Each of the 3 on my bikes are stock. The uncomfortable one on my road bike was replaced with some Serfas model that was similar dimensions to another bike at the time.

My old hard tail stumpjumper has a Specialized Branded seat I think (and it's torn up and still comfortable).
Other bike is a 2016 FSR (stock seat) and a 2019 Chameleon (stock WTB).

I feel fortunate that my body isn't picky about what I ride on.

I'm about 155 lbs on average. Ride in nothing more than baggies which are similar material to board shorts. I've tried the 'bike shorts' with chamois and find it to be 100% useless. I don't think I even sat on the chamois. LOL Probably just a poor example but yeah, personal preference based on body type.

 

[Muirenn]

I've used Specialized Saddles successfully for years. Using the Power on my Karate Monkey at the moment. Measure your sitbones and figure out what size you need.

Read this. The information works for all bikes, not just bike touring.

Saddle Comfort and Bike Touring

Weird that you are both 'Sky King.'

 

[SpeedyStein]

Ritchey saddles are usually pretty good for me - the Contrail is my fav, but they don't make it anymore.

Have you ever been 'fitted' for a seat? Once you know your tailbone width, it makes it easier to find the right seat. The WTB Rocket V in 127mm fits me perfectly. I've been riding it as long as I can remember. I ordered one a year or so ago and the 142mm version showed up. I used it for a short time but had to change it out. Those 15mm are a huge difference maker.

Call around and find a LBS that has one of those fitters. I think specialized makes it.

Sent from my LM-G710VM using Tapatalk

This ^^

I've never been "fitted" for a saddle, but once you find the width that works for you, it is usually a lot easier to find saddles that work well enough for your shape and riding style. Some shops will let you try a few different options before settling on "the one" that works for you.

For me, saddle comfort is influenced by bike setup too - I can't ride a standard B17 with bars below the saddle height. It's just too wide and doesn't work well for me. I can ride one with bars at/above saddle height though, because different riding posture.

 

[AbnInf]

I know they've gone out of style, but the saddles with a gel center are really comfortable. Looks aside, the San Marco Race Day is my all time favorite and I have it on 3 bikes. The old Flite Gel was nice as well, I used to have one of those.

But IMO the majority of people who complain about pain don't have their saddle tilt properly adjusted. If the nose is even a hair too high it can cause great pain on a ride. Lots of people blindly spend money on saddle after saddle when the problem isn't the saddle. And asking people which is the most comfortable is like asking what the best tasting food is. Every body is different.

 

[vikb]

Selle Anatomica

Yup. Super comfortable.

 

[Mr Pig]

If only there was some way you could fit some kind of spring arrangement to a bicycle so that it absorbed some of the vibrations for you.

 

[LyNx]

The WTB Silverado is NOT a comfy saddle, at least it wasn't to me, not in the least. Didn't seem so at the time, thought it was the loads of miles I was riding training for the LT100, but it wasn't, it was the saddle. I then switched to the PureV (now just Pure) and it is THE most comfortable saddle ever, as confirmed by loads of people who have ridden with me as all my bikes have them, I'd highly suggest you give one a try and don't go for the higher end ones, the foam is much stiffer, get a comp version and they're a reasonable weight, even for the comp, about 400g.

 

[matt.s67]

Specialized Phenom and Fizik Aliante are the most comfortable I've tried on my gravel bike. On my mountain bike, I prefer the SQLab 611, but I can't ride that saddle on gravel, probably because it's too stiff.

If you're a lighter rider, the Aliante R1 Open works great as the wings have a lot of built in flex. I'm 200+lbs and I think there's too much flex, which puts more pressure on the inside parts of my sit bones. So I've switched to the Phenom which still has a curved wing profile, but is more supportive, and I'm liking it so far.

 

[mack_turtle]

"comfortable saddle" is 100% different for each individual. No two asses are exactly alike! Saddle height, pitch, and reach to handlebar might affect comfort as well. Some people ride more comfortably with the saddle tilted slight up or down.

 

[NordieBoy]

I really like the Fizik Aliante. Got them on all my bikes.
But the new one on the road bike feels a little harder than the others and isn't as comfortable >2hrs.