Saddles. As cyclists, they can be our worst enemy. We spend so many hours pedaling away on one, that if it’s uncomfortable, riding isn’t fun. When a saddle is miserable, we are less likely to want to ride. If we associate pain with riding, we’ll do whatever we can to avoid pain.
If your current saddle is uncomfortable or if you’re in the market for a new saddle there are three points I want to add to cyberspace:
1) Before you do anything, have your sit bones measured. This will help guide you in narrowing down saddle options. When I first started riding, no one ever asked to measure them. As a result, I fumbled along during my saddle searching excursions. I was never truly comfortable on any of the saddles I tried. (I’ve ridden a lot). If you go to your LBS (local bike shop) and they suggest saddles without measuring your sit bones.
2) Make sure your saddle is properly fitted. Sometimes just adjusting the angle, fore/aft position, or height can resolve a nagging problem. Don’t be afraid to play around with it, but avoid the extremes (i.e. 45 degree saddle tilt!)
3) Higher price does not always mean better. The best saddle I have ever had was an Orbea OEM saddle (I was devastated when it got destroyed). The thing probably didn’t cost more than $15. I’ve ridden some $180+ saddles that I couldn’t stand.
[hr] I’m not going to try to re-invent the wheel, so here’s a small collection of bike saddle resources:Bicycle saddles by Sheldon Brown
Bicycle Seats Explained by Jim Langley
Bike Saddle Buying Tips – What Bikers Do Not Know by Bikerati
Guide to Bicycle Saddles by ebicycles