comfy saddles

ferdi

the saddle on my touring bike was lovely but its been chewed to bits and the sticky out bit has lost its foam covering making it unpleasent to use.
any recommenations for a nice soft saddle for my poor bum?

Morgan

I wouldn't recommend a soft saddle at all.

Brooks saddles

Ghost Rider

Don't buy a Specialized Body Geometry. See my post here to find out why:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054919463

FergusF

Morgan wrote:

I wouldn't recommend a soft saddle at all.

Brooks saddles

Another vote for Brooks saddles, I have used both the Champion Flyer and the B67 for touring and both are a lot more comfy over long distances than any padded saddle I have tried. For the traditional touring bike with drop bars the Flyer is better (narrower); for a more upright position e.g. on a hybrid bike, the B67 is the better option.

Civilian_Target

I'm looking at saddles myself - mine's a bit hard on the old man-parts.

I'm considering this one, it's reasonably priced and looks comfy
http://www.wheel2wheel4bikes.com/products.php?show=3153

Ghost Rider

Is it true that when it rains you have to cover your Brooks saddle with a plastic bag or some such? I've grown used to bikes being more or less waterproof so I think I'd find that a bit of a pain in the afore-mentioned "men's parts".

Morgan

Civilian_Target - that saddle is certainly...big. I wouldn't fancy it myself. Might be OK if you're sitting very upright and not going too far.

I'd cover any saddle with a plastic bag if leaving it in the rain. Who wants to sit on a wet seat? A Brooks can stretch fatally if its ridden while really wet (waterlogged) - they deserve some looking after.

cargrouch

Ghost Rider wrote:

Don't buy a Specialized Body Geometry. See my post here to find out why:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054919463

Seconded! but for different reasons. Had the body geometry sport version. Despite the hype, very uncomfortable. They don't break-in, they break YOU in.

randomname2005

A good article (imho), explains why wide saddles are not the best:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html

I have used Specialized Body Geometry saddles in the past, not sure which models and I have found them VERY comfortable ( I cycle about 120km per week), but then my sit bones are (or seem to be) the right width for them.
R

Ghost Rider

There's definitely something freaky about the gel they use in those saddles. It's not as if it's too rigid, it's almost the opposite - it's as if it's too mobile. You never feel like you've settled into the saddle. You feel like your arse is swollen and you're rolling over a great big sac of fluid. It's not a great experience.

cargrouch wrote:

Seconded! but for different reasons. Had the body geometry sport version. Despite the hype, very uncomfortable. They don't break-in, they break YOU in.

cargrouch

No gel in mine! As randomname2005 mentioned, if the pressure points of a saddle match your sit bones then you're OK, but I found these saddles worse than standard saddles because my sit bones didn't match up.

That is, if a BG saddle suits you then it should be better than a normal non "body geometry" saddle if you read Specialized's blurb. Unfortunately, if it doesn't suit you it will be worse than a standard saddle in my experience.

Unfortunately I'd say no matter what the saddle you'll always find someone who didn't find it comfy at all... with possible exception of the brooks saddles - I've seen that name come up in every discussion of saddles and only heard good things!