Saddle Suggestions - Trek Verve 2 - Heavy Rider
 

Hello, I am new to cycling and have a Trek Verve 2. I am 6' 4” and about 330 pounds. I'm loving being back on a bike, my only issue is the seat my bike came with. Does anyone have any suggestions for a saddle which is wider/more comfortable? I have lower back issues so my riding position is pretty upright. I plan on riding on roads mainly or hard paths (maybe). Mainly just going to work and casual riding. The city roads here are terrible and i find myself feeling just about every bump. Thanks in advance!

I'd suggest you ride the stock saddle for a few months before you give up on it. Everyone's butt hurts when they begin riding. Experienced riders will often have a sore butt when they first return after an extended layoff. Those wide "comfy" looking saddles have their own issues, primarily chaffing of inner thighs. Keep in mind that while you may have a 3XL sized butt, your sit bones are the same width apart as a normal person. That's a nice bike, hope you enjoy it.:thumb:

Not sure if you've found something that works, but I find the less padding the better for saddles. I like the brooks cambium line but find they have a bit too much flex depending on model. Currently running a specialized bridge saddle and has been pretty good for me. Also, wider is not always better. I started in the 155mm width but struggled with comfort. Went to 143mm and haven't looked back.

Not sure if you've found something that works, but I find the less padding the better for saddles. I like the brooks cambium line but find they have a bit too much flex depending on model. Currently running a specialized bridge saddle and has been pretty good for me. Also, wider is not always better. I started in the 155mm width but struggled with comfort. Went to 143mm and haven't looked back.

Try a Thudbuster. My wife has one on her Verve 2 ebike and loves it.

I'm a fan of the Brooks B17.

What Shelby said.

I got a big wide comfy seat because my butt hurt after getting back on a bike. Yet my butt wasn't comfortable except for the first few minutes, and then the wide saddle started to painfully cut into my thighs.

It took me about a month to get used to a harder narrow touring saddle. I do try to stand up on the nasty bits of pavement, sitting through those NYC bumps and holes will knock fillings out of your teeth.

Another vote for a Brooks B17

I got a Mongoose Envoy Cargo Bike last year and if it doesn't have the best damn OEM saddle on it I don't know what does. Other people agree with me. Read some Envoy reviews. It is the perfect hybrid of comfort saddle and sport utility saddle. Ticks all the o.p.' boxes, I think. I like mine so much I wrote the parent company of Mongoose (Pacific Cycles) and asked them if I could buy another, or could they tell me who makes the saddle for them. They wrote back and told me the saddle was out of stock and future supply was unlikely. I love a challenge. Here is my best guess as to a possible equivalent to the OEM Mongoose saddle. What do you think? It arrived last Sunday. It is a hair wider than the 'original'. It has a 90 day money back. It's the saddle I'd want under me if I was (still) a Clyde. FWIW.

If you ask a 100 different experienced riders, it is entirely possible to get 100 different answers.

I use a B67 (Brooks with springs). It's ok, it works for my particular situation. If I had more seatpost, I'd get a Thudbuster.

I really like Selle Anatomica
https://selleanatomica.com/products/h1

There is a ton of other saddles. The width you want depends on how far bent over you are. The closer your back is to horizontal, the narrower the saddle has to be. If you bend over with a B67, the saddle will try to lever your thigh bones out of you hip socket. Not fun.

Doh!, Broke my own rule... check post date.

when I first started cycling, I was overweight and keeping too much weight in the saddle (still do)

those thinly padded saddles are designed to motivate you to keep your weight in the bottom bracket area for optimal balance and power transfer. it can be tiring and actually not helpful for your purpose at all if you tend to ride around a lower power outputs. I would also be worried about you being well over the weight limit of your bike.

I have a verve +2, I am 6ft3 and I find the stock saddle to be supremely comfortable and very well designed for the sort of riding this bike is intended for. If you don't find it comfortable because of its shape, look into something for bigger riders. if it is not padded enough, then you can look into more padding.

Or just keep riding it until you get used to it. that is by no means an uncomfortable saddle.

I started at 265 lbs., 4 years ago. I lucked up and the seller of the first bike I bought threw in a Selle SMP TRK saddle that felt good immediately.

https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...k-saddle-large

Since then (June 2017) I've ridden over 26,000 miles on my road and gravel bikes. I've ridden 32 centuries and a *bunch* of metric centuries. I have this saddle (in "Large") on all of my bikes.

I just bought a 2021 Salsa Warbird that came with a WTB saddle. It felt bad in the parking lot! I bought a new Selle (same link as above), put it on and as soon as I sat on it, "AHHHHHHHH!"

Good luck! Seems we all have different posteriors and like different things, but this plain, "heavy" and simple saddle has been wonderful to my buns!

Gary

I literally have a box with about six or eight bike seats I tried a few years ago when I started riding again. I would give each one about a month to "make it" and none of them did. Then I bought a Planet Bike A.R.S. bike seat - I have both the Standard and Classic models - one each on two different bikes, my primary and my backup.

As othered have mentioned, they are not OVER padded, but they provide support in all the right places - for me at least. They take a few days or a week to get used to, after that they've been the most comfortable and supportive that I have found.

Did you talk to the dealer. It sounds like this might be a new bike. Our Trek dealer swaps saddles around at no charge.

If you think this thread is old, OMG. I've seen threads resurrected that go back to when the BF servers were hand cranked.

Once I put this wide Brooks C67 on the bike I no longer think about what's going on "down there" which is an indication that it is good. I still like the B17 because its a little slippery but overall, wider is better for me (260lb)

https://i.postimg.cc/cHM9wJJY/IMG-9504.jpg

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4207909956.jpg
This saddle is called Spiderflex. I bought my first one about 2 years ago. After the first ride, no pain of any kind and that has never changed. I use this saddle on all my bikes now. All my bikes are more or less upright rides so my butt carries most of my 270 lbs. The slots in both pads are for your sitz bones to drop into. This creates a much bigger patch of skin taking the load between your sitz bones and the saddle. This idea has been the end of saddle sores completely for me. I don't know if this saddle will help someone who has very low drop bars and has a lot of weight on their arms and hands. The saddle incorporates a 20mm spring action and this makes the ride that much better. I don't need special riding shorts or gel pad underwear or any of the other aids that people use trying to live with high sitz bone pressure patches. I can ride for 30 miles in my everyday clothes with no issues. I started riding noseless saddles because of a bout of prostatitus brought on by a regular nose saddle. I have had no issues with the perineum or prostatitus since using noseless saddles. This Spiderflex is mounted on a RAD City in the 26" wheel that I bought this year.

B17
 

Another vote for the B17

I keep seeing recommendations for the Brooks B17. While a great saddle This is NOT the saddle for an upright position NOR for a heavier rider over 200 lbs. I know the general consensus is ride more your ass will get used to it but, and I'm a Brooks user and felt my 2 attempts over the years to use a B17 turned out to be taint destroyers. Do not get a B!7.

I currently have 2 brooks saddles of two seperate bikes. On my cruiser which is very upright, so the saddle takes a lot of the weight I have a B33. On hard dirt or pavement this thing eats bumps and saves my back.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1ec4614aa.jpeg
And in my Fattire bike which is not as upright but not a hard lean. I have a B135 a little narrower but really works well offroad for me.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...12e837125.jpegWhile these are not light saddles, both are in the 3 1/2 pound range...I'm pretty sure no one here in the 200+ forum is worried about extra grams on their bike, Its about what gets the job done.