Brooke1687

When I bought my Trek Neko this summer I was determined to give the stock seat a try but when I smashed my hand to bits I had to change my riding position to put more weight on my bum and it was a no go. I had a discount at my local store so i picked up a Bontrager comfort gel saddle. It worked fine for rehabbing but on my last ride my hip got all wonky so I think it’s just too wide. So now I’m shopping again. The stock Neko saddle just looks so tiny and thin but I could suck it up and give it a try. I looked at the Brooks c175 and the reviews are great but I don’t know that any of those reviewers have my hips and I really need to keep my budget lower than that. Any suggestions or recommendations. If not obviously, I’m a lady but I don’t necessarily have to have one with a “for women” sticker on the box and it definitely doesn’t need to be pink.

MRT2

Not familiar with the C175. Do you mean the Cambium C17? Saddles are personal, so what works for one person might not be best for everyone. That said, wide, soft saddles are not great for anyone. I have ridden a Brooks B17 for 5 1/2 years, or 6 riding seasons and have no plans to switch. It isn't perfect, but better than any other saddle I have ridden. My wife is OK with her B17, which she uses on her vintage Peugeot. But frankly, she prefers a relatively cheap Serfas gel saddle she uses on her Jamis road bike I bought about 10 years ago for a different bike.

Which brings me to the issue of cost. Some people luck out and have success with a moderately priced or even downright cheap saddle. Others have to spend $150 or more to find something comfortable. I will say though, if you do find something that works, an extra $50 or even $100 for a lifetime of riding comfort is well worth it.

StephenH

When I first started riding, I got a $100 mountain bike and the little saddle on it was pretty miserable. I assumed because it was a "little" saddle. Since then, I've used a number of other saddles, larger and smaller, and came to found out that first saddle was uncomfortable because it was a crappy saddle, not because it was "little". More recently, I've gotten a bike with a hard carbon fiber saddle, and that thing is still comfortable after 150 miles, when it doesn't like look like it would be comfortable for 10 miles.


The moral, not to use this or that saddle, but be aware that looks can be deceptive, and what works for one person may not for another, etc. When you sit on a bicycle saddle, you mainly have two bony parts on the saddle, and the those bones don't necessarily get farther apart as your butt gets bigger, so figuring big butt = wide saddle won't necessarily work, either. I have heard of bike shops measuring your "sit bones" but haven't had that done myself, so not sure how effective it is. I think you could make a saddle out of concrete, and if it was shaped just exactly right, it would be reasonably comfortable. Softer saddles sound good, but can put more pressure on other parts of your anatomy, with numbing effects where you don't want it, etc.


What was generally worked for me and a number of other long distance riders have been various leather saddles by Brooks, Rivet, Selle Anatomica, etc. But you still have to experiment around some to see what works for you.

Big Dave Crowe

I tried all the serfas seats and to me they were too hard. Tried the royal's ...No way.
What works for me

1. Forte Easy rider
2. Any bontrager with springs.
3. This unbranded seat. Just got it for my lady and IM jealous! Very comfortable, looks sporty, comes in different colors.
https://m.ebay.com/itm/Wide-Leather-...0AAOSwRr5Zry7A

SethAZ 

I'm trying to remember who actually said this, but it's something I read fairly recently with regard to saddles.

"Shape is everything. Texture is nothing."

By texture I assume meant things like the padding and whatnot, not just whether it's rough or smooth. I'm starting to believe that this.

I think I could use a somewhat narrower saddle than my Brooks B17, which now has something like 1300 miles on it. I'd like to try the Berthoud Aspin, for instance. That said, my B17 is the most comfortable of the saddles that I've tried, and I've done 50-60-mile rides with it lately where I've barely noticed any discomfort in my butt. During my 50-mile ride yesterday I think I stood up off the seat once or twice just to relieve the bum a little, but I wasn't suffering like I would have been by that time with my old saddle, and throughout the ride I barely ever was thinking about my bum or the saddle.

So yeah, I'd look for a saddle with the best shape, and skip the gel padding and whatnot. The Brooks, and other similar saddles, have no padding per se. That leather isn't cushy, it's pretty stiff, thick, fairly hard stuff. But after it's broken in it will adjust its shape enough to fit the bumular region well enough to be comfortable.

Doge

My butt is wider than it was. So I bought a wider saddle. Thing is for males the sit bones don't change position much even as the exterior grows. I need the same saddle width I did 30 years ago. I've always ridden a Brooks and looking for a saddle with a split in the middle. I got the Shimano Stealth wide - what pain being so wide and sitting on my glutes. I got the narrow for a friend and tried it - perfect. Just that I went back to the Brooks for now, and gave the wide to my 125lb wife. It fits her well.

The moral of the story is as others said - it is personal and what is seen on the outside may have little to do with how you fit the seat.

coney462

Not only do I have a big butt, but also huge thighs, they sort of go together. I recently bought an ISM saddle, touring model. It is a wide noseless saddle. I have found this quite comfortable on my butt and it totaling eliminated any chaffing on my thighs

fietsbob

though the padding may be more abundant, the pelvis is still where you will be transferring your weight on the saddle..

name dropping: an option... Brooks C 19 is their widest saddle , 17 & 15 narrower.. between the nose and tail,
they have rubber instead of leather like their old designs.

I don't use one . but my LBS has some in stock..

I'm still using the same Brooks Team Pro I got in the mid 70's.. as I said padding changed, but not the pelvis.


Soft gel saddles are just for local casual use , for longer multi month cycle tours I still use the thick leather saddle,
it not padded , nor are my cycle shorts , though they do have an artificial "Chamois " liner..

My LBS has a Box of 'take off' saddles, people change them out on new bikes before they leave the store,

rarely do they opt for narrower and denser padding, usually going wider and softer..





....

Bill in VA

The B-175 is the B-17S a saddle marketed towards women. It is very close in width to the B-17, but shorter and is available in a honey color, a warm light brown. I know both men and women using that particular saddle and they love it. If you are concerned about the break-in period, look for the pre-aged version. I considered one, but went for the C-17. The B-17S (or any Brooks in honey is a gorgeous saddle in person.) Unfortunately, it is not duplicated in the C series, so I went for Rust.


My thoughts when I was looking was I do not care who a saddle is marketed to. My butt makes the decision not my brain. Plus, it does not say for women on the saddle itself. I do however get hooked by classic looks and colors.


I commented a bit about my experiences on the thread in this forum titled "Clyde Long Mileage Road Bike Saddles - Brooks?"

shelbyfv

Terry saddles World's Most Comfortable Bike Saddles & Seats | Terry are very popular among the women in my riding group. Variety of shapes and materials and I think they have a liberal return policy.