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women's saddles....
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i know there have been a million posts on this, but i am bringing it up again here to get some female advice.

i tend to sit pretty far back on my saddle, because it is hellishly uncomfortable to sit on the nose of it. Guys seem to be able to pull that off, and a few of the top women but i certainly can't. i am trying to work on my bike position to get some more power, and being able to sit farther forward and not be scooting back/moving around would be a help. the problem when i sit forward is the clitoral area to be blunt...i feel like my entire weight is on that tiny, sensitive spot!! i tried the admo saddle at my LBS with my bike on a trainer, but it is way to wide for my narrow hips. what do you all ride with on your tri bikes? i am going to try and narrow it down to 2-3 saddles that would be good for me to test ride.

thanks!



"What am I on? I'm on my bike busting my ass for six hours a day. What are YOU on?" - Lance Armstrong
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Re: women's saddles.... [flyer521] [ In reply to ]
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I had exactly the same issue and ended up going with one of the specialized saddles (I want to say it's the Alias?) I really like it because it comes in three different widths and the cut-out helps alleviate the pressure on the delicate bits. I had to fiddle around with it a little bit at the beginning (nose tilted down, nope too far down, okay now too far up, etc.) but I've been really happy with it since then.

M

------------------------------------------------------------
The beatings will continue until morale improves
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Re: women's saddles.... [flyer521] [ In reply to ]
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I hear ya - I'm getting a new tri bike and when I went in for a fitting, the saddle on it was the Fizik Arione tri which I couldn't sit on AT ALL. The nose is so narrow that my comment was that not only would I not ever have children after sitting on that thing, but that I wouldn't want to do anything that might result in having said children. But men seem to love that saddle - go figure.

I think part of the problem is when the nose is too narrow, because I've been okay with my Terry saddle on my road bike. For the tri bike, I've tried a Koobi tri saddle and that was really comfortable, at least for the short time I was on it. So you might want to look into that - I know other women who use the Koobi as well.

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http://thethighmasterroutetokona.blogspot.com
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Re: women's saddles.... [flyer521] [ In reply to ]
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I would recommend the Specialized Toupe or the Specialized Ruby. Both come in different widths. I ride the 130mm but they also come in 143mm and one or two other wider widths. Both have basically the same profile but the Ruby is slightly padded. I've found them both to be very comfortable on my road, track, and TT bikes and I tend to scoot way up on the nose of the saddle during hard TT efforts and they are both still comfy.
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Re: women's saddles.... [flyer521] [ In reply to ]
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Maybe one of these:

SMP designs

http://www.albabici.com/...ratos/08-stratos.htm

I have one on my road and tri bike and i can lie forward and almost touch the ground with my hands and get no pressure on my sensitive area (PC for the Womens).

They have multiple widths.

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Re: women's saddles.... [flyer521] [ In reply to ]
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I'll second the Specialized saddles. I have them on my mtb, and its the next one I will put on my road bike when its time to spend the money and try something new. I usually give each saddle a year then move onto something different.
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Re: women's saddles.... [B-Dub] [ In reply to ]
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sweet saddle ... wonder why they didn't make it in pink? those teeny little "outer rails" on the nose don't bite into your psoas/inner groin area? provide enough support?
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Re: women's saddles.... [flyer521] [ In reply to ]
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I have the Terry damselfly (http://www.terrybicycles.com/...l.html?item_no=21635) and the Terry Zero X (http://www.terrybicycles.com/...l.html?item_no=21671) I find both quite comfortable (well, relatively speaking). They are narrow enough I don't get chafage on the thighs and have ride-up with my shorts, and the cut outs keep my good bits from being smooshed.


mmm-mmm-Momo Charms
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Re: women's saddles.... [mmrocker13] [ In reply to ]
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2nd Terry damselfly. Have it on road, tri, and spin bike.

________________________________
Lisa Walser-Anderson, ATC,CSCS
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Re: women's saddles.... [flyer521] [ In reply to ]
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This should be a sticky. This is the hardest part about fitting women. Bar none. In my own limited experience with the women I've fit, they usually end up liking two saddles. They like one for about a week. Then they like a different one for a week. I think that a lot of women would do well to have to seatposts marked and measured with different saddles on each. Thoughts?

"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp
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Re: women's saddles.... [flyer521] [ In reply to ]
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Had a Terry Firefly which was pretty comfortable except the nose portion was too wide and I got thigh chafing on rides half iron distance and longer. Tried a Fizik Arione tri and it was pulled off pretty quickly, also tried a Blackwell Flow with the same result. Current winner that lasted for 2 HIMs, 2 IMs, plus the training involved last year is a Terry Fly ti railed men's saddle. It's narrow enough so I don't get chafing with still an adequate cut out for aero position. My hips aren't even that narrow.

I think a saddle is the single most individualized portion of bike and am glad that there are tons of options. I'm not as picky for bikes other than my tri bike and my Trek Madone SL WSD still has the stock saddle on it as do my fixie and my mtn bikes. The only mtn bike saddle I ever yanked was the stock saddle on my sister's Kona- ouch, didn't believe her until I did a 3 hour ride on that bike and the saddle was removed before I rode it again.
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Re: women's saddles.... [Rappstar] [ In reply to ]
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>>This should be a sticky.<<

Well, let me try to see if I can make it that way.

As for me, I swear by the Blackwell Flow for my tri bike.

http://www.blackwellresearch.com/p_seats.htm

For the road bike, I have a Terry something or other.

clm

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
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Re: women's saddles.... [flyer521] [ In reply to ]
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The Terry Butterfly works best for me, ridden it in several IM, HIM, sprint, olympic, etc. I ride almost entirely in the aero position except when climbing, and nothing else worked at all.

See if your LBS has a couple of saddles that you can try out. One other thing, if you are training for an IM, your saddle will likely not last more than one season. The foam will fatigue and squash exactly the same way that the EVA in your running shoes will fatigue and squash. So replace your saddle every year, especially if you can see permanent crush wrinkles in the pressure areas.

BrokenSpoke
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Re: women's saddles.... [flyer521] [ In reply to ]
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I have the Blackwell Flow on my tri bike but was in major pain by the end of IMLOU and so am in the market for a new one. I have the Fizik Vitesse on my road bike and hear they've come out with a tri model. Anybody tried it?
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Re: women's saddles.... [flyer521] [ In reply to ]
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Selle Italia ladies saddle. Got in 2003. Dubbed "Ole Squishy". Rode a Selle SLK for awhile and liked it, but it aggravated my piriformis. BF now rides it and loves it. Old Squishy was and still is the money saddle for long rides and races. I find less padding on the saddle and clothing in between thighs makes all the difference for me. So narrow noses and no seams pls. AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS
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Re: women's saddles.... [flyer521] [ In reply to ]
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These guys were showing their wares at the NAHBS this past weekend and seemed to be pretty popular...

Selle An-Atomica

Lots of people really seemed to like the feel based on their test bike. No idea what it would feel like after an hour in the saddle, but the guy was telling me that they did 4 years of research before they finalized their design. Check out the whitepapers if you're interested in more details.


<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
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Re: women's saddles.... [dreaming~big] [ In reply to ]
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I only feel the pressure on the sit bones. My, ok, inner, ..groin,..., area,...stuff fits between the rails ok. My white one looks pretty sweet. I have two of the Stratos models (Blue&White) but they have about six different width & padding options. They aren't cheap but i like it. I used a loaner Evolution before i bought mine so i got to test it for a while.

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Last edited by: B-Dub: Feb 11, 08 22:54
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Re: women's saddles.... [B-Dub] [ In reply to ]
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Maybe this will help some riders out. Maybe they could expand into a tri specific group of saddles

Check this out:


The Competitive Cyclist saddle demo program is based on a simple premise: When it comes to a new saddle, a test ride means everything. That's why we'll ship an entire kit of demo saddles right to your door via UPS Ground. We'll send you our 11 best-selling saddles, and you get a full week to ride the daylights out of them on the roads you know best. It's the best of all worlds: You'll ride on your bike, on your roads, but using our saddles. Is there any better way to get a feel for a new saddle?

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/...utm_campaign=Saddles

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Re: women's saddles.... [B-Dub] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
I only feel the pressure on the sit bones. My, ok, inner, ..groin,..., area,...stuff fits between the rails ok. My white one looks pretty sweet. I have two of the Stratos models (Blue&White) but they have about six different width & padding options. They aren't cheap but i like it. I used a loaner Evolution before i bought mine so i got to test it for a while.

http://www.albabici.com/...ratos/08-stratos.htm

I have to second the SMP line of saddles. I had a pretty good saddle previously but hated the center pressure, even with a decent cut out. I also liked a more narrow saddle so it was tough finding a replacement. I went with the stratos last year and it did take some adjustment...basically, getting used to the "rails". Once I got used to that, I loved it but felt it could be tweaked a little. As much as I liked a narrow saddle, it could be wider. I had to get one for the trainer bike this winter so I opted to put the older stratos on that and get the newer/wider Avant model for the good bike. Wow...the entire girly package sits within this cut out. There is no pressure on any girly part. You do have to get used to that different support. I still sit on the sitbones but there is also a newer feeling of support at the leg joints....just not dead center. They are pricey but most dealers I spoke with will let you try it and return it. One dealer mentioned the Pro model is one of the least returned saddles he sells.

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Nancy
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Re: women's saddles.... [nanCinCT] [ In reply to ]
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I just bought the Selle SMP Strike Ladies Trk model on e-Bay for 69 bucks plus 11 shipping. Apparently it's the lower-*end* model (no pun intended, but my low-end could use some nice saddle). Here's a review. http://www.masherz.com/...sellesmp/trklady.htm. I have trouble spending $250 for a trial model after all the rejects I've bought & sold. Will letcha know if it's gentle on the tooshie.
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Re: women's saddles.... [flyer521] [ In reply to ]
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Selle San Marco Aspide Glamour Tri saddle is very nice too. They have their S.I.Z.E system in place and depending upon your weight, have saddles with different qualities. Also the Serfas Women's Tri saddle is another good option.
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Re: women's saddles.... [flyer521] [ In reply to ]
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in my experience, the profile tristryke is the #1 saddle for women. that said, john cobb has reported very good success with his blackwell designs.

about that competitive cyclist program, yes, i've spoken to them about expanding this to include a range of saddles that are more tri-specific. their current program includes only one saddle i'd recommend to triathletes, the selle italia SLR T1. add to that the fizik arione tri II, the blackwells, ISM adamo, tristryke, you've got yourself a nice demo program for our sport.

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
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Re: women's saddles.... [flyer521] [ In reply to ]
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How a saddle feels on the trainer is different than how it will feel riding outside because we're shifting our weight around alot more while road riding or mtb'ing. I think comfort in the saddle on the trainer for rides longer than 90 min is asking alot.
That being said, I have mountain bike saddles on my tri and road bikes. Apparently, my "sits bones" (ischial tuberosities) are spaced very wide apart--and here I thought it from all the Oreos I eat. The mtb saddles are wider and better support my caboose; and they are alot cheaper than tri saddles. Also, they are quite comfortable on the trainer. My longest trainer ride on them has been 4 hours and the only thing that went numb was my brain.
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Re: women's saddles.... [kitboo] [ In reply to ]
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I ride a Selle Italia SLR saddle - one with a cutout.
Had to try 7 different ones before that though, including several Terrys and others. Find a LBS that will let you try them outside and exchange them if there is absolutely no way to tell that the saddle's been ridden.
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Re: women's saddles.... [flyer521] [ In reply to ]
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The couple of saddles that worked for me were the SLR, SLK and the last two years the Arione road and tri. I have the Arione road on one of my tribikes, and the Arione Tri on the other, and the Arione Tri is definitely more comf. for long rides, though the Arione road still beats pretty much any other saddle I have tried. Hated the 'squishy' women's saddles, the wider women's saddles, also disliked the Blackwell, or anything with a cutout. Sadly it does come down to lots of trial and error.
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