gattm99

I'm planning a 4 day trip next month on the TransAm. I rode 75 miles yesterday on my road bike for training. I felt pretty good, I use a Specialized Romin on my road bike and it has about 2-3 inches of drop. I'm going to be taking my gravel road bike which needs some work. It had a Specialized Riva saddle right now that is fine for hard 50 mile gravel rides when you're hammering and not really carrying that much weight on the saddle anyway, but I tried it out at a leisurely touring pace today and it wasn't good.

I'd like to get a more comfortable saddle for a more laid back upright touring position.

I have a major saddle issue too that seems to be somewhat unique. Saddles that deform under weight, such as the B-17 or a WTB with elastomers under the rear, cause me to get bad saddle sores in the soft tissue. I have a Regal that I usually find comfortable that I think I will try, but its a hard saddle. I don't think the Romin Saddle will be comfortable on the touring bike.

dim

Gilles berthoud Aravis (with titanium rails) .... costs a bit more but the best, and comfortable straight out of the box... and looks good aswell

gattm99

Never even heard of those, look really nice, but out of my price range. Leather looks pretty thick, does it hold it's shape better?

fietsbob

It will because of the leather thickness.. Gilles Berthoud is premium, French connoisseur stuff

Brooks is selling like Hotcakes after the Italian Buy Out. my 35 year old one only came in One color.

C 17 wont deform because it's Rubber Not Leather .. cotton cover , Add a Leather cover over it if you wish.

It's really between Your ass and the saddle not public opinion, or an Intellectual thing.

DropBarFan

If one doesn't like leather saddles then there are vast # of synthetic saddles. IMHO somewhat of a matter of guesswork to find a nice saddle so why not experiment with cheaper ones? My comfiest saddles were cheap OEM plastic saddles. Fancier brands offer dubious value.

manapua_man

2nd this. The best saddle I ever had was taken off an abandoned rusted mamachari.

jefnvk

Wish I could find the one that came on my Scott MTB. I've taken that thing into a dozen stores looking for something similar to put on all my bikes, but de nada.

Carbonfiberboy 

Forte Pro SL, best dang saddle I ever had and cheap, too. Don't know why you think you need a different saddle for touring. This thing works fine for 15 hour days for me. Lots more comfy than a Romin but certainly not plush.

gattm99

I think I need a different saddle for touring because of a couple reasons. First I've got the handlebars on my touring bike about even with the saddle so I sit a bit more upright. Secondly when I'm riding alone and just kind of cruising I can definitely tell I carry more weight on my rear. I'm 240 pounds so this might be a bigger issue for me than it would be for a lighter guy.

The forte pro looks like an amazing deal, I'll definitely consider getting one, though I don't think it's what I'm looking for exactly.

I bought a B17 around 2002 and it was very comfortable. I was doing Bike Ride Across Nebraska in 2005 and I had horrible saddle sores the whole time. These were not like chaffing sores but more like boils. Anyway this continued for the next few years. I couldn't figure it out because the B17 was super comfortable when I didn't have sores. I started trying other saddles eventually and found that on a San Marco Regal which I found to be no where near as comfortable as the B17 the sores healed up and didn't come back.

I recently purchased a WTB Speed V for a mountain bike. I find it extremely comfortable until it gives me saddle sores just like the B17 did. My theory is that the flexible saddles have a sort of hammock effect. You settle down in them so weight is very well distributed and your rear is very comfortable, but the area in front of the set bones gets pressure and rubbing it shouldn't get leading to sores.

OK sorry for the long explanation, but I've been reading about the Brooks C17 and it sounds like an awesome saddle, but how firm is it compared to the leather version?

Tony Marley

I have had good luck touring with a Terry Men's Liberator saddle.

arnaguedes

Selle SMP TRK, I love it, sero pressure on perineum and very confy, 40eur

revcp 

I'm riding the Brooks C15. Very comfortable. The B17 has proved too wide for me, so I thought the C15 would be a wise choice, and it has been just that.

DropBarFan

The more padding or sway, the more friction in soft areas which I guess could contribute to problems. I see some photos of hammocked B17s that look really uncomfortable. Front view of C17 shows it's fairly round laterally on top. I think a saddle that's flatter in the middle might help, round saddles possibly put extra pressure on perineum. Some folks swear by their cut-out saddles; another option is firm saddle combined with Thudbuster suspension post. BTW even Eddy Merckx got saddle boils, reportedly had to cut a hole in the saddle once.

DropBarFan

Wow, almost half the weight of Brooks C17 at less than half the price. Ti rails?! This will be my next saddle if current one stays finnicky.

indyfabz

+1. It's all I have ever toured on.

gattm99

My Mom purchased a SMP TRK and I rode it a very short time. Lots and lots of padding. She used for awhile but she decided it had too much padding for her. The Terry Saddle looks pretty puffy too, but I'd like to try one.

My Romin is now a little over 4 years and has accumulated about probably around 12000 miles as its the saddle I ride the most. The cover on this thing is amazing it's like scuff proof and still looks good. The minimal padding still seems OK, but compared to pictures of a new one I think the frame has bowed a bit creating a deeper "pocket" Maybe it's time for a new one

Yeah I think saddle discomfort is something everyone deals with at some point or another. I think it was either Shauna Kelly or Robert Millar who had to abandon the tour one year because of a massive boil.

elcruxio

The terry saddles work. It's weird that you americans have a different lineup, but the liberator is a kind of mix between the EU sold Figura and US sold fly. I have figuras on all my bikes.

Even though terry saddles look puffy they're actually not soft at all

dim

if you want leather ... look at these:

[h=1]SPA CYCLES Aire Leather Saddle[/h]:
SPA CYCLES Aire Leather Saddle :: £45.00 :: Parts & Accessories :: Saddles - Leather :: Spa Cycles, Harrogate - The touring cyclists specialist.

supposidly better than the Brooks equivalent and a lot cheaper .... I might get one for my daily commuter when I need to replace the current Brooks B15 professional that I am currently using. These have thick leather, so it's advisable to break it in before venturing on a long journey

dim

if you want leather ... look at these:

SPA CYCLES Aire Leather Saddle

:
SPA CYCLES Aire Leather Saddle :: £45.00 :: Parts & Accessories :: Saddles - Leather :: Spa Cycles, Harrogate - The touring cyclists specialist.

supposidly better than the Brooks equivalent and a lot cheaper .... I might get one for my daily commuter when I need to replace the current Brooks B15 professional that I am currently using. These have thick leather, so it's advisable to break it in before venturing on a long journey

there's also the touring one for a bit cheaper:
SPA CYCLES Nidd Leather Saddle :: £35.00 :: Parts & Accessories :: Saddles - Leather :: Spa Cycles, Harrogate - The touring cyclists specialist.

some good reviews on these on google