SIMPLE QUESTION - WHICH SADDLE SAVED YOU?

Koobi 232T worked for me. I have slightly narrow sit bones, so this one worked out well for me.

They have a 30 day return policy. Not quite enough time to break it in, but it was enough time for me to know it was going to work.

Saddles are so personal it is very tough to recommend one to someone else. I've seen (very fast) guys riding on saddles from Target because it's what they found that was comfortable. Others (like myself) can ride about whatever you put under me so long as it isn't too wide.

I'll say Cobb Cycling is a good place to start. You can call them and talk to a real person about what kind of racing you do/your setup and they can help find you the right saddle. You get a trial period to send it back if you don't like it as well.

My other suggestion is find an LBS that will let you test multiple saddles. Give each one a fair shake (more than 1-2 miles) and make sure they are installed correctly. In an ideal world I'd start somebody with a split nose, a harder "traditional" saddle, and a more padded option and then move on from there narrowing it down.

* I ride a cobb HC170 on my road bike, a Cobb SHC on my tri bike and a Fizik Ares TT saddle on my TT bike. I also liked the Cobb Randee on my TT bike although it was still just a tad wide.

Edited by Leegoocrap 2016-03-25 5:26 AM

Good thread. I ride with a Scott and didn't like it at first but after increasing miles (only 1 hour to 4 hours per week on mtb) I got used to it but I have noticed it is has a hot spot that's roughing up my all my shorts. I wonder how I would hold up 8 or more hpw.

Saddle and fit go hand in hand especially on a TT bike where you are trying to get the right tilt of your pelvis while making the family jewels comfortable.

I would find a good split nose saddle that seems to have some flexibility in the nose, ie the ability to brings the prongs together. Bring some strong zipp ties with you and try bringing the prongs slightly closer together if you can get more comfortable. This allows you to try a few combinations with one saddle.

I've been in the same boat. No matter what I try, I get saddle sores and discomfort. I've just gotten to the point where I sort of accept them. I had a bike fit recently where they suggested the Specialized Sitero. I had an Adamo prior to that which had alleviated numbness and pain in my nether regions, but the width started causing really bad saddle sores on my inner leg. I'm still getting some soreness with the Specialized, but not nearly as bad while maintaining feeling everywhere it needs to be. I'm hoping that it is just the -imilation period. I think "OK" is about as good as it gets. I figure this sport is about pain anyway, if I can feel the saddle discomfort, I'm probably not pushing hard enough.

Edit: one other thing; the Specialized Sitero has an integrated water cage which can be switched out for a small hook for holding on the rack in transition for shorter races where you don't need the bottle. It's pretty awesome.

Edited by 3mar 2016-03-25 8:35 AM

Before you start swapping saddles, make sure you have a solid bike fit to start with... It's very common that saddle issues are actually fit issues.

Personally, I use Bontrager Hilo RXL (as does my wife) on the tri bike and Prologo Scratch Pro on all my road bikes. Take saddle recommendations with a grain of salt though since they are incredibly personal choice.

I had a bit of a saddle struggle, and ultimately I think it was 3 things:
1) The right saddle (in this case a Dash Stage in narrow - Dash has 3 width options) The shape was right and all the other saddles I tried or looked at were too wide and caused chafing issues as well as just not sitting right.
2) Good shorts - I had been using whatever bike shorts were cheap/on sale, which wasn't a problem on the road bike because there's more moving around in the saddle, but didn't work on the tri bike since it's a very specific position that gets held for long periods.
3) Always using chamois cream. I hadn't been in the habit of this and even when I started using chamois cream I only used it for long rides. Problem is once you start to get sores it's hard to get rid of them so best to be preventative rather than trying to treat them when they arise.

The other thing is that I think you do have to give a new saddle time. There are different kinds of saddle discomfort, and your sitbones/nether regions may have to adapt a little. My old Adamo was immediately very comfortable, but long term various issues kept coming up - it was "generally" comfortable, but created specific problem areas. My Dash had a good fit but was way harder than I was used to - it was "generally" uncomfortable, but didn't create any specific issues, and after a month or two my sit area toughened up and now the saddle is glorious.

I've done the saddle rodeo!    Echo above re getting a good fit.  That said, since 2005 I've gone through, and disliked, or liked and then disliked, various saddles, including

Profile design tri stryke
Fizik Arione
Sitero
Cobb V flow
Planet X plain wrap
Adamo prologue
Adamo Race
Fizik Tritone

I sort of viewed saddles like old time ski boots (unless they've gotten better). they get the job done, but they're never that comfortable

Then I bought a used Cobb JOF Fifty Five off ebay and think I finally found my nirvana.  For some reason just an awesome saddle for me.

Edited by ChrisM 2016-03-25 12:14 PM

Agree with all the above, and another vote for Specialized Sitero. Tried Profile, rode the covers off a couple Sell San Marco Triathlon Gel (full inch of gel in the nose!), Fizik came spec'd on the P2 and was tolerable for multiple IMs, and finally found the Sitero when I got a Shiv. Have one on the P2 now as well. Like 3Mar says, it's got the cool integrated bottle cage, but I took it off to hang a two bottle holder for more storage. Like bike fit, saddle fit can be pretty personal and you should try to find a vendor who will let you test drive saddles before you buy.