Originally Posted by 79pmooney

duele, there is wisdom in the posts above, but they are quick answers.

The long answer - you have just started a journey; finding that "right" bicycle seat. How long will it take? Can't answer that one. Might be a quick turn of a bolt under your seat, it might take years.

Good road bike fit starts at the seat. Its height, tilt and back and forth position. Plus its shape vs yours. There are no rules here except what you fell. You can gain from others' experience and wisdom, but it may not apply to you at all.

First: is the height about right? At the bottom of you pedal stroke is your knee slightly bent? Good. Big bend? Too low. You have to reach or go toes down for the pedal? Seat is too high.

Second: is it about level? Good place to start.

Third: is it in a good place back and forth? Drop a plumbline or string with a weight on it from the nose of the seat. Is it at or in front of or behind the crank axle? On a small bike (21"/53 cm or smaller), at or slightly in front (maybe 1/2") is a good start. On a larger bike (23"/58 cm or larger), behind up to an inch is a good place to start. (If the reach to yhour handlebars is too long or short, this will make things a lot harder to sort out. Seat position always comes first, But sometimes we have to change things up front just to be close enough that we can see and feel what is happening with the seat.)

If you cannot adjust your seat using the seatpost clamp bolts and the seatpin bolt to get a good starting place, see your bikeshop for possibly another post. If the post is now at a good starting point, ride it and see if it feels better. No? Your shop probably has a device to measure how far apart your sitbones are. It may well be that the seat you have doesn't match your width. If no, talk to them about exchanging it for a better match.

Then there are the intangibles. Cutouts and grooves that make such a huge difference for many of us. Non-grooved/cutout seats stopped working for me in my early 40s. The actual shape of the seat makes a huge difference. So do the materials and construction details. And the choices? Hundreds? I haven't counted. Life's too short.

There are shops that will allow yhou to try a seat on yhour bie for long enough to know if they work, then bring them back and try another. There are shops that have "libraries" where you can buy a card ($25 at a shop I know), take out any seat on the shelf and ride it a week, then return it and ride another. You can "take out" all 25 seats. And when you find one, your $25 goes toward it.

New bikes often come with less than the best seats. (There are manufacturers who figure you are going to get what works best for you and pricing the bike up with a more expensive seat that you are just going to take off anyway is a waste for all.) When you have your current seat adjusted as best you can, you will begin to see where its shortcomings are and be better informed on where to spend money for possibly a higher quality seat. But, and this is a huge but, if the next seat isn't right for you, the big pile of money you spent, the very high quality materials in it and the "gotta have it" factor will amount to absolutely zero comfort-wise except that it will delay you taking the next action to get it right. (Pride does that.)

Welcome, duele, to our forum. And welcome to the "find that seat" journey. (That seat is out there. Have faith and perseverance. It is so worth it!

Ben