Comfortable saddle for a 97kg rider?

Dawnrazor

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Jun 11, 2018
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I've tried loads of saddles over the years but now I use the Brooks Cambium C17 carved on all my bikes. I'm 120kg.
 

Jeff McD

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Aug 5, 2018
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356
Kona, Hawaii
Take a look at the WTB Rocket in a wider size, 151 mm I think is the widest. The WTB Speed saddle does have more padding but is not wide enough from my sit bones and is therefor still uncomfortable. Hope it works for you.
I bought the cheapest heaviest one for 36 bucks & couldn't be happier with it. If you do have wider sit bones there is no comfortable sandal out of there unless you buy the wide version.
For some reason that I don't understand, when I sat on the pressure plate at the bike shop it measured the distance between the sit bones and indicated I should buy the 143 mm wide saddle. Never found a comfortable one in 30 years of riding. Suspected I needed to go wider, tried it, and will never go back. Honestly I wouldn't trust those measuring pressure plates.
The main reason I wanted the maximum padding is because I'm not fond of riding a bike with a soggy wet diaper between my legs, ha ha. This saddle is so comfortable I ride with a simple very thin cross country mountain bike short and I'm quite comfortable. I'm never even aware of the saddle during the ride.
 

nickw1965

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Sep 26, 2018
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Must confess I only picked up my new Scott 700 tuned couple of weeks ago .Have done 3 rides so far and still in pain from saddle.Tried pitching the saddle down a bit which has helped as well as padded shorts.Seems a shame to be changing saddle at such early stage but recon a 20 mile plus ride will be the end of me.
 

Kernow

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WTB volt on both my mountain bikes , lots of people like those , and fabric saddles always get good feedback and good value .
Last year I had a 100 mile road ride coming up on my roadie and wanted a new saddle , I got my ass measured at my local shop and tried a fabric saddle they recommended as it was money back if I didn’t like it . It was ok but still I needed better , I then started reading the Fizzic saddle theory , and it seemed to make sense to me , I worked my body type and armed with my already measured sit bone width ended up with a Fizzic Aliante saddle , all I can say is on my big ride I died after 86 miles of Cornish hills and a 30 mph headwind all day but never once had a sore butt. I knew then That was my saddle , and the volt is very similar on my mtb
I am go not saying buy what I did or take anyone else’s opinion as we’re all different , just do some research get measured and try to understand what suits you , There are about 5 saddles on the shelf in my shed I didn’t get right ? but now I can look at a saddle and kind of get a feeling it will suit me , whereas before it was pure guesswork .
 

njn

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Mar 14, 2018
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I weigh in about the same, switched to fabric scoop shallow from a wtb volt. Sometimes a supportive saddle that fits is better than an over cushioned one.

The volt was fine, but I needed a shorter stack height as seat tube was a bit too long. I believe the scoop is about 10mm shorter than the volt.
 

Kernow

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I weigh in about the same, switched to fabric scoop shallow from a wtb volt. Sometimes a supportive saddle that fits is better than an over cushioned one.

The volt was fine, but I needed a shorter stack height as seat tube was a bit too long. I believe the scoop is about 10mm shorter than the volt.
I never compared the length of them or even noticed , I would have said they were similar but now I’ll have to check, both similar comfort for me and happy to use iether for most riding
 

Kangr

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Sep 14, 2018
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Rider weight isn't the thing to go by when buying saddles, it has a lot more to do with your sit bones. two people might look physically similar on the outside but if there sit bones are different widths they will have different options of which saddle is the most comfortable.

It is very hard to recommend a saddle to someone as what suits one person doesn't suit another. now that said i have found that there are certain saddles that generally suit a wider range of people. as others have said in this thread the fabric scoop saddle (the radius shape) is a popular one also its predecessor the charge spoon is good to. the wtb volt is another good choice.

Until recently I always went with a charge spoon, but after sitting on the wtb saddle on the pivot I have found a new favourite. From looking at there range i believe this to be the wtb pure, its very similar to the wtb volt but a bit more padding. now padding isn't always the thing to look for as the flex in the saddle itself is more important for comfort.
 

khorn

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Jul 19, 2018
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It’s actually quite easy to check your own sit bones and the distance between. Take some thick cardboard and put it on a hard surface, sit down gently and rock gently from side to side without moving your popo. When you stand up again your sit bones will have left marks in the cardboard and you measure center to center. I actually need a very wide seat and just recently realized this, goodbye to a painful ride - I love my Specialized Roam sadle.

The optimum seat width is the measured distance + 20 mm according to experts.

Karsten
 

mark.ai

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Jul 10, 2018
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It took me ages to find a saddle I was comfortable on until I came across the SQlab saddles. I used the cardboard measuring mentioned above to find sit bone width and then used their system to choose a saddle width: Saddle Width System / Sit Bone Measurements - SQlab GmbH

I now use a 611 Ergowave Active saddle for MTB and then a 612 saddle for road (1 cm narrower)

SQlab_Messlehre_US.jpg
 

Gary

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Personally think the sit bones measurement thing is bollocks.

But agree, rider weight has nothing at all to do with which saddle is going to feel best.
ride more. A LOT more. and you'll find minimal padding lightweight racy saddles will become more comfortable.
Most folks Emtb mileage isn't anywhere close to what I'd consider a lot
 

Gary

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What does "tears dropping story" translate to Karsten?
Measureing sit bones is an odd way to find a comfortable saddle for many reasons the main ones being:
It doesn't take into account the riders fat, muscle or thigh/arse bulk
You don't actually weight bear on your sit bones while pedalling.
it also doesn't take into account personal preference.

If blindly getting your arse measured and coming home with an expensive saddle someone with the expertise of a sports direct shoe sales person ha recommended makes you happy cool!
 

Gary

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What's your current saddle?
what's uncomfortable about it?
and how do you have it set-up? (Height, angle, fore-aft position)
and what's your bar set-up/reach?
These things all contribute to hand and arse comfort.

Skull hole well and truely ruined now? ;)
 

All Mountain Coaching

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Got a new spesh henge for sale off a levo if you're interested. There seems plenty of padding on it, but then anything seems padded compared to my last saddle!



It only weighed 98g
IMG_20160519_153814040.jpeg
IMG_20160104_160038290.jpeg
 

Gary

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my last saddle!

emoji44.png
emoji23.png


It only weighed 98g
Tres expensive brand or chinese knock off?

Like this one
I run a Tioga D Spyder on one of my DH bikes. really like it.
large_34240.jpg

D-Spyder – Tioga


The twintail XC ones are quite flexible. Tioga also do the Spyder stratum now. sort of a halfway house between the two. Not sure about the benefit of the grip pads though.

large_104404_20161220040044.jpg


Spyder Stratum – Tioga

The chinese knock offs are pretty awful, too flexy and weak
 
Last edited:

Hurrellmc'burrell

New Member
Apr 12, 2018
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Tredegar
I had the same problem with the saddle that came with my bike I went to Halfords and found one with good padding in the saddles and they sell a good range it's worth checking
 

All Mountain Coaching

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Months lol. Until it was stolen.

Op; specialized stores have machines to measure your sit bones etc and tell you the best saddle for you.
 

Tamas

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Just to add to the confusion Ergon SMC4 (C is for ‘Comfort’) is also worth looking/trying I have them on two bikes. As others mentioned the saddle is personal preference but in general I would avoid the soft and more padded ones because they will be the least comfortable especially on longer rides.
 

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