jimmy87903

Please help,I have recently bought a TREK 7.2 fitness bike,want to do some small to medium rides maybe 8 to 15 miles,but the seat is very uncomfortable.I replaced the stock seat a bontrager ssr with a bontrager comfort gel and still it will kill ure underside.Any opinions or recommendations would be appreciated.THX

StanSeven

There are lots of good bike stores that measure your sit bones and other things and can recommend good candidates. The thing with gel in the saddles is they often do more harm than good. A saddle should be reasonably firm and provide support in just the right area.

cyclist2000

Have you ridden a bike recently before your new purchase? If you are a beginner then the best thing to do is ride. it takes a while to get your rear end acclimated riding a bike.

If you have ridden another bike without problems, then what saddle was on that bike?

crankythunder

Dear Jimmy:

sometimes a sore backside is the result of hair in your personal regions being pulled against the saddle while peddling. This can result in a very irritated area that can take weeks to recover and is so sensitive, you swear that it is the saddle pressure causing it.

Try getting very intimate with a razor and allowing your skin to heal.

Hope this helps!

Drew Eckhardt 

One time after I broke a saddle I bought a squishy replacement. because that's what the shop had. It put my butt to sleep within minutes.

Yesterday I rode one of these 209 miles and felt great:


You will sink into your saddle until your ischial tuberosities (the bony protuberances at the bottom of your pelvis) are resting on something firm enough to support your body weight.



You'll need to compress soft or thick padding a lot for that to happen, which will also squish your soft tissues in the process. That's not comfortable, and can cause permanent damage to your pudendal nerve.

To avoid that, you need a firm saddle shaped and sized to fit your anatomy - if the top is too narrow and curved, you'll be supporting all your weight on the sides of your ischial tuberoisities which is also not comfortable. Conversely, if it's too wide it'll rub on your thighs causing discomfort. Figuring out the right one takes some experimentation.

You'll also need some time to get used to riding a bicycle.

goraman

I find a Brooks B17 or the Selle SMP saddles to be well worth the money, A well broken in Brooks fits your sit bones firmly and suits a wide range of riders the Sellle SMP Hybrid is also a fantastic saddle most love, even the guys at the bike shop commented how comfortable it is.

chedarhead

Try riding small distances more often to get accustomed to your saddle and if you still feel the need for a new saddle then go to a shop and discuss situation. For me a narrow thinly padded saddle works best. Stay away from heavily padded squishy seats they may seem to be the answer but in practice they are not.

pressed001

I think you've gotten some great advice so far. It will just take a while to get used to it. I always thought the stock Bontrager saddles were pretty comfy.

The most comfortable saddle I have ever used:

dim

Charge Spoon ... read the reviews:

Wiggle | Charge Spoon Saddle with Cromo Rails | Performance Saddles

digibud

Saddles are shaped to work with riders of various widths (seat bones) as discussed above and are flat (more for upright riders) or kicked up toward the rear for riders that are leaned further forward. Some are plush, others are very hard and flat. That's why I have half a dozen saddles I've bought over the years. The saddle I am using now as summer approaches and 30miles is a "long" ride is different than the saddle I'll be using in August when I'll do 60mi without blinking. Bontrager saddles bought from Trek dealers should come with a 30 day return guarantee. Specialized will also allow returns when you buy direct on the web. Spec dealers may or may not allow returns. It's up to them. Note too that even a one or two degree nose up/down difference can change the feel of a saddle from perfect to painful but until your butt is broken in, all saddles are eventually painful. Lastly, be sure you have good biking shorts and the use of creams in your crotch to keep the parts sliding around nicely is a good thing.

zeeway

Another vote for Selle SMP - after a painful bout on Trek 7.4 fx with stock Bontager saddle.

Tony Marley

I have had good comfort on multiple bikes from Terry Men's Liberator saddles.

1Mule

I have B17 imperials on my 3 bikes, love em. My girlfriend has a B17 on her bike now also, she's very happy with it.

enszakacs

Try finding a local dealer of: ISM

I was experiencing complete groin numbness after 15 miles, then tried and purchased the ISM PN 1.1 and all issues immediately disappeared. Rode 56 miles the other day no issues. Only thing I changed since buying it from the shop was actually to back it up about a cm on the rails to get my butt on the sweet spot. They aren't exactly pretty saddles, and it feels different than most, but having my weight (230 lbs Clyde) on my sit bones where is belongs rather on soft tissue is worth it so I can actually ride comfortably.

https://www.strava.com/activities/499334008
https://dgtzuqphqg23d.cloudfront.net...-2048x1536.jpg

PDKL45

I have recently switched to a WTB Comfort Comp saddle and I'm really liking it. Firm enough for support yet comfortable over distances of 100 miles/160km and more. Cheap, comfortable and supportive. Maybe a little heavy, but the positives far outweigh that point.

workingthrewit

I'm liking all the recommendations here. Keep it coming.

I see a lot of recommendations for saddles you guys like, but what about saddles you had that were not that great?

ph0rk

WTB's pure V had too much padding for me - not good for anything other than a half mile spin around the block. Bontrager's evoke is a much firmer (and cheaper) saddle, and I can sit on it for hours.

chevmaro

I agree on the Toupe, it's fantastic. It came on my new bike, specialized roubaix. You can probably get them pretty cheap too because they come stock on a lot of the specialized bikes.

I had a Bontrager Paradigm RL on my last bike. Feels similiar to the Toupe, also agreed with me.

Really though, for 8-15 miles I could ride on a brick. I am assuming the OP hasn't rode very much. If this is the case, keep riding and it will get better next month. I would even suggest breaking in your sit bones before picking a new saddle. You need 1-2 months of consistent riding.

MRT2

Second the Brooks recommendation. 4 years now riding a B17 and I am reluctant to go with anything else.

spdracr39

I actually love the Bontrager SSR. I have tried many different saddles and can't find one that fits me as well. It is a little embarrassing to have a $40 dollar saddle on a $10,000 dollar bike but it works and that is the most important thing.

mrodgers

Now see, the stock seat on my Giant Escape was just a hunk of plastic with probably a quarter inch open cell squishy foam on it and it was lousy for anything other than a half mile spin around the block. Thus, Performance had the WTB Pure V on sale for $30 and I had just seen it recommended on another saddle thread so I bought it. I don't do 100 miles, but I roam around Pittsburgh for 3-4 hours and don't even feel it. I'm really liking the WTB Pure V.

To the OP, you can see why it is difficult to recommend a saddle. Everyone is different. What works for one might not work for another.

Paul Barnard

I second the ISM recommendation.

avidone1

yep.
My riding profile is very much like the op. After much pain, and numerous tries my selle smp touring is the one.

rm -rf

First of all, you need to ride a series of short rides to start getting used to bike saddles.

This is what I went through years ago, looking for a good saddle. Everybody is different.

One response likes saddle "A", hated "B". Someone else thinks "B" is the best, couldn't stand "C". A third post recommends "C", got rid of "A".

Many bike stores will let you try out saddles. Start with the saddle level and do at least a few rides before giving up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your Bontrager Comfort Gel is designed for occasional riders doing very short trips. I'd ride it for a few weeks, short rides every few days, then try something with less padding. You don't want to sink in if you want to do longer rides.

You will get adapted to saddles, keep trying!

Comfort Gel:


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, I'll show what I like. (for what little it's worth to you.)

A Fizik Aliante came with my new bike last year. Hated it. Oww. The backs of my thighs were very sore.

I'd always thought I needed very flat and very narrow saddles, but this one is really curved with no cutout, and fairly wide. But after a couple of rides, I started tolerating it. After a few more, it was "just right", and good for all-day riding. That really surprised me.

PDKL45

I rode one of those Aliante saddles for 8 years on my old 26er MTB and it was always pretty good, even when I started riding longer and longer distances on it.