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Shopping for a new saddle

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  • 15-06-2019 9:12pm
    #1
    newmember2
    Registered Users Posts: 2,594 ✭✭✭


    My bike has a SDG Formula FX beam saddle, but I'm now after fitting a dropper post that takes a rail saddle so need to get a saddle to fit this. I had a look online and see prices go from not much to a few hundred! I've never given my existing saddle a second thought so not sure what to replace it with and I now see saddles have a sizing as well? Do I measure the with and length of my old one and go with that?


    EDIT: Ahh...I just found this


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    #2
    Lemming
    Registered Users Posts: 14,148 ✭✭✭✭Lemming


    There's more to consider than just the video, although it's the starting point for choosing a saddle that is right for you. Things to consider include (but not limited to ... ) saddle length, curvature (e.g. how flat or curved is the saddle), your flexibility (Fizik have a whole categorisation thing on this to determine your choice of saddle), riding style & how much you move around on the saddle, perineum pressure/contact at the front of the saddle, rail flexibility (Chro-mo will afford a more comfortable ride than Ti for example at a weight cost for those of us counting the grams).

    So, by all means measure the length and width of your saddle, and if you're happy with it, then it's a reasonable place to start looking from, but just remember that you can find two saddles with the same general dimensions but two very different experiences because one is flatter or more curved than the other


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    #3
    Cee-Jay-Cee
    Registered Users Posts: 12,235 ✭✭✭✭Cee-Jay-Cee


    Saddles are trial and error. It took me 7 years to find the right saddle for my road bikes. I went through roughly 8 different saddles and settled on one and stick with it for 4 or 5 years but then whether the saddle was used/done or my physiology changed as the saddle started to become uncomfortable and so the search started again. I found a new saddle which is very different to the last one and so far so good (being using it for about 8 months now) BUT the cheap Cube saddle that came fitted to my MTB is still in place after 3 years and very comfortable. I’ve done 4hr rides on it without discomfort and have no reason to change it for some better brand/design.

    I’d say width is the only thing you can really use as a base point in buying a saddle, after that it’s purely down to you. The first saddle you buy could be the ‘one’ or it could be the first of many.

    I bought the vast majority of my saddles second hand on eBay. None of them looked used or worn (I wouldn’t buy anything tatty/worn) as they were all being sold by people who like me were trying out saddles, not liking them and selling them on again.


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    #4
    t5pwr
    Registered Users Posts: 257 ✭✭t5pwr


    Specialized will allow you trial a saddle. They measured my sit bone on a machine in Brownsbarn, Dublin. Got a lot of advice from the people there.
    Obviously you can't return the saddle back if it's dirty or damaged.


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