Road bike saddle upgrade suggestion

rat_race

Hey -- after years of using stock saddles on road bikes, I've decided I've earned myself some more comfort.

I've never really considered upgrading my saddle before, so no idea what I should be looking for, or what is good value.

Any suggestions, please? I've no particular budget in mind, but like most bike stuff, I generally find that the price difference between the "very best" and the "almost just as a good" is usually not worth it. So would be hoping for something mid to mid-high range/price...

I have two types of bikes, which I'd love some suggestions for:

1. Racer / road bike used for training, long sportives and sometimes racing. This bike is my primary concern...I'm just looking for something a bit more comfortable, and performance (i.e., light enough) would be a factor too. And something that's decent enough to be better than most stock seats (i.e., to put on next new bike, which might be next year).

2. Touring bike/hybrid
Saddle I have is not too bad, but still fairly hard for a tourer.


Note: I do usually ride with padded shorts, but not always.

Thanks!

Mycroft H

rat_race wrote: »

Hey -- after years of using stock saddles on road bikes, I've decided I've earned myself some more comfort.

I've never really considered upgrading my saddle before, so no idea what I should be looking for, or what is good value.

Any suggestions, please? I've no particular budget in mind, but like most bike stuff, I generally find that the price difference between the "very best" and the "almost just as a good" is usually not worth it. So would be hoping for something mid to mid-high range/price...

I have two types of bikes, which I'd love some suggestions for:

1. Racer / road bike used for training, long sportives and sometimes racing. This bike is my primary concern...I'm just looking for something a bit more comfortable, and performance (i.e., light enough) would be a factor too. And something that's decent enough to be better than most stock seats (i.e., to put on next new bike, which might be next year).

2. Touring bike/hybrid
Saddle I have is not too bad, but still fairly hard for a tourer.


Note: I do usually ride with padded shorts, but not always.

Thanks!

The Racer ; Brooks B17 Narrow or the Brooks Professional. (Or another narrow brooks.

The Tourer; The gold standard for touring saddles, the Brooks B17.

/thread

AstraMonti

Brooks and "light enough" is two worlds apart

A saddle is a very personal matter OP, some prefer sofa-like types, while others prefer stiffer with minimal or no padding. The best thing I could say is try to borrow various saddles from friends or from shops that provide such service.

Mycroft H

AstraMonti wrote: »

Brooks and "light enough" is two worlds apart

A saddle is a very personal matter OP, some prefer sofa-like types, while others prefer stiffer with minimal or no padding. The best thing I could say is try to borrow various saddles from friends or from shops that provide such service.

Light enough is subjective in a saddle! A pure carbon fibre saddle would be light, but would it be comfortable?

Good advise there though, go try them out. Though start with the brooks :pac:

TinyExplosions

Racer: Fizik Arione
Tourer: Brooks Swallow

Everyday runabout: Charge Spoon

-That's what I use/used before the racer got stolen ;(

Ole Rodrigo

The Charge Spoon and Selle Rolls are comfortable, inexpensive and have broad appeal - as close as you'll get on the issue of ' what saddle '

You could actually use the Rolls for both.

smacl

I've the Brooks B17 on the road bike and Brooks Flyer on the hybrid, both very comfortable, and I've no plans on changing any time soon. For an alternative option in reasonably priced leather saddles, the SPA cycles ones look like they could be worth a punt.

Mcofferon

Are you Dublin based?

Cyclesuperstore in Tallaght were offering demo saddles to try out a few months ago, and probably still are.

Goood Test driving a saddle would be highly recommended as a quick 5 minute ride won't really tell you what it's going to be like to live with.

I have the stock Selle Italia saddle on my road bike and a Brooks B17 on my hybrid. While I'm happy with these as individual choices, swapping between the two is like comparing chalk and cheese and takes a bit of acclimatising to. If you swap over frequently I'd say you'd be better off standardising the type of saddle IE both Brooke's type, or both hard formed saddles.

happytramp

I've found this one to be an amazing acquisition

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=34928

It really has the whole package (read some reviews online). It's one of the most instantly comfortable saddles I've ever sat on. It's very cheap for it's claimed 190g weight (actually 207g) and also looks the business.

rat_race

Thanks all for the suggestions.

paddydriver

ror_74 wrote: »

The Charge Spoon and Selle Rolls are comfortable, inexpensive and have broad appeal - as close as you'll get on the issue of ' what saddle '

You could actually use the Rolls for both.

Cannot believe these are still around! Have one on my 25 year old Diamond Back MTB.. These days its one of these arse cutters:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25467

Now that I know the Rolls is still acceptable I might swap it onto the road bike.