To be comfy on a bike you need a saddle that suits your bum and the way you ride. One of these could be what you’re looking for…
When you’re cycling your bodyweight should rest on your sit bones (ischial tuberosities), the bony bits at the base of your pelvis. Your weight shouldn’t press down on either the soft tissue of the perineum – the in-between bit of your undercarriage – or the genitals. That can pinch nerves, resulting in pain or numbness, or cause chaffing.
Pelvis width varies from person to person. It tends to be wider in women but isn’t always. Irrespective of gender, your saddle needs to be wide enough for your sit bones. You can find that out through trial and error or with a bike fitter. Saddle shape matters too. It mustn’t press on your sensitive bits, which is the reason for the contours, grooves and holes in many saddles.
How you sit on the saddle is critical. The more you lean forward, the more you’ll rest your weight on the narrower part of your sit bones. That’s why racing bikes have narrower saddles than sit-up-and-beg roadsters. If you lean too far forward on a saddle that doesn’t suit you – particularly if you’re a women – it will be uncomfortable.
Changing the saddle is only part of the solution. To get comfortable you’ll likely need to change the handlebar position, bringing the handlebar up and back so that you can sit more upright. The saddle needs to be the correct angle for you too; level or a degree or two either side of horizontal works for most.
Saddle pain is not a normal part of cycling so don’t persevere with a saddle and/or riding position that doesn’t work for you. And when you do find a saddle you really like, buy two so you’ve got a spare!
Madison Flux Classic Standard £39.99
The Flux is a relatively inexpensive saddle with the same shape as the now discontinued Charge Spoon. It’s designed for sportier forms of cycling with a leaning-forward position such as mountain biking, road riding, and fast commuting. There’s no hole in it but the raised, grooved rear suits the sit bones of lots of bottoms. This Standard version is 142mm wide and comes in black or brown, both with chrome-moly steel rails. There’s also a Short version, which as well as being 30mm shorter in the nose is 152mm wide, so it’s likely to suit women better.
Fitted as standard to Specialized’s beach-cruiser style Roll range of bikes (which are sadly unavailable in the UK), The Cup Gel is an extra-wide (245mm!), well-padded saddle that would suit any bike with an upright riding position. The saddle rails have elastomer suspension between them and the saddle chassis take the edge off bumps and bad roads, and there’s gel padding on top of the saddle to for a plush sitting position. A V-shaped groove in the centre of the saddle is there keep any pressure off your perineum. There’s a slightly cheaper version, called The Cup, without the gel padding.
Bontrager Aeolus Comp £59.99
The Aeolus Comp is a unisex seat with a central cutout running almost the whole length of the saddle. That’s to prevent soft-tissue pressure whether you’re leaning forward just a bit (like you would be with your hands on the bar tops) or a lot (hands on the drops). The rails attach to the saddle further forward on the nose so that the chassis can flex a little more for comfort. It’s available in 145mm and 155mm widths. Neither is lightweight for a road bike saddle (280-290g), but then it’s not an expensive saddle; there are lighter Aeolus saddles if that’s what you want.
The letters TRK in the name tell you that this is a trekking saddle, suitable for touring or commuting, while the medium bit refers to the width: it’s 160mm. The pressure relief channel is long and wide and leads to a distinctive dropped nose that characterises Selle SMP saddles. This should help prevent unwanted pressure when you’re leaning forward on the drops or riding on the nose of the saddle when climbing a steep hill. It’s thickly padded and fairly hefty; roadies will want one of Selle SMP’s lighter models. Lots of colour options are available.
Rido RLT £68.50
Instead of a cutaway down the centreline of the saddle, the Rido RLT removes perineal pressure by sitting you on a chassis that’s convex under your sit bones. There’s minimal padding on this RLT version, which is aimed at sports cyclists, so you’re more likely to find it comfortable if your sit bones are already well accustomed to a firm saddle. For those who find it too firm, there is a wider, heavier, more padded Rido R2, which better suits less athletic cycling. The RLT is 138mm wide and is available in black, white, or yellow. There’s also a carbon fibre version, the LtX, which costs £193.50 and weighs 112g (as opposed to 230g).
Selle Italia Lady Gel Flow £89.99
As the name says, this is a women’s-specific saddle. It’s a touring/trekking saddle that would also suit commuting. There’s a pressure-relieving cutaway channel in the centre and it’s well upholstered with foam and gel padding, so you can sit fairly upright without your bum going numb. There’s also some shock absorbency between the rails and the saddle chassis. It comes in two widths, 135mm and 160mm. If the central cutaway isn’t wide enough for you – sometimes the edges can dig in – Selle Italia also makes Superflow models with a broader channel.
Brooks Cambium C15 Carved £99.99
Brooks is best know for its traditional leather saddles (see below) but also offers similarly shaped Cambium seats made with a nylon shell topped with vulcanised rubber. The advantages – apart from the lack of leather, if you’re a vegan – are that there’s no breaking-in period required and they’re more weatherproof. The C15 Carved is suitable for drop-bar machines such as road, touring, and gravel bikes, where the pressure-relief channel should help when you’re on the drops. It’s also available without this cutaway – called simply the Cambium C15. Narrower and wider Cambium saddles are sold too. This one is 140mm wide.
Specialized Power Arc Expert £115
Specialized’s Body Geometry saddles helped bring anatomic seats with channels and cutaways into the mainstream. The Power Arc Expert is a unisex saddle available in three widths: 143mm, 155mm, and 168mm. All of them have a stiff composite shell with a cutaway channel and a relatively short nose to prevent unpleasant pressure when you’re riding on the drops. It has more padding than some road bike saddles but thanks to hollow titanium rails isn’t unduly heavy (weight is 243g-plus). There are mounts in the base of the saddle for attaching Specialized’s SWAT accessories, such as the Road Bandit innertube carrier.
Brooks B17 Short £124.99
Like leather shoes, leather saddles break in and gradually conform to your body shape providing, some say, unparalleled long-term comfort. The B17 is the company’s best-selling model. Handmade in England, it’s designed for road cycling, touring, gravel riding, and commuting – riding where you’ll be leaning forward but not racing. The Short version is 33mm shorter than the standard model; it’s aimed at smaller riders and women. It’s made from 5mm thick leather with steel rivets. While it’s durable (and comes with a 10-year guarantee) it needs protecting from the rain. Use Proofide to keep the leather supple.
ISM PR 1.0 £130
ISM goes one step further when it comes to pressure relief: the channel extends to the front of the saddle so its seats are noseless. This should particularly help cyclists who lean forward a lot but the design isn’t only for racers. There are wide ones for roadsters and the letters ‘PR’ in the name of this 130mm-wide saddle mean ‘performance recreation’. In other words, it’s for everyday riding on road bikes, sports hybrids, and the like. There’s enough padding on the PR 1.0 that it can be comfortably ridden in normal clothes, not just padded bike shorts. You can demo ISM saddles before buying.
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