freeranger

Did I miss the memo? Was looking at some info on bike saddles, and came across a few articles on shorter and wider saddles. Now, I'm slim, but have never found narrow saddles comfortable (yes, I'm aware that build is not necessarily an indication of sit bones width). And evidently, the shorter, wider saddle thing applies to all disciplines. Has conventional thinking been wrong all along? BTW-I'm not running out and buying new saddles because of this "revelation". One of the articles: Nose jobs: the rise of the short saddle | Cyclist

PeteHski

Like with most things, there is now simply more choice available. Bums come in all shapes and sizes, as do modern saddles to match. Shorter saddles are certainly becoming more popular and they are often available in a wider variety of widths than previously.

I recently went from a pretty conventional Fizik Aliante to one of their more contemporary designs (Tempo Argo), which is a little wider and shorter. I do prefer it overall, so it works well for me. But saddles are highly personal. For those who are not 100% happy with conventional long/narrow saddles, shorter/wider ones are certainly worth a try.

rydabent

Amazing another saddle thread.

freeranger

And amazing that there's no comment about how much more comfortable a 'bent is compared to a DF bike.
Not so amazing--Nothing to add to the thread except sarcasm.

Iride01 

Cycling population is increasing. Kind'a sort'a like TV went from a few channels to several hundreds of channels to please differing groups of viewers, I'm sure that more groups of butts that do slightly different riding styles and efforts will be found that favor a different saddle.

stardognine

What? Wait! Where did the "short" part come in? I've been complaining about skinny saddles for about as long as I can remember, and the bicycle industry is just now finally starting to listen. 😉

But where did this "shorter" thing come from? I don't wanna slide off the front or back, because some idjit got confused about what we wanted. 😁😉

Rolla

The industry's quest for the next "better mousetrap" goes on. They say they may be more comfortable and "faster," but I think it's an ugly look. I'll be keeping my Brooks.

livedarklions

The shape of the future:

Chuck Naill

When I got the Kona Sutra with the iconic saddle I was thrilled. I love it. There was a time that I thought a padded male configuration was the berries. No more!!

indyfabz

Same guy who thinks about the only place in the U.S. with good cycling temps this time of year is the Fla. Keys, ignoring places such as SoCal.

Ironfish653

Wow, RTFA, guys. They're not coming to take your Brooks away

Short take: Riding "on the Rivet" isn't comfortable. If you spend a lot of time gettin' down and diggin' in (racing?), a shorter nosed saddle keeps the pressure off your soft tissues, so you can go faster, for longer. This is something TRI-guys have been onto for years now, with stubby, noseless saddles like the ISM.

Comfortable with your current saddle? Not a speed-obsessed full-aero racer type? There's still plenty of conventional saddles on the market. Heck, Selle even reissued the '1990 Flite' and the classic Turbo. And I'm sure that as long as Tweed exists, Brooks will still sell you a B-17.

Rolla

Nobody suggested they were.

Doubleplay

There's no one size fits in saddles.
It might take a while to find one that fits and comfortable.
I've been riding the same brand and type of saddle in the last 15 years regardless of trends.

JohnDThompson 

Shorter saddles come with a downside, at least for me. A shorter nose means your legs are less effective at steering the bike, and when I have a hand off the bars holding a waterbottle or something, I really notice it.

DMC707

“From my cold dead hand!!!!!!”

Or Brooks is going to build a wall , and they’re making Specialized pay for it

trailangel

You mean "Cold Dead Butt"

Paul Barnard

Interestingly, perhaps the most uncomfortable bicycle seat I have ever used was on a recumbent. It was like sitting on a hot plank.

DaveSSS 

I'm sold on SMP saddles. I use the Stratos model that's narrow with standard padding. Many models are offered and SMP tends to think that wider folks usually need wider saddles.

www.sellesmp.com/en/saddleapp

Polaris OBark

I put my wife's unused woman's B-17 on one of my bikes. The only difference is the shorter nose.

Apart from it not being broken in, I can't feel any difference. The one nice thing is it doesn't snag on my ill-formed, protruding fake chamois.

Polaris OBark

Amazing, with 9,656 posts, people still have opinions at variance with your own.

mstateglfr 

Why the gray text? I still dont understand the reason.

Milton Keynes

When Brooks saddles are outlawed, only outlaws will have Brooks saddles.

CAT7RDR

Shorter and wider is what I see in the mirror as I age.

Polaris OBark

I guess I don't see it with my black background. But to answer your question, I think somehow the copy/paste of his post-count inserted these color bb markup tags:

Polaris OBark

With a white background:




With a black background: