daviddavieboy

+1 How are your hands on a long ride? If all of your discomfort is on your backside, you probably are carrying too much weight there *snicker*. a little longer of a stem or sliding the seat a bit to put more weight on your hands will take some pressure off.

Also, a good saddle that fits properly is an important thing. As someone else mentioned there are methods to measure 'sit bones' at home and choose a saddle accordingly. A leather saddle ie. Brooks saddles are good because once broken in properly, they are shaped to YOUR anatomy and you can put them on whatever bike you have next.

FYI a seat is on a recumbent and a saddle is on a bicycle.

FordTrax

I have several charge spoons that I use for 3 hours rides or so - they are comfortable to me and fairly inexpensive as seats go.

MarioT

For me, a "fitting" showed that the saddle I had used for years was too narrow. I was about to give up biking because my lower back would get so painful not long into the ride. I got a proper width saddle and it's minimized the pain.

Just to show how much the proper width is important, here is the saddle I have on my road bike that I've done a century on and regularly 50-80 kms rides. Mind you, with padded shorts. So a better padded saddle that is the right width for you should allow you to ride comfortably without padded shorts for long distances.

cyccommute 

Although I agree with other things you've said, I have to respectfully disagree with this. "Measuring your 'sit bones'" is a relatively recent development and I question it's efficacy. I'm not sure that there is any benefit there considering that we have had bicycle saddles for a bit over a century without measuring the sit bones and many, many people have still managed to ride bicycles (mostly) comfortable.

I also have to disagree with you on leather saddles. I have several Brooks with thousands of miles on them. My saddles have never developed the "divots" that many have. I attribute this to my style of riding...i.e. a heavy rider riding "light" or, if you like, a gorilla riding like a ballerina.

All of my leather saddles have about the same shape as they did out of the box. I have also found all of my saddles (4 in use, 3 used but not currently installed) are perfectly comfortable right out of the box. In other words, my saddles haven't broken in but I've adapted to them. After all, plastic saddles don't "break in". The rider just gets used to them.

daviddavieboy

You are right. That is the problem with a topic like this, everyone has their opinion. My perspective on the use of leather saddles is different than yours. Mine have definitely grown dimples on either wing of the saddle after 2000-3000 miles. It may be due to my fat a$$ and weight, but I can only guess. I am rarely out of the saddle unless it is a VERY steep section of a climb (anything above 15%) I love your analogy, I am the gorilla riding like a baboon.

Nikon Fan

I have tried several different saddles but found that the one that works best for me is the Planet Bike 5020 Men's A.R.S. Saddle.

Not a lightweight, but not an anchor. I liked it so much I have one on each of the three bikes I use the most. Also purchased the female version for my kid and she loves it too. Feels great when new, feels even better when used for some time.

deaninkl

I'm overweight so hard on the seat, I could not stay more than a hour on the seat that came with my bike so I got a Brooks B17, a little old world england, and not cheap (about $65 online from amazon) but from day one I can sit on it without any discomfort at all. People say the need to be worn in, but mine was a blessing from day one.

FestinaLente

I'm a fan of WTB saddles, my last one was the speed, and Brooks, specifically the Cambium saddles. I've got nothing against leather saddles but I'm harder on my bike than I should be and I feel a leather saddle can get scratched up on the sides too easily. Also I don't like having to worry about a saddle getting ruined because of rain or muddy trails. Currently I use a Brooks Cambium C17 and I absolutely love it. Despite my initial hesitations with the large rivets (and the fact that it felt hard as a brick when I first picked it up) I find this saddle to be comfortable for long rides and even when I finally get back on the bike after a long hiatus.

The bike shop I went through had a rental service for some of their nicer saddles so you could try one out before purchase. If you're unsure about which saddle is best maybe you can find a shop with a similar service?