What Saddles are the women using?

[Dr_Mutley]

How many women here are running womens specific saddles? Cant say i have heard of much success with friends running them, they tend to find them uncomfortable...

So... How many women here are running WS saddles with success? How many have tried and gone back to unisex/male saddles? What exactly are the girls using, and do u find them comortable???

[rustychisel]

old FiZik Vitesse (with gel - the best ever, according to her
FiZik Vitesse, 2009 - not a hit
Specialized WSD 147 - not bad, could be better, used the shop fitting service
FiZik Vitesse Tri (technogel, more padding in nose) - hello, we have a winner!!

[grasshopper]

1. San Marco Glamour Aspide on the good bike - nice narrow nose, rock hard but a solid 'platform' with upswept rear for leverage when needed. If buying again I'd get the narrower one
2. Selle Italia Trans Am Ldy on the spare roadie - softer with cut out; comfy but heavy
3. Generic on the mtb
4. Selle Italia SLK Ldy gel flow spare (took it off the spare bike but will try it again some time; think it moves too much)

Currently pondering what to put on a new tourer soon. I did test a nice mtb saddle a while ago which I'd consider (and can't find the details right now), but I'd be interested in women's experience with Brooks too.

The Team Estrogen forum has two saddle threads (fave and most hated) you might find interesting. While it's an individual issue, some models seem to have more success than others.

[Aushiker]

Hi

Anne has this one on her Amiata Genoa.



Not near the bike, so can't be more specific sorry.

Andrew

[moosterbounce]

The only saddle I've specifically shopped for and selected is my Selle SMP. Takes some getting used to but almost perfect now (almost as I've not ridden Scotty for several weeks).

I have a Selle Italia C2 on my trainer bike - much better than the piece of wood it came with. I was more used to this as it came off Scotty.

Have some over padded something on my flatbar and never like sitting on it.

My next one will be an SMP too.

[CoffsGal]

Selle Italia SLR Lady Gel Flow for me, 155mm wide, 240 grams, genuine leather top, carbon shell, vanox tube rails...available in black or white...I find it excellent because I never notice it, even during long rides...has been in use for over 12 months and about 10,000km...the Specialized Toupe, which is not a WSD, that came with the bike was most uncomfortable.

Note..the Selle Italia SLR Lady Gel Flow...

is not the same as the Selle Italia Lady Gel Flow

[bella26]

Fizik Vitesse HP here. Not sure it is the right saddle for me though so am contemplating a new purchase. May try the WS Specialized or Selle Italia saddles. I swapped out the male Fizik pave saddle on my road bike when I first purchased it so don't have any experience with a male saddle compared to a womens specific. Saddles seem to be a personal thing though - what suits one person certainly won't suit all. Pity it is a costly exercise in trial and error!

[Missy24]

Selle Italia Gel Flow

[Christine Tham]

Fizik Vitesse HP on mine. No problems with it, but haven't compared it with other girl saddles.

I have fairly small hips, so could probably get away with a mens saddle. I have found the Vitesse more comfortable than a mens Selle Italia XO and a Giant gel saddle.

[DuncanS]

Judging by the numbers in my group ride, Selle SMP is definitely worth a try.

[Dr_Mutley]

thanks for all the replies guys....
swapped out the new fizik vitesse that came on the scott cr1 pro contessa, to the selle italia LDY without much success... apparently the mens selle italia prolink gel was more comfortable... so the search continues!

[Missy24]

thanks for all the replies guys....
swapped out the new fizik vitesse that came on the scott cr1 pro contessa, to the selle italia LDY without much success... apparently the mens selle italia prolink gel was more comfortable... so the search continues!

Scott at one point was putting there own saddles on the SCOTT's... I had what was considered a Scott specific saddle on my Speedster, one of the most comfortable seats I've ever found, it came on the 2009 Scott Contessa Speedster, maybe someone will have one of those, great saddle.

[redeuca]

Have women's specific on each bike, found the men's saddles that were standard on the bikes unsuitable.

WTB Speed She pro gel - ok for rides up to a couple of hours.
BBB - has cut out, hard & unforgiving, looking for a replacement.
Specialised Jett - good so far, still "breaking" it in.

Have tried Fizik Vitesse, found it didn't suit either.

The saddles with a cut out I have found to be more comfortable and less pressure building up. Padding in shorts or knicks makes a difference as well.

A couple of mentions of Selle SMP - which models?

Cheers

[DuncanS]

From what I understand of the Selle SMP, all models have the same core structure (different for male or female). The difference between models is the amount of padding on top of that core. So the model you choose depends a lot on the amount (and type) of padding in your knicks. It seems the trend is to go with less padding in the saddle and more attention to the anatomical fit of the padding in the knicks.

[jillybean]

Terry Butterfly or Selle Italia Ldy GelFlow for me. I find I can interchange these without any issues. Tried the Fizik Vitesse but just couldn't get comfortable. These days my cycling is simply for fitness and enjoyment, so my only consideration with choosing a saddle is comfort on long rides.

[bella26]

Just given the fizik Vitesse the flick and purchased one of these:


a Selle Italia SLK lady gell flow.

When I got it out of the box I thought Showtime that is pretty thin! Still I want to be focusing on long stints in the saddle and I'd heard the less padding the better. Only tried it on a short ride at the moment and no soft tissue problems at all - so already a marked improvement on the vitesse. I do have quite a lot of tenderness around the sitbones. Hopefully this will dissipate over the next few rides as my rear gets used to the new saddle(fingers crossed!)

[bella26]

Thought I'd dig this old thread up and post how I've gone with the saddle change to the Selle Italia SLK Lady Gel Flow. Well unfortunately not so good. I had persevered with it now over the last month and whilst there is no soft tissue discomfort the sit bone pain is now unbearable. Speaking with my physio friends I realise I have Ischial Bursitis which hurts like hell . So I'm giving the sexy sleek Selle Italia SLK the flick and venturing back to the Fizik Vitesse which whilst not perfect wasn't as painful.

The search for the ever illusive 'perfect' saddle continues!

[singletracking]

Terry Butterfly or Selle Italia Ldy GelFlow for me. I find I can interchange these without any issues. Tried the Fizik Vitesse but just couldn't get comfortable. These days my cycling is simply for fitness and enjoyment, so my only consideration with choosing a saddle is comfort on long rides.

My GF uses both of these saddles also. Likes them both.

[Christine Tham]

So I'm giving the sexy sleek Selle Italia SLK the flick and venturing back to the Fizik Vitesse which whilst not perfect wasn't as painful.

The search for the ever illusive 'perfect' saddle continues!

What are you doing with the Selle Italia SLK?

I shouldn't really ask, because I can't afford another saddle, and to be honest I've had no problems with the Fizik Vitesse (even on 100 km + rides).

I do have an old Giant CRX gel saddle that you are more than welcome to try. I found it a bit too soft but it may be good for you.

[bella26]

So I'm giving the sexy sleek Selle Italia SLK the flick and venturing back to the Fizik Vitesse which whilst not perfect wasn't as painful.

The search for the ever illusive 'perfect' saddle continues!

What are you doing with the Selle Italia SLK?

I shouldn't really ask, because I can't afford another saddle, and to be honest I've had no problems with the Fizik Vitesse (even on 100 km + rides).

I do have an old Giant CRX gel saddle that you are more than welcome to try. I found it a bit too soft but it may be good for you.

I'm trying to see if I can return the Selle Italia SLK on warranty as it has a 30 day money back guarrantee if it doesn't suit. That said I sent off the email asking the question yesterday which was of course 31 days!!! If it turns out I can't return it I will think of selling it on and I'll let you know first.

Does the giant saddle have a cut out? I'm thinking the next saddle I try needs to have a cutout as that seemed to sort out all the soft tissue problems.

[Christine Tham]

Does the giant saddle have a cut out? I'm thinking the next saddle I try needs to have a cutout as that seemed to sort out all the soft tissue problems.

No worries about the Selle - I probably can't afford it anyway.

The Giant saddle doesn't have a cutout, but it does have a groove. Anyway, you are welcome to try it since I'm not using it.

[owlrigh]

I'm using a Terry Butterfly Ti and it's awesome. I came off a stock Bontrager saddle on my Trek, upon which I had to sit at an odd angle to not squish the bits -- I'm all for cut-out saddles now It's very possibly a little narrow for my sit bones, but I don't often sit very upright and so it suits my leaning into the hoods of my handlebars, the usual position I take.

The other day I was handling a Brooks B17 and had a look at a Selle An-Atomica; I think the Selle's a nicer saddle, if I was going to go that sort of route. Less in the posterior, with more of a nose. (But the weight of the thing, my god.)

[rkelsen]

Just a thought: Is it at the right height? A saddle that's set too low for you will be painful to ride on.

I had the same problem, and found that Sheldon Brown's advice about saddle height helped me greatly:

"Having the saddle too low makes it harder to carry much of your weight on your legs, so you will sit with more weight on the saddle. This, in itself, is likely to increase saddle discomfort.
...
I suggest gradually raising your saddle, perhaps half an inch (1 cm) at a time. Each time you raise it, ride the bike. If it doesn't feel noticeably worse to ride, ride it for at least a couple of miles/km.

If it had been too low before, your bike will feel lighter and faster with the new riding position. If raising the saddle improved things, raise it again, and ride it some more. Keep doing this until you reach the point where the saddle is finally too high, then lower it just a bit."

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html

[jaffaman]

I'm male, and I have an ISM saddle which I like - I note that they have a lot of women in their list of sponsored athletes http://www.ismseat.com/athletes.htm - in some ways very similar to the selle's and in some ways quite different. Like most saddles it is probably love or hate, but worth a look I reckon if you are still searching for that perfect ride.

[bella26]

And so the search continues... after ~spending too much time off the bike due to ischial bursitis caused by ill-fitting saddles I've sent the Selle Italia SLK back to where it came from. Walked into the LBS today and paid the best part of $200 towards a Specialized Jett 143. Fingers crossed this might be the one for me. I will update after a few rides and let you all know how it goes - in themeantime fingers and toes crossed!