How to Choose a Bicycle Saddle
- Gerhard Wanninger
- Nov 22, 2022
- 6 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
The Quest
The search for a 'perfect' saddle is for many a never-ending pursuit. During my cycling life, I had some different bikes and sat on different saddles, but the quest for a racier saddle with some comfort for distances above 100 km is still going on.
Basically, there are only three parts connecting the rider with the bike: the hands, the feet, and the part on which everyone is sitting on the saddle - all of them are decisive for the comfort and subsequently your performance on the bike. When you feel comfortable, you are free to push yourself to ride harder and longer; you enjoy the bike ride much more. But should you feel uncomfortable or even experience pain, your confidence is affected, and your natural reaction would be to hold yourself back, slow down, and even give up.
I reside close to Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. In this area, renting a bicycle is more prevalent than owning one. Housing costs are high, and apartments are small. On weekends, many people choose to rent a bike or use Ubikes, a convenient public bicycle rental service. Individuals of all ages ride them, often wearing sports clothes or jeans, neither of which are ideal for cycling. This often results in discomfort on the saddle, leading them to ride only twice – the first and last time.
Human Anatomy and Cause of Pain
A rider's take on comfort has lot to do with the basic human anatomy. The parts connecting male and female with the saddle are called sit bones (or ischial tuberosities), located at the bottom of the pelvis. They carry most of the rider's weight while sitting on a bicycle (Healthy and Natural World). Many muscles, ligaments (tough fibrous bands, of connective tissue), and nerves are connected to the sit bone. Riding on the wrong saddle or having the wrong posture while riding could be the cause and contribute to sit-bone pain.
Solutions
-General Solutions
a. Padding
To combat discomfort, bike rentals choose inexpensive wide and thick padded saddles for brief and comfortable rides. However, the cheap padding foam tends to be too soft and compresses too easily. To address this, two rear springs might be added. These springs support the upper body but not the sit bones (and tissues) connecting the rider to the saddle. This cost-effective general solution is beneficial for bike rental companies in the short term, but not for the rider in the long run.
b. Saddle Material
About a decade ago, I tried out a full-grain leather saddle from a renowned British manufacturer. Initially, the idea of a natural material conforming to your shape after a tough break-in period seemed appealing. I endured this uncomfortable phase but never adjusted to it. The issue wasn't the shape or material, but the rivets I felt through my shorts, and the leather cracked after just one heavy rain, even with optional saddle protection. Perhaps I misunderstood the 'molding' concept, but even after breaking it in, I couldn't ride without padded bike shorts. Whether the saddle was too hard or my rear too sensitive, I'll leave to the reader's judgment. This leather saddle was not only costly but also heavy, weighing just under 600 grams—nearly half the weight of my 1200-gram Scandium alloy bike frame!
There should be a better individual solution for me out there.
- Individual Solution
When you ride often and over longer distances above 100 km per ride, it is definitely worth spending time to research and money to invest. When you are willing to pay for a better bike, it should be natural to invest in a saddle to make the ride more enjoyable. There is tons of information about saddles that can be found online, factory data, and individual comments a very helpful. For the setup of the saddle, my favorite is idmatch. Even designed as part of a bike fitting, there is information for any biker out there.
-Saddle Length
When you put a classic and a more modern saddle side by side, you notice that there are two different lengths,
- the traditional saddle and
- the short-nosed (or shortfit) saddle
To cope with the forward position in pro circles over the years, the shorter saddle came as an answer to the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale), the world governing body of sports cycling), ruling that:
"The rider’s position for time trial on the road and for the pursuit on the track is defined by the position of the tip of the saddle behind the bottom bracket (5cm minimum).”
The nose of the traditional saddle was simply cut-off and the shorter saddle was invented.
I ride in a more forward position on both my traditional and short saddle and found no (!) practical difference between the two of them. When I sit usually in the center of both saddles, they feel equal when I pedal.
- Saddle Width
One of the most prestigious manufacturers of saddles, Selle Italia, works with the above-mentioned idmatch and offers their saddles in different widths to match the width of sit bones. Some people use a caliper to measure, and some just sit on a corrugated carton and measure the distance between the compressed parts, from center to center. You take this data and translate it to the suggested manufacturer's saddle width.
My current favorite is the Selle San Marco Ground Sport, actually a mountain bike saddle, on my road bike. I have a narrow hip and chose the S3 (140 x 255mm) width.
- Saddle Shape or Anatomy
Until some years ago, the saddle shape or anatomy did not change much during the decades. The traditional saddle in leather had holes on the top to breathe some airy comfort between the saddle and the rider. These holes were not possible with a plastic base, padding, and leather top. Furthermore, the closed surface caused discomfort, especially for men. With new materials and manufacturing techniques, the anatomy found its way to the saddle design.
A channel in the saddle was added to let air through and give some relief to males - when there is an open channel, nothing can be compressed. At the same time, the saddle was shaped so that riders could still move forwards and backward, and space for the moving legs was incorporated.
The material was improved; the shell became more elastic on certain points; the padding was specifically developed and even gel was introduced; the cover material got finer but more robust, and printed rubber gave a firmer grip.
- Saddle Thickness （Padding)
When going to a bike shop, the lightest saddle is generally the most expensive one. The reason for this is, that better material usually costs more, this includes the padding material. A softer material is cheaper but compresses faster. My favorite is the Selle San Marco Ground a saddle designed for mountain bikes. This saddle has a very similar design to their shortfit saddles but is thicker padded.
- Saddle Purpose
In a line-up of one Italian saddle manufacturer, there are road, off-road, gravel, triathlon, sport touring, and heritage saddles available - each designed for its own purpose.
- Saddle Value
Within the line of a manufacturer's saddle, the shape or the anatomy is usually the same; the difference in prices is in the material for the rails, maybe the foam, and indeed in the quality of the cover material. No one is forced to buy the top product of a line; the base model is mostly offering the best value of the whole line. And all saddles are sooner or later on sale, not only on any given Black Friday of the year.
At first, above might be overwhelming to choose the right saddle. But like your partner for life, this choice is a very personal one and might be difficult to explain to others.
When a rider considers the male or female anatomy; connecting the length, the width, and the shape of a saddle with the purpose of the ride, there could be the right solution right in front of you. And you could enjoy your bike and ride without being held back. Isn't that worthwhile?
A simple start would be lending a bike from a friend, and checking out the saddle comfort of his or her bike. Compared to the own saddle might be a simple way to go...
Hope you feel fine on your bike,
Gerhard
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