minaa

Hello,

I did a little searching and couldn't find any easy answer to this. I'm looking for a seat that I can lock easily (either a locking seat post may be in order, or cable it in), and also ride without sit bone pain. I also have wide hips, as I am a woman, so I'm interested in seeing what the commuter-specific forum has to suggest. I could ask the touring forum, but I'm not that committed yet.

Thanks!

Leisesturm

I rode for years in NYC without ever needing to lock my seat. If your seat is in danger so are other components on your bike. Its time to move if things are that bad where you live. I'm serious. Terry has a saddle that will fit you. I can't say if it will be comfortable. No one can. Personally, I think comfortable and bicycle are mutually exclusive. A seat that won't actually hurt and/or cause numbness is about as good as I've ever gotten. YMMV. A good part of that equation is positioning. Neither too close nor too far from the bars, at the correct height for your leg length and foot size. With handlebars of the proper type and height. I am going to guess that you are using flat-bars. These are much harder to achieve seat comfort with because all your weight winds up you know where. Terry has a model called a Cite (accent over the e) that is both cheap (~$35) and supposedly comfortable. I'd start there. Bontrager, Specialized, WTB, even Planet Bike all have seats for women that always wind up at the top of comfort rankings. FWIW.

H

bhop

I recently bought a brooks cambium and have been riding it for a couple weeks now. I feel like it's the most comfortable saddle i've been on so far.

Leisesturm

I avoided suggesting anything Brooks because of the o.p.'s stated concerns over theft. FWIW

bhop

Eh.. well, she also said she's willing to lock it with a cable.

dclout

I suggest going to a shop that will measure your sit bones. They get you to sit on a little cushion that has lines on it so that they can see what width of saddle you need. Generally my experience is that you want a hard saddle that is the right width and is positioned properly with respect to the handlebars and pedals. YMMV since everyone is different, but that's what works for me.

Also, +1 on Terry. I have a Terry mens saddle on my tandem and my wife uses Terry saddles. Georgina Terry is (obviously) female, so while they make a few mens saddles they also make a lot of saddles specific to women. They make a number of different widths and types but they actually seem to think about anatomy when they design a saddle.

rekmeyata

First you need to measure the distance between you sit bones. You can do this either by sitting on a block of styrofoam naked...don't let the neighbors catch you or they'll start wondering strange things about you! Let your body weight press into the styrofoam then stand up then look there should be two indentations where the sit bones were, measure from center to center, take those measurements in mm and try to find a seat that will let you sit on the flats of the saddle without falling off the curve of the saddle. I think your butt is hurting because you're buying too narrow of a saddle.

Watch this video for clarification, and a different way instead of styrofoam but it works the same; see: https://www.artscyclery.com/learningc...bonewidth.html

Don't throw out the idea of getting a Brooks saddle just because of theft, like one person mentioned, you could lock the saddle but there are plenty of other components they could take, so if their not taking components your seat should be fine. Brooks or Selle Anatomica Titanico X in TruLeather would be very comfortable if the width is correct of course. Problem is with saddles is that no one's butt is the same, someone may recommend that or this but it may not work for you, the beauty of leather saddles is that they break into your butt like leather shoes do to your feet.

Nnyan

For whatever reason I actually also had tailbone pain for anything over 30 mins or so. I've tried over 15 seats and had my sit bones measured twice (yeah I'm anal) and I've found that having TOO much cushion is NOT a good thing. Try this push yourself back on your seat and ride like that for a bit, does the tailbone pain decrease/go away? A wider/plusher seat is not always the best thing. Look for a seat with a middle groove in the rear that is not too wide and thick. I got a WTB Comfort that is about as good as any other, I still had some discomfort getting used to it but it was short lived.

Phil_gretz

My wife rides a Terry Liberator saddle on her touring bike. Super supportive without being bulky. The padding is firm, and it has an anatomical cut out for relief. Hers might be the Gel X version, but might not, can't remember.

minaa

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. I'm going to try getting fitted at the LBS (one with a Specialized BG Fit set-up) and look into several of the brands mentioned. My current seat is probably too padded, and old/cheap (it came with the bike, which I purchased used).

gregjones

I'm lucky that all I have to do is lock my bike to prevent some crack head from riding off with it. The lights, computer and other stuff have never been bothered.

Were I to fear the theft of my saddle, I think I would go with the piece of old chain looped around the seat stays/saddle rail method of securing it. It looks to as good or better than a lot of methods and...........it's free!!!

fietsbob

Take-offs are new, saddles would have come on a new bike, but the buyer opted for a different one.

sold cheaper than the same new saddle with the display tag attached to it.

try more saddles .. sit on them and see..

Leisesturm

I know from tailbone pain or rather my wife does. There are not many saddles she can ride. What I figured out is that some saddles have a deep notch at the back end, separate and apart from any anatomic groove or split that might be present. A Bontrager CRZ Sport is such a saddle but we can't find them anywhere, luckily we bought a bunch when we could get them. A Terry Falcon is also so constructed but that is a seriously sport inclined saddle, not for general purpose riding. Seriously, if the tailbone is the issue then a deep notch at the back of the saddle is the way to beat it.

H