Ladies road saddle advice please

[Black Sheep]

Hi,

Black Ewe's road bike now has flat bars on it as this is more comfortable and confidence inspiring than drop bars where she was struggling to cover the brakes.

The next thing is to replace the saddle as it's probably too narrow for her as it's actually the one that came attached to the frame and seat post when I scrounged it from my local bike shop of the time.

On her MTB she's got a ladies saddle with a gel insert which she finds comfortable enough.

Any advice on road bike saddles for a lady?

Budget is £40-£60ish

The bike's used mainly to train for and compete in triathlons, she does have some back issues.

So advice on saddle and also positioning / angle as I believe this is different for a lady?

Thanks

 

[vickster]

I have Bontrager saddles on all my bikes. Very individual though. I use a 155mm having had my sit bones measured in the past. I don’t like saddles with cut outs but plenty do

Current Bontrager range here

https://www.sigmasports.com/search?...ens&page=1&filters={}&search=Bontrager saddle

Mine are always dead level. But some might point theirs down a few degrees

Why not just get the same saddle as on the mtb. Road versus mtb doesn’t matter, comfort does!

Maybe your LBS does saddle loans?

 

[Black Sheep]

I have Bontrager saddles on all my bikes. Very individual though. I use a 155mm having had my sit bones measured in the past. I don’t like saddles with cut outs but plenty do

Current Bontrager range here

https://www.sigmasports.com/search?query=Bontrager+saddle#gender[]=womens&page=1&filters={}&search=Bontrager saddle

Mine are always dead level. But some might point theirs down a few degrees

Why not just get the same saddle as on the mtb. Road versus mtb doesn’t matter, comfort does!

Maybe your LBS does saddle loans?

Thanks, I'll have a look into Bontrager and measuring sit bones.
Was thinking the gell squishyness of the mtb saddle might not be ideal for a road bike.

Unfortunately my local LBS closed a couple of weeks ago

 

[mjr]

So advice on saddle and also positioning / angle as I believe this is different for a lady?

As far as I have figured out so far, the actual process of measuring and adjustment is not itself different but the outcomes often are... and there's been very bad experiences of male-focused advisers ignoring or changing the measurements or failing to make obvious adjustments because they didn't believe they could be correct, and of male-focused shops stocking no saddle which suited the measurements (usually at the wider end of the range, especially the more T-shaped ones).

So I'd search past threads for advice (or look at the Arts Cyclery saddle videos on youtube as I think they're OK) and actually apply it: if the measurement process comes out suggesting a saddle wider or narrower than you expected, it probably means the expectation was wrong. If the adjustment process says tilt further forwards than you think, test it anyway.

 

[mjr]

Why not just get the same saddle as on the mtb. Road versus mtb doesn’t matter, comfort does!

Maybe your LBS does saddle loans?

I think the correct saddle often varies by riding position, so the same saddle as on the mtb might not be comfy. It depends on the bike IMO. Maybe measure and/or mark its current location (so you can put it back exactly right) and move the saddle across for a test.

As well as some LBSes, some cycle groups/clubs have saddle libraries.

 

[vickster]

I don’t know if it’s still made but she could try a Charge Ladle, wsd version of the popular Spoon. Madison make clones

https://winstanleysbikes.co.uk/char..._Y693gIVyOR3Ch2zygrpEAQYAiABEgIi_PD_BwE#black

Not saying it’ll fit though. I’d buy used first on eBay. If that works, could buy new

If she has flat bars, is the position now more upright

Oh and if she ever wants to go back to drops, cross lever brakes ftw

 

[MikeG]

Don't bother measuring your sit bones. The correlation between the measurement and the comfort of the consequent saddle is approaching zero, in my experience.

Try the Charge Ladle (the ladies equivalent of the Spoon). For about £20 it seems worth a go, particularly as so many ladies end up using it (if my club is anything to go by).

 

[mjr]

Don't bother measuring your sit bones. The correlation between the measurement and the comfort of the consequent saddle is approaching zero, in my experience.

And yet, it's worked for me and at least some others I know. At worst, it seems a better way to guess a starting point than just buying a random named brand saddle.

 

[Black Sheep]

The video I just watched about measuring (using a bit of spreyed on water on kitchen towel, bit of A4 on top, sit on it, raise your knees slightly) said to take the measurement, +20mm and then possibly add a bit more for comfort if desired.

So, not a precise science there then!

I know her hips are wider than mine


With regards the more upright, not much, she could perhaps do with a slightly shorter top tube, but she will be ok on it, she's not stretched out by any stretch of the imagination (a bit 90's style mountain bike) but rather than keep changing stems for something with more rise we should get the saddle right next.

Might plonk her on my MTB as that's got a Charge Spoon on it to see what she thinks of it, but at £20 I'm happy to take a punt and e-bay it if it's not right.

 

[vickster]

The video I just watched about measuring (using a bit of spreyed on water on kitchen towel, bit of A4 on top, sit on it, raise your knees slightly) said to take the measurement, +20mm and then possibly add a bit more for comfort if desired.

So, not a precise science there then!

I know her hips are wider than mine


With regards the more upright, not much, she could perhaps do with a slightly shorter top tube, but she will be ok on it, she's not stretched out by any stretch of the imagination (a bit 90's style mountain bike) but rather than keep changing stems for something with more rise we should get the saddle right next.

Might plonk her on my MTB as that's got a Charge Spoon on it to see what she thinks of it, but at £20 I'm happy to take a punt and e-bay it if it's not right.

Her sit bones are likely wider but hip measurement per se isn’t necessarily an exact indicator

The other way to measure is put bike shorts on, sit on a piece of foil on a step. (Specialized retailers have a piece of equipment that does the same. That says, an £80 Specialized saddle was the worst I have owned, looked gorgeous on the bike though which is why I bought it!

I think Spoons are on the wider side. I test rode a Plug with a spoon and it was much better than any other men’s saddle I’ve had the misfortune to sit on (on road bike tests)!

Length of the nose of the saddle is also a key difference between women’s and men’s saddles

 

[Black Sheep]

I'm quite ignorant of road saddles to tell the truth, always been a mountain biker until I refurbished my dad's old road bike to use as daily transport.

The type of bike it was, it should have had a brooks saddle so I stuck a B17 on it and rode it, sorted. Still don't need cycling shorts on that bike. Had the advantage of being used to being on a saddle along with doing lots of short trips so broke it in without really noticing.

 

[vickster]

I'm quite ignorant of road saddles to tell the truth, always been a mountain biker until I refurbished my dad's old road bike to use as daily transport.

The type of bike it was, it should have had a brooks saddle so I stuck a B17 on it and rode it, sorted. Still don't need cycling shorts on that bike. Had the advantage of being used to being on a saddle along with doing lots of short trips so broke it in without really noticing.

A friend of mine has done about 30000km on a brooks B17S on a road bike (saddle unfortunately got nicked recently ) it really doesn’t matter if it’s comfortable

 

[Spinney]

I use a Selle Ladies saddle - can't rememeber what model it is, sorry. Might be worth looking at their range, too.

 

[tom73]

Charge Ladle worth a try Mrs 73 has one and not had any problems.

 

[rivers]

Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow. Best saddle I've owned, and have taken it on rides of 150 miles in length