I saw this posted recently and it says, yes, saddles for women should be different, for several reasons. One difference is that in general, wider saddles are better for women - at least if they are in a more upright road position. In a TT position - things might be a little less settled, though the article does get into it a little bit.


https://www.triathlete.com/...t-womens-bike-saddle

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
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I'm a big fan of ISM and Dash.

I remember seeing an advertisement for a woman's saddle that had two designs: for an innie and an outtie. I believe it was Cobb saddles, but I could be wrong.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

Correct I remember that also, was a big write up on it. Somewhere.

If you're going to just take a flyer on a saddle without trying a bunch of different ones, I'd recommend a BiSaddle. It's pretty rare that I've put one under a female rider and had them hate it, and it's pretty often been the only saddle that someone liked after running through a whole shop full of them. The adjustability is a huge plus when you have just one saddle and are going to try and make it work, too.

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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
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https://totalwomenscycling.com/fitness/cobb-saddles-ask-innie-outie

Yikes! Good that you asked. Because it’s so important and so individual, I recommend either bisaddle or this brilliant demo program:
https://www.bikeseatguru.com/

I’m happy there’s an article on this topic in a prominent triathlon magazine, and that there was apparently a systematic study, BUT (and I cannot lie, it is a big but)

The study and article is referring to the sitbones at the back being wider in cis women than men, not the front part! They do mention this later in the article, but the illustration is from the wrong angle for visualizing the parts of the pubic arch (and symphysis) that bear the brunt of weight in an aero position with strong anterior pelvic tilt. Why does it matter? We don’t have that big load of junk off the front, and that part of the pubic bone narrows down to the point in the midline. Saddles like ISM are notorious for being too wide. I got full-out injuries (sprains) from those “narrow” noses on the Dash, ISM, and other saddles all being too wide. YMMV. I say this to emphasize the importance of finding the right fit for the individual, and to not assume what holds for standard road bikes will work well for a tri/aero position.

I fell in love with the SMP T4 and haven’t looked back. One of the cobbs came close second. It was absolutely worth it to shop around. Good luck!

From a guy's perspective I think the female sit bones require a difference in saddle width but also where the density of the padding it put in...cycling shorts should be specific as well I think.

From a guy's perspective, Fizik Tritone, ISM tore me up with cuts & chaffing. Cobb was much better, and my current Dash is super comfy. Bi-saddle is heavy, and there are many others I have not tried which are touted as the next best thing. Find a shop with "Test Saddles" if you can, for a few weeks (some require a $50 deposit & copy of D.L. so you don't skate off with their test saddle...) Dash offers a TEST program where you pay a deposit and they will ship you one, and if you keep it, it goes towards purchase price--