Saddle Schmaddle…
It’s still 95 degrees outside today, so I was smart and went to yoga this morning instead of going for a bike ride. I was cruising on eBay (as I normally do for biking stuff along with other miscellaneous things) and the saddle that took me months to find was on sale on eBay for almost HALF the price that I paid for it! Of course, when I did look for the saddle on eBay, it was nowhere to be found. GRRR…. The original saddle that came with the bike was the Selle Italia XO Gel - which I swapped out right away. I sat on it one second and I knew it wasn’t right. Too stiff, too narrow, too hard for my bum! Being a novice, I decided to go with something wider and cushier at Performance Bikes:
Terry Women’s Liberator Gel Saddle
“Designed for long rides and touring when your position is a little more upright. A larger cutaway, additional padding throughout and a thin layer of gel under the cover provide exceptional pressure relief and all around comfort on longer rides. Wider rear”
Little did I know at the time that i would have been better off with something more stiff. The seat was comfy for the first 5 minutes, then I kept sliding down the nose of it. Bike fit experts have told me that this is because I was never fitted properly on my bike. (I haven’t yet been fitted, btw… I suppose I should get this done at some point.) I put up with the seat for awhile, always pushing back toward the back of the seat but eventually sliding down the nose during my rides. After each ride, I was very UNCOMFORTABLE down there. ugh! Finally, when I started riding with a group, I was persuaded to try a narrower, stiffer saddle. The first one that I tried was:
Terry Women’s Butterfly Tri Saddle
“You don’t have to sacrifice lightweight and a low profile to get in-the-saddle-comfort.”
This did feel more comfortable. A bit harder on my bum, but more comfortable. So I rode with this seat for a few rides. But after each ride, I was STILL not feeling right down there, and I found the back of my legs were touching the seat of the saddle. So, once again, I tried yet an even narrower, stiffer saddle:
Terry Damselfly Saddle
“Designed for women racers and sprinters who hear the call of the road above anything else.”
Designed for the women racers… hmm.. yea, me - a racer. okay… I tried this saddle which felt better than the previous 3, so decided to go for this one. But before I was about to purchase it, I’d heard about Specialized brand saddles where they actually measure your sit-bones to properly size you for the saddle. Interesting…. At a local Specialized dealer shop nearby, I got my sit-bones measured by sitting on top of a gel pad, and sat on a women-specific saddle called Jett. BINGO - this was the saddle! I knew the second that I sat on it. No discomfort ANYWHERE! If anyone has saddle problems, make sure that you go try out a Specialized saddle. It was very strange that I just knew from sitting the saddle for a few seconds. Now, 3 rides later, I LOVE my saddle more than ever! If only, I could have found it on eBay 3 weeks ago and saved a few bux. :-\ D’OH!
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