Time to sort saddle issues - help needed

[pjgraham86]

The saddles on both my bikes - Corratec Shape Pro hybrid and Raleigh Carbon Comp road bike - give me a sore a$$ after I've been in the saddle for any more than about 25/30 miles.

I'm reasonably sure that the saddle angle is OK because since I adjusted them very slightly downwards I no longer get numbness at the front end, which I also suffered from before.

I've had the Raleigh for 18 months and the Corratec for 7 months and have completed a fair number of 50/60 mile rides on each, as well as numerous regular 25-40 milers. Inevitably I get, quite literally, a pain in the a$$ in the later stages of all these rides, sometimes earlier than others. It feels like the sit bones on either side are the source of the pain and I just can't put up with it for another spring/summer of riding.

Having done various searches on the forums, the consensus appears to be that saddles are different for everyone and that you should get one properly fitted to suit your individual size, shape, comfort requirements etc. I don't envisage racing but I do intend to take part in sportives and other longer rides on a regular basis.

My question is not "which saddle for me?" because I know there are loads of great saddles available out there - what I think I need to know is where can I go to get decent advice and ideally to get properly measured for 2 new saddles ? I saw the link posted in the Beginners forum from the Specialized website giving details of their BG system and it talked about getting fully measured etc. - sadly they don't have a concept store in Glasgow (yet).

All suggestions welcome.

Thanks

P

 

[zoso7]

Dales can size you up using the Specialized BG System.

 

[pjgraham86]

Thanks for that mate. I'll drop in.

 

[redjedi]

Any shop that sells the specialized saddles should be able to measure you up. You just need to sit on the gel pad for a few minutes then measure the distance between the sit bones.

They are good saddles. I went through 3 different types before settling for a Spesh Avatar, although I think I should upgrade it to one with less padding.

A good pair of shorts can also make a huge difference. I received a pair of Lusso bib shorts yesterday with a gel pad, and they are by far the most comfortable of all my shorts (ok, I've only got 3 pairs). They were £50 but after 2 commutes I know they will be worth it for the extra comfort on long rides.