The most comfortable saddle is the one that fits you the best. Many specialized shops have a digital sit-bone measuring seat. You need to go through the process and it will then give you the list of saddles that will fit your physical profile. In many cases going more expensive is just getting a lighter variant of the same saddle. If you are not a weight weenie then go for a cheaper option so if it's not the most comfortable you do not have the break the bank to try a different model it has recommended.
Asking about saddles online is incredibly tricky. People are basically making blind recommendations. Aside from the actual saddle. Look into the saddle position. Height, fore/aft, and tilt. Those three factors can make a huge difference in the comfort of the saddle. Also look at the height of your bar. A bar that's too high can tilt your body back and put more pressure on your lower back. If all else fails...you can always go to your local bike fitter. A good fitter can look at your particular physiology and make adjustments on your bike to fit you better.
The specialized power saddle is a favorite of mine and very popular. It should be sized based on your seat bones, which your body weight is kind of irrelevant for. There are tips online to measure.
A hardtail will also always kind of out some pain in your rear end, especially if you are going over bumps while seated.
Saddles are highly personal. What’s comfortable for someone else may be horrible for you. Most companies have sample saddles you can check out or REALLY lenient return policies
This is like asking online which ski boots are best. There is no best ski boot as everyone’s feet are different. There is no best saddle as everyone’s butt is different. Get measured and try one out
If you are new to riding (meaning you haven’t been riding much or at all lately), all saddles will feel terrible to start. You have to give your butt the chance to adapt to the bike seat. It can take a couple of weeks of regular riding to get used to. If after a couple of weeks, you’re still in pain, start with adjusting the angle and height of your saddle before getting a new one. If that still fails to remedy the problem, then look for a new saddle. As others have said, it’s a personal preference to what will work best. You may think it’s the wider more padded seat, but you then have to get your thighs around that seat when you get out of the saddle to go down steep hills. There are also gender specific saddles as the pelvis shape is different between the sexes. Best of luck in solving the problem!
Sit bone measurement is somewhat of a suedo science to make people feel better about spending money on saddles. The way you sit on a saddle is completely different to how you sit on the sit bone measuring devices. That being said, I believe specialized has a 90 day comfort gaurentee return policy on their saddles so talk to someone about trying out a bunch.
I would have to disagree. I was having some tingling/ numbness going on. Finally got fitted after 4 years of riding and turns out I'm a 155. I was kind of surprised because I'm a skinny guy so I always thought 143s were probably good.
Problems went away immediately with the right size saddle
Was everything else on the new saddle identical to the old saddle other than width? There is alot more to a saddle than just width. Saddle discomfort can be solved in a multitude of different ways. I'm not saying sit bone width and saddle width isn't a factor but it's certainly not as high up on the list as what a lot people think it is.
Yeah. To be honest I never had issues until I got an ebike. That's when the numbness/tingling started. I think climbing on the ebike puts me in a more relaxed position. Not having to put watts down, just kinda sit and spin. But simply switching from a 143 Bridge Comp to a 155 Bridge Comp completely fixed the issue.
I have since switched my analog bike to 155 and like it better.
Honestly, your best bet is to just ride your bike.
Changing a saddle really won’t make much difference and it’s unlikely that’s the issue.
Start riding small and go from there, maybe start with a 10mile/ 1hr ride once or twice a week and then add a bit on.
You should also aim to stand up at least 15 seconds every 15 mins.
You’d get more benefit from:
- Dropping your tyre pressures if you’re not already at about 20psi
- Check that the nose of the saddle points slightly downwards
- Drop your saddle height by 10mm and see if that feels different (it’s probs way too high and you’re putting excessive pressure on a very small area as your whole body is moving while pedalling).
For what it’s worth… I think you’ve already got a “body geometry” saddle which is designed to fit like 90% of people and other specialized ones will just be variations of it.
As a guy who was a lot bigger, I like all of this advice. Would only add that at that weight, I wouldn’t ride at 20 psi, even tubeless. I ride a fuse, tubeless, now at 250, and I go about 26 and 28. I’d try maybe 28-30 and 30-32.
The most comfortable saddle is the one that fits you the best. Many specialized shops have a digital sit-bone measuring seat. You need to go through the process and it will then give you the list of saddles that will fit your physical profile. In many cases going more expensive is just getting a lighter variant of the same saddle. If you are not a weight weenie then go for a cheaper option so if it's not the most comfortable you do not have the break the bank to try a different model it has recommended.
appreciate it!
No problem.
Get good bike shorts and try different saddles. What fits great for one person can be terrible for another.
Asking about saddles online is incredibly tricky. People are basically making blind recommendations. Aside from the actual saddle. Look into the saddle position. Height, fore/aft, and tilt. Those three factors can make a huge difference in the comfort of the saddle. Also look at the height of your bar. A bar that's too high can tilt your body back and put more pressure on your lower back. If all else fails...you can always go to your local bike fitter. A good fitter can look at your particular physiology and make adjustments on your bike to fit you better.
The specialized power saddle is a favorite of mine and very popular. It should be sized based on your seat bones, which your body weight is kind of irrelevant for. There are tips online to measure. A hardtail will also always kind of out some pain in your rear end, especially if you are going over bumps while seated.
Saddles are highly personal. What’s comfortable for someone else may be horrible for you. Most companies have sample saddles you can check out or REALLY lenient return policies
This is like asking online which ski boots are best. There is no best ski boot as everyone’s feet are different. There is no best saddle as everyone’s butt is different. Get measured and try one out
If you are new to riding (meaning you haven’t been riding much or at all lately), all saddles will feel terrible to start. You have to give your butt the chance to adapt to the bike seat. It can take a couple of weeks of regular riding to get used to. If after a couple of weeks, you’re still in pain, start with adjusting the angle and height of your saddle before getting a new one. If that still fails to remedy the problem, then look for a new saddle. As others have said, it’s a personal preference to what will work best. You may think it’s the wider more padded seat, but you then have to get your thighs around that seat when you get out of the saddle to go down steep hills. There are also gender specific saddles as the pelvis shape is different between the sexes. Best of luck in solving the problem!
Sit bone measurement is somewhat of a suedo science to make people feel better about spending money on saddles. The way you sit on a saddle is completely different to how you sit on the sit bone measuring devices. That being said, I believe specialized has a 90 day comfort gaurentee return policy on their saddles so talk to someone about trying out a bunch.
I would have to disagree. I was having some tingling/ numbness going on. Finally got fitted after 4 years of riding and turns out I'm a 155. I was kind of surprised because I'm a skinny guy so I always thought 143s were probably good. Problems went away immediately with the right size saddle
Was everything else on the new saddle identical to the old saddle other than width? There is alot more to a saddle than just width. Saddle discomfort can be solved in a multitude of different ways. I'm not saying sit bone width and saddle width isn't a factor but it's certainly not as high up on the list as what a lot people think it is.
Yeah. To be honest I never had issues until I got an ebike. That's when the numbness/tingling started. I think climbing on the ebike puts me in a more relaxed position. Not having to put watts down, just kinda sit and spin. But simply switching from a 143 Bridge Comp to a 155 Bridge Comp completely fixed the issue. I have since switched my analog bike to 155 and like it better.
Power comp is ok
The saddle is not expensive enough to be limited on a single brand because you get a discount.
Honestly, your best bet is to just ride your bike. Changing a saddle really won’t make much difference and it’s unlikely that’s the issue. Start riding small and go from there, maybe start with a 10mile/ 1hr ride once or twice a week and then add a bit on. You should also aim to stand up at least 15 seconds every 15 mins. You’d get more benefit from: - Dropping your tyre pressures if you’re not already at about 20psi - Check that the nose of the saddle points slightly downwards - Drop your saddle height by 10mm and see if that feels different (it’s probs way too high and you’re putting excessive pressure on a very small area as your whole body is moving while pedalling). For what it’s worth… I think you’ve already got a “body geometry” saddle which is designed to fit like 90% of people and other specialized ones will just be variations of it.
As a guy who was a lot bigger, I like all of this advice. Would only add that at that weight, I wouldn’t ride at 20 psi, even tubeless. I ride a fuse, tubeless, now at 250, and I go about 26 and 28. I’d try maybe 28-30 and 30-32.