my wife also has a butterfly. i recently looked for another her for the road bike, and saw they have different models, so you may get lucky there.

she also likes the specialized body geometry. they come in different widths.

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Josef
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blog

I am currently trying Josh Cohen's E3 FORM saddle. The only place you can get it (I think) is Performance Bike. Here's the link: http://www.performancebike.com/E3saddle.cfm.

I have had it on my bike less than a week and used it only a coupla times on my trainer for less than an hour. For those brief periods, it was at least as comfortable as my previous saddle, which was a Selle Italia (with a cut-out). Of course, it could be a whole 'nother story for several hours on the road. I figure I'll find out next weekend.

Josh posted here awhile back and that's when I ordered the saddle, but procrastinated putting it on til now. I figure it's a risk-free experiment, since Performance Bike has a 100% guarantee on everything they sell. Maybe Jessie might want to try one. Maybe *you* might want to try one, too. My understanding is that Josh did most (or maybe all) of his testing on men, so the supposed benefits might accrue more to you than to her.

Susan

most importantly...no one ever wants to do this part or talk about it... but get out the tape measure. and no, guys, you can't use that metal one-you need the flexible cloth kind to get an accurate read for these kind of curved areas. so make sure before you go down to the store to pick out the seat that you know the exact measurement from one inner thigh to the other inner thigh when she is seated with legs slightly ajar. better to do this sans clothing as the clothes will normally be skin tight.

happy measuring.

there are a few other women's specific saddles now available - the terry line, the serfas tri women's, and the selle italia ladies gel flow. all great cut out saddles. i rode the butterfly for years, then recently switch to the aspide tri which i like, but it has been a tough transition. the terry butter tri is still a favorite. i got more than enough sweat and salt water on my terry over the 5 years and never had any cracking problems.

Blackwell has a womens seat that has proven very successful over the years, especially when using aerobars. Available at Tom D's. and many other Tri shops

I personally dislike most 'women's' saddles, as they are generally reaaally wide in the back. If your wife is petite with little hips she might not need a really wide saddle. The blackwell cutout, imo, is too squishy/soft, and doesn't do it for me at all. I think basic-shape racing saddles work the best, I have used the SLR, the SLR with cutout, SLK, Arione, as well as cheap $5 bin sale saddles (with the basic-shape, leather) and they were all ok. The Arione is the one saddle that I didnt need any 'break in' time, so she might like to try that? The women's saddles never worked for me.

Does Terry make special editions of the Butterfly? Perhaps the leather on those is a little different than the one your wife used. If she likes the Butterfly, why not just get a new one?

My wife really likes the Specialized Alias. It is actually unisex rather than women's specific and come in three widths dependent upon sit bone width.

http://www.specialized.com/...oduct.jsp?spid=12925

Most women's saddles are too wide for me. I'm using the Koobi Tri right now and love it.

http://www.koobi.com/...IEWPROD&ProdID=4

------most importantly...no one ever wants to do this part or talk about it... but get out the tape measure. and no, guys, you can't use that metal one-you need the flexible cloth kind to get an accurate read for these kind of curved areas. so make sure before you go down to the store to pick out the seat that you know the exact measurement from one inner thigh to the other inner thigh when she is seated with legs slightly ajar. better to do this sans clothing as the clothes will normally be skin tight. -------

This sounds like fun, but what do I do with that number? Is that the saddle width I should look for? How do I measure the size of her sit-bones?

Adam

------I am currently trying Josh Cohen's E3 FORM saddle. The only place you can get it (I think) is Performance Bike. Here's the link: http://www.performancebike.com/E3saddle.cfm. -------

We were in Performance yesterday and saw this saddle on sale. Josh Cohen lives just around the corner from me, so maybe I'll see if I can get in touch with him about his saddle and women using it. From what I remember, he only used men in is study, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't work well for a woman. I wasn't "lucky" enough to be one of his subjects, but he was really excited about his product.

Adam

[reply]Blackwell has a womens seat that has proven very successful over the years, especially when using aerobars. Available at Tom D's. and many other Tri shops[/reply]

I have one of these and will be testing it out when I get back from Christmas travels and will write up a little report.

clm

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

It took me a few saddles to find a good fit. I've ended up with a Selle San Marco Arami (the gel around version.)

It's pretty durable. It's lived through IM training/racing..it's seen a few miles this past year as well as being pee'd on a few times. So it's also been soaked in white vinegar and dish soap to clean it up afterwards and it shows no wear or tear and seems to get better with age.

The gel is minimal and just on the sit bone area so it's not too squishy and it's got a very narrow nose that extends farther back so the legs have room to move. The cut out is wide and in the right spot...all these things I've found lacking in most "womens" models.

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Nancy
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I hope the fact that it was on sale doesn't mean it's not selling. The guy at my LBS said if I like this saddle, I better buy two or three more, in case it's not in production forever. If it feels good during my long ride this coming weekend, I plan to do that.

I exchanged emails with Josh about whether his saddle would be comfortable for a woman before I bought it. If he lives around the corner from you, maybe he's got some laying around the house that you and Jessie could try.

One caveat--at least in my limited experience with this saddle, the sit bones have to be in one certain spot for it to be comfortable. Another thing--it's on my road bike, so I have not tried it in aero position.

Susan