insignia100

I recently picked up a Giant Composite Defy 1 as my first road bike (excellent deal used, and I am loving this bike so far). My first few rides using the stock saddle started giving me saddle sores. I was initially worried that I might have a really difficult time adjusting to the bike -- was it the more forward position? Seat angle? Changing the angle helped some, but the most dramatic change came when I swapped out the stock saddle for the saddle that came on my Escape 3. What a difference! Night and day!

Now, one would think that the saddle that came on a $2000+ bike (when new) would be better than one that came on a $400 bike, and on a technical level it may be. But this is a perfect example of why saddle fit is more important than materials/price/etc. The saddle on the cheap bike is much more comfortable for me. Perhaps I may need to upgrade in the future as my distances increase, but for now I think I'll stick to the cheap saddle.

TrojanHorse

The real answer is probably that most roadies swap out the stock saddle immediately on nicer bikes. Honestly, I don't even know why they include them with bikes. I couldn't even tolerate TEST RIDING my new pinarello with the ass hatchet they had on there

RubeRad

I think the real answer is, more expensive road bikes have 'racier' saddles, not more comfortable saddles.

Bikeforumuser0019

I'm not knowledgeable about more expensive models, but I had a Giant Escape for a while and was sooooo impressed at the comfort of the stock saddle. +1

DrIsotope

The takeaway as that your buttocks do not know what things cost. I don't own a saddle that cost less than $100, and this is absolutely not by choice. This is money paid so that I don't get murdered by my own backside.

Rumor has it that there are folks out there that can just put anything saddle-shaped on a bike and ride it. The width and the shape almost don't matter. I am not one of those people.

Bikeforumuser0019

Truly inspired insight! Common sense unworthy of this humble internet of ours.

DHPflaumer

I'm under 200lbs now but I absolutely wasn't when I got really into riding a few years ago (through about last summer) so hopefully this slimmed down dude is still allowed here!

I'm in the same boat. My personal favorite BY A MILE is the Gilles Berthoud saddle on my Norther. It's... Extremely not cheap but I can do 100 miles on it and still feel totally fine when I get off. When I started riding, my first ride over 20 miles was on a hybrid with a super cushy sprung saddle and I couldn't walk the next day. It took three days before I could walk without limping. About a week to stop hurting all together. Breaking in new leather saddles is no fun (and the GB took longer than the Brooks I had been using, though I suspect my reduced weight might have something to do with that) but it's worth damn near any price to be a function human AFTER riding.

Kedosto

That's sig material right there.


-Kedosto
*ignorant buttocks*

RubeRad

Not all buttocks are the same. Have you ever heard the expression "her a$$ could pick up a dime"?

drowssap

Have not heard that, but a pic would be nice

79pmooney

I always liked the Fuji approach. Good frames, good drivetrains. Go cheap on the seat. If the buyer is serious, he is going to swap it out for one that he likes. That seat's purpose is to make the bike ride-able for the test ride and so the bike looks like a bike.

I raced and rode the Selle Italia seats of the '70s for a couple of decades (under their and several other names. As I came into my 40s, my body changed andt hey stopped working. My riding fell way off. When I came back, I kmnew I had to find a seat that worked. I bought the previous year's Specialized Body Comp, the cheapest one, on sale for $39.95. Complete breakthrough. A year later, I bought the high end model of the same, took the cheapie off and put it on my commuter where I rode it another decade+ until it died. Never stopped being a very good ride.

Ben

cyclist2000

I used to be one of those guys that could ride any saddle (at least I thought I was). Now I have a more discriminating tush and it prefers a Brooks C17. I guess that came with age.

nivalu

This solved an issue for me....I have a new-to-me Fuji with the stock seat and it was killing me.....I'd adjusted my way to a few improvements but I just replaced the seatpost (needed setback) and the saddle while I was at it. My other bike has a Performance Bike (contour) brand so that was sadly not an option so I found something online.....a random brand that at least had the same design. Just did a ride in it and I'm not sure but I think it will work much better!

tallbikeman

A few months ago I would have gleefully joined and explained how my Brooks B67 was the bomb. Then age, a new medication, and a slightly lower handlebar height conspired to give me a terrible prostatitis episode which has rather drastically changed my bicycles saddles. Briefly I injured the "taint" area just below the prostate and urethra. This episode made it clear that I would not be riding a bicycle seat with any kind of contact with that area. I am presently trying out a noseless saddle. So far the saddle does not touch any sensitive area and is quite a revelation in riding comfort. But there is no horn to help you stabilize the bike in the normal way so there is definitely a learning curve going on there. I have just ordered a Spongy Wonder noseless seat which is a variation on the one I'm trying now. Sometimes life's curveballs take over without your consent. More experience will let me know how well this type of saddle will work for me.

velojym

Yep, by the time most get to spending a couple grand or more on a bike, they've already developed a preference for saddles, and all a "good" saddle will do on the bike is drive the price up... when the buyer probably already plans to mount their preferred seat anyway.
This can trip up someone who jumps right into a more expensive bike without stopping along the way for an entry level ride, but it makes more sense if you really think about it.