no sweat

Seeking understanding Comments invited. My own anatomy seems to object pretty strenuously to loads placed on the pubic tubercle. The bone structure doesn't care, but it pinches a lot of sensitive stuff (significant blood vessels, nerves & the back end of the crank, so to speak) between bone and saddle... I'm guessing this is where genital area numbness originates? I think the desire here is to get our support (when rotated forward) on the inferior pubic ramus.

Wheever

That's part of it, but some of us get numbness from pressure on the perineum at all, hence cutout saddles. I don't spend a lot of time on my pubic bone, but when I am on it, it's not comfy, even with a cutout. Have you tried a cutout?

ltxi

Methinks all the ergo and skeletal data are a good place to start but in the end run just that....a good place to start. Everyone's different. Back in the day of the printed word only I trial and error became fond of the Avocet Touring I. Fit and worked well and I still have/use it. Current first new in forever and still kinda getting broken in saddle is a Selle Anatomica NSX....no cut out. Works well for me but I'm sure not for everyone.

no sweat

The basic idea of the cut out is to move the support outboard to the inferior pubic ramus (at least when you are rotated forward). My current saddle has a modest cutout. I probably need a bigger one.

Road Fan

When I run into this situation, I try to move the saddle forward to place the wider part where my sitbones want to be located. Hence they will be more comfortable AND I would be in balance. Sometimes this means I need to try a different seatpost.

I don't see it as a bummer, I see it as a routine problem that has a simple solution.

Follow-on problems might occur - it's possible to move the saddle too far forward, the saddle shape (profile as seen in a plan view) might not allow your thighs enough freedom of motion, vertical angle (tilt) needs adjusting, height needs minor adjusting. This is an iterative process.

Wheever

Well, no. Although I think that most people actually prefer something FIRM. Rather than soft or hard. Really, that one of the thing you only learn via real butt testing.

Wheever

Well, no. Although I think that most people actually prefer something FIRM. Rather than soft or hard. Really, that one of the thing you only learn via real butt testing.

TrillTrax

Wow! This thread is really interesting and helpful. Thanks!

rhm

When considering sit bone width and saddle width, you have to bear in mind that the width of the sit bones varies depending on the height of the handlebar relative to saddle. If you lower the handlebar, your pelvis tilts forward and a narrower part of the sit bones comes into contact with the saddle. That's why saddles for upright riding are wide, and saddles for aggressive riding are narrow.

dairyseb

I want to say thank you for all the data you are providing trough this post.

I'm in the same exact situation as you are for saddle width. The difference with my fit is that I have a really long inseam (94 inch) so I need to raise my saddle so high that it brings it to far back even if i'm using a zero setback seatpost.

I was hesitating between the italia max slr and power saddle but local bike shop around me have ****ty service and poor saddle program.

I want to thank you again for you contribution!

Current saddle is romin evo 143 and specialized henge 155 on a CAAD 12 60cm (should have got an 63 cm)

Kontact 

If you have long legs you should have more set back than someone with short legs. Any effort to decrease set back out of proportion to your legs is going to make your pelvis tilt forward too far and make finding a comfortable saddle much harder.

dairyseb

The thing is that with a setback seatpost to get a good position relatively to my bottom bracket I need to be on the smaller part of my saddle which is really uncomfortable.

Kontact 

I understand, but the point I was making is that a "normal" fit on a road bike and relative your your bottom bracket would likely have you sitting further back than you are now, and that would work with a seat that is further back.

It just sounds like you are sitting on the saddle nose or using a zero set back seat post because that's the only way to reach the handlebars. In an ideal fit you would be sitting in the correct place on the saddle, the saddle would be in a normal spot on a 25mm set back seat post and the handlebars would be close enough to the saddle for that to work.

The position you are using likely rotates your pelvis forward, causing increased pressure on the perineum and shifts your center of gravity toward the handlebars, causing you to put more weight on your hands.


Set back is proportional to leg length, so somebody with a 30" inseam might have 3cm of set back and someone with a 45" inseam should have 6cm of set back, not a similar set back. I could certainly be completely wrong, or you might have a bike with a very relaxed seat tube angle, but I have not seen anyone who's proportions make it that they need a zero set back seat post to locate the pelvis along a desirable angled line from the BB.