skycomag

there's been some ques. about saddle size but nothing about saddle design.
my ques. is which designs offers the most comfort for a 20-40 miles and posability of
more,on roads or bike paths.
i was measured for a 133mm. that put me between a 130-142mm saddle.
a) solid road saddle with little pading and no gel
b) road saddle with padding and or gel
c) road saddle with opening for perinial relief with or without the "y" cut out section
d) saddle with a inflatable bladder(allay saddles)

next,what about the horn striaght or curved?
i'm looking for info on design more than brands,since most brands offer these styles

i wish to thank all for your opinions.

lostarchitect 

Depends on your butt. But for my money, the best I have ever ridden is a Brooks leather saddle. Once it's broken in, it's more comfortable than anything else I've been on.

Schwinnrider

I agree with lostarchitect. It depends on your butt. That being said, I have Brooks B17s on all three of my bikes, and I can ride them all day with no discomfort.

redeyedtreefr0g

I'm a little confused, because the brooks saddle not only was expensive when I saw one in a bike shop, but seemed like such a hard surface. By "broken in" does that mean it gets softer? How do you know what kind/size to get?

lostarchitect 

It is hard, at first. Over time it softens somewhat, but it also shapes itself to fit your body. For instance, do you have a well worn leather jacket? Take a look at it, there are a lot of creases and such that formed after you bought it, according to how you moved in it. A leather saddle is the same way. Once it's shaped itself to fit you, it is in my experience incredibly comfortable.

As far as which one to get, it depends on the kind of riding / kind of bike. For sport bikes, you might consider a Team Pro, a Swift, or a Swallow. For touring and general all around use, the B-17 is a favorite. If you want a sprung saddle for your city bike, there are some great options there, too. Personally I prefer the Team Pro. It has very thick leather and breaks in beautifully.

They are expensive, but they also last a long time. The best prices I have seen were on Outside Outfitters website.

idc

Of those I've tried (not very many) I can say I like medium padding but not gel specifically. I cannot ride on saddles that are basically just a hard curved surface. Never tried Brooks style or those with cut-outs.

MileHighMark

I'm a huge fan of Selle An-Atomica saddles. I wrote about them here.

EKW in DC

Brooks B17.

</thread>

rhm

A hard leather saddle is best. Chose the width that suits your sit bones and riding posture (in general, the greater the drop from seat to handlebar, the narrower the saddle). Brooks is the standard, but there are many other brands. In general I think I am better off spending $80 on a used one on ebay than $80 on a new off-brand or $120 on a new Brooks, but I know what I'm doing; if you aren't sure you will like what you get, buy from a reputable dealer such as wallbike.com who will allow you to return a saddle for any reason.

Yes, they do get softer over time. This may or may not be a good thing. I would not buy a Brooks saddle expecting it to get better over time. I had a B17 that got too soft; but I also have a Brooks Professional that I got used, and the way it has softened is pretty heavenly.

I don't believe in perinial cutouts. I know it's a sensitive area, but it's not where you sit, at least on a bicycle.

lostarchitect 

+1. If you are sitting there, your saddle is not in the right position for you.

bhop

Depends..

Brooks b17 is an ass hatchet for me (btw, it wasn't the break-in period, it was just too wide), Selle anatomica hurt my thighs so much I had to send it back.. those are two saddles that other posters above commented on loving. I can sit on my Fizik Arione for miles, but my friend couldn't stand it at all. My Brooks Swift is awesome, the Swallow that I had for a while hurt so bad..

What i'm hinting at is.. it depends..

Gary in VA

Another fan of Selle An-Atomica here.

Seattle Forrest

In this forum, everyone will tell you to spend on an over-priced leather saddle made by Brooks, 'cause that's what's trendy. But what you should do is try a bunch of different ones (many bike shops have demo saddle programs) and see what works for you.

lostarchitect 

Butt comfort, quality and longevity is trendy? Who knew?!

EKW in DC

Well said.

Seattle Forrest

You're right: a Brooks is the one and only saddle that provides these things. A saddle made by this company is one and the same as comfort, quality, and longevity. It's absolutely impossible to get these things from a saddle made by a different company.

Brooks saddles are trendy around here, as the quote shows.

lostarchitect 

I don't recall ever saying that Brooks is the only one that provides those things, so please don't put words in my mouth. In case you can't scroll up for some reason, let me tell you exactly what I said to the OP:

Tell me where I said that Brooks is the only good saddle in the world, will you?

ThermionicScott 

I'm savoring the fact that my ass is trendy, for once.

fietsbob

The Italian company that took over Brooks, did their make it fashionable, job, well .,
multiple colors and all that..

easy to over think this.. just go try a bunch.. put your butt on the line.
many new bike buyers leave the store
with a different saddle than the bike shipped with, the remaining take off can be bought cheap.

sdvictor

As people say, a saddle is a pair of gloves, you'll know it when you find it. A good bike store should have some samples ready to test.

I use a fi'zi:k Antares saddle. Minimal padding and no cutout, but it doesn't seem to bother my twig and berries.

dave35

I use a B-17. Brooks makes a wide variety of saddles for a wide variety of different bums. Saddles that wear out (lookin' at you, synthetic-leathery-stuff-over-foam-over-plastic!) before you die are a false economy.

ItsJustMe

Brooks Champion Flyer here. I have some pretty rough roads and the spring suspension helps a lot. Fits like a glove, never any discomfort. My breakin period was pretty short too, mainly the thing was pretty slippery at first. Later on it took on enough patina and bumps from my sit bones that it no longer makes me tend to slide off it.

lawrencehare

What Italian company took over Brooks of England? First I've heard of it.

I've ridden on many saddles and I have found that, it takes some months, but once broken in a leather saddle cannot be beaten. I started out on Brooks, rode on an Ideale for many years and when that wore out went back to Brooks. Expensive but last for decades.

fietsbob

Selle Italia.. their investors , and the holding company that owns both brand-names.

I have a Brooks Pro I bought in the 60's, they were only made dyed in one color.

chandltp

After trying a dozen saddles, I've always gone back to the stock Bontrager Boulevard on my Trek 7000. But it's not great, just the most comfortable I've found on my bike.

I'm going to look at recumbents next year.