Gel Saddle

[Distorted Vision]

I've been enjoying riding my Giant Roam 0. I've been able to cycle ~ 16 mile routes. I'm a very overweight man (148kg / 5ft 9") - I took up cycling to help losing weight.

One problem I have is that the original saddle (Giant Connect) is very uncomfortable. I was looking at getting the Selle Royal Classic Freetime Saddle.

Would this be a good choice for me?

 

[Pumpkin the robot]

If you are new to cycling, it will take you a while to "harden up" to the saddle and avoid being saddle sore. The other thing is that saddles are a very personal thing and what may work for one person may not work for another person.

 

[Profpointy]

there's something near a consensus that padded saddles including gel saddles are "a bad thing" , although I confess I've never tried one. A hard saddle is normally recommended but must be one that suits you. Dunno about the one in the picture, but a mate who's a pretty big lad bought a Brooks B17 on my recommendation and was delighted. I am a fan of Brooks saddles, as are a lot of people, but they don't suit everyone and are fairly expensive - but can be sold on on fleabay quite easily.
Contrary to some advice mine didn't need breaking in as it suited me day 1.

Someone will be along in a minute to recommend cycle shorts, and whilst they're not totally wrong, I got in fine without them for perhaps 30 years cycling, but couldn't do 30 miles on a bad saddle - so sort the saddle first !

 

[phantasmagoriana]

The one in the picture looks like the kind of thing new cyclists often *think* will be more comfortable because it's heavily padded, but those huge saddles are really only suited to very upright bikes (think Dutch bikes) ridden for short distances. I had a similar one on an upright hybrid bike a few years back and found it just didn't work for rides of >20 miles. Can't really give any recommendations really (I'm female and use various Selle Italias and a Brooks Team Pro) - but make sure that your riding position is sorted too. And yes, padded shorts will help - better the padding on the shorts than the saddle.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Get your backside measured re sit bone width and then buy the right width saddle. (Trek/Spesh and many other good stores offer this service - takes a few minutes to complete: you simply sit on a gel pad and they measure the distance between the depressions your sit bones make). Despite being a beefy chap you may well be surprised how close your sit bones are. Get this right and you are a big step closer to saddle nirvana.

 

[Saluki]

Get your bum measured, as @SpokeyDokey suggested. There was a fat gel saddle on my MTB and it was an abomination. Totally uncomfortable but I carried on as I was assured it would get better, it didn't, it got worse.
Saddles are a very personal thing. I got measured and have a Specialized Riva Body Geometary (Ladies) saddle. Hubster has the Men's equivalent. He loves it. It was about £25 so not a budget buster.
I've since changed saddles to a Selle Italia Flow. 3 stone ago, it was hideous (came with the bike) but now - thinner and fitter - I adore it. Sit bones don't change but body shape does.

Most decent bike shops have an assometer to measure your sit bones.

 

[mjr]

Measure your own bum.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7j9LUVJrjA


I have gel saddles on all but one bike which has a sprung Brooks (and two are Selle Royal) but it is very very very important that the raised bits on the saddle are the same distance apart as your bones, else it'll put pressure on the wrong places.

The pictured saddle shape is for a really upright riding position and fairly wide bones. I think even my folding bike's saddle isn't that wide.