TXBDan

Hi all,

I got a new bike, a Trek Checkpoint ALR5, and it comes with a Bontrager Montrose Comp saddle, 138mm wide. I've never given much thought to saddles as none really bothered me, but this one is bugging me. I'm 6'4 and I measured my sit bones and i get around 112-115mm center to center. I did this by sitting on aluminum foil on carpet.

Two things are wrong, one is just general achyness up in my pelvis. The second is that it often feels like i'm shifted to one side or the other and like i need to shift to the other side. My hypothesis is that the seat is too narrow and it can't span to reach both sit bones at once. However, i think my other bike saddles are in this width range (i'll check) and i have no issues there.

Any ideas on how to troubleshoot this so i can try and pick out a better option? Thanks

pvillemasher

Hmmm...let me thinks about this one

TXBDan

Ha, i should add that i no longer have any other road bikes (or their saddles) and my only other bike is a mountain bike. It has a comfy saddle, but its also a more padded mountain bike type saddle and i don't sit on it for as long as when on my road bike.

noglider 

Get a saddle like the one you had on your previous road bike.

pvillemasher

I knew there'd be more to it

Sojodave

Just guessing, but if I were you, I'd go to a bike shop to get your sit bones measured. I'm 6'4" and weigh 198 and my sit bones are 130 from Specialized Assometer.

berner

In general a saddle that is too narrow is more likely to cause discomfort than one that is too wide. The area that will cause problems is the area just ahead of the sit bone location where the saddle narrows down. That area needs to match the width between the legs right at the crotch. If the saddle is too wide there it will be uncomfortable.

phughes

Let's see, pain in pelvis, and shifted to one side... Your seat is most likely too high, that causes the pelvic pain, and you shift to one side to compensate. I have experienced the same issue, and had the same symptoms. Lowering the seat solved it. https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com...ard-can-it-be/

And this one explains what I just stated regarding compensating by dropping to one side. https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com...d-can-it-be-2/

sumgy

Yep. Much more likely than a saddle being "too narrow".
The whole ass measuring thing makes me giggle.

Clem von Jones

I sounds like a classic case of one sit bone sliding off the edge. I think you've mismeasured your arse. 138mm is very narrow for someone your size. 155mm is probably what you require.

sumgy

Honestly this @rse measuring BS is another Specialized marketing w@nk (probably something they came up with to try and make up for their sh1t fitting system). I am 6'3" and 185lb. My SMP Composit saddles are 130mm wide at their widest point. I have had hip pain in the past until I dropped my saddle 6cm from where the Specialized "expert" set it. Hip Pain gone.

Clem von Jones

Yeah if your position is aggressively low, forward and aero then you sit on the ramus bone which is a lot narrower.

sumgy

I would not say my position is aggressively low.

Clem von Jones

You're using deep drop bars.

sumgy

Yes?
I am also 51 years old and have a saddle to BB measurement of only 75cm for a guy with a 35" cycling inseam.
This is likely why I can use deep drop bars (not because my saddle width is 130mm wide).

rhm

I agree with the suggestion that your saddle is (was) too high.

Saddle width --and especially "sit bone" width-- is not completely irrelevant, but I don't think it's nearly the important measurement that some people think. Look at a classroom skeleton sometime (not a Halloween skeleton). The "sit bones" are shaped kinda like the rails of a rocking chair, but backwards. Their "width" depends on the rider's position. If you sit upright, your weight goes into the sit bones at their widest point; as you pivot your pelvis forward your weight moves to a place where the sit bones are closer together.

Once you have saddle height, stem length, handlebar height, brake lever position &c nailed down, and you're pretty confident of your favored riding position on the bike, you can figure out your sit bone width. Until then, though, forget about it. It's not important enough.