# Women's saddle suggestions?



## UPSed (Dec 26, 2010)

My wife has been riding MTB and road for over 20 years and over the last year or so has developed a soreness in her sit bones. The saddle on her road bike has a rounded profile which works great however the saddle on her MTB is flat. Any suggestions for a rounded profile MTB saddle? Thanks in advance.

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## stripes (Sep 6, 2016)

Why not use the same saddle as the road bike? It's not like anyone is going to go after her for using a road saddle on an MTB 

People use what's comfortable for them. We're all different. 

I know SQLabs and Ergon have some saddle options. Why not take a look at those?

Did she have her sitbones measured? A few companies use ass-o-meters to determine sitbone width. Mine are at 143, so I have to look for saddles in that size.


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## mahgnillig (Mar 12, 2004)

Unfortunately it's trial and error with saddles... what works for one won't necessarily work for the other (I love my old Terry Butterfly, but my sister, who is around the same body size as me, hates it). It sounds like your wife does have a saddle she likes though, so she could just get another one if they're still available. If she can't fine another one the same then make sure to shop at a place that will allow returns, as it's impossible to tell whether it will be comfortable for 5 hours by just sitting on it. 

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## UPSed (Dec 26, 2010)

Thanks for the suggestions. I offered to move her road saddle over to her MTB but she just frowned at me. 

I'm going to give it another shot. If it's as easy as the saddle shape then at least we know what the problem is and what to look for.

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## LadyDi (Apr 17, 2005)

I don't move saddles between bikes because it's too time consuming to get them dialed in just right. As Stripes suggested above just get another of the same saddle that she likes. Can you tell us which saddle is that? For example this is the Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow. It's shape is kinda roundish in places, but I'm not sure if this is what you mean by rounded. I love this saddle.


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## stripes (Sep 6, 2016)

LadyDi said:


> I don't move saddles between bikes because it's too time consuming to get them dialed in just right. As Stripes suggested above just get another of the same saddle that she likes. Can you tell us which saddle is that? For example this is the Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow. It's shape is kinda roundish in places, but I'm not sure if this is what you mean by rounded. I love this saddle.
> View attachment 1192276


I wish they'd make it in a narrower width and I would own a million of those 

It's a nice saddle.


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## Jencine (Feb 27, 2018)

The first saddle I had this year was a low profile hard SDG saddle that I LOVED...the ti-fly, but I crashed and broke it.. tried a cheapie Specialized take off that I hated. Next was a Raceface Affect; awful.. too long. I bit the bullet on a womens specific SDG Allure and I'm LOVING it. I ride for several hours and do 1-2k ft. climbs with almost no soreness. It's awfully comfy for climbing..


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## UPSed (Dec 26, 2010)

LadyDi said:


> I don't move saddles between bikes because it's too time consuming to get them dialed in just right. As Stripes suggested above just get another of the same saddle that she likes. Can you tell us which saddle is that? For example this is the Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow. It's shape is kinda roundish in places, but I'm not sure if this is what you mean by rounded. I love this saddle.
> View attachment 1192276


This is the saddle she has on her road bike. It's a Ritchey and is at least 15 years old.









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## Jencine (Feb 27, 2018)

You could e-mail Ritchey customer service and ask for a recommendation of their current stuff compared that one she has- (bike people are usually really helpful!) or measure that saddle and see if it's similar in shape and dimensions to this "classic" one they offer? I did a lot of looking at saddles over the past few months, everything is much more streamlined and just different looking and less "chunky" looking I suppose. If ya find one that works for ya, go with it! Saddle is such a personal preference you just never know until you ride it.


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## UPSed (Dec 26, 2010)

Jencine said:


> You could e-mail Ritchey customer service and ask for a recommendation of their current stuff compared that one she has- (bike people are usually really helpful!) or measure that saddle and see if it's similar in shape and dimensions to this "classic" one they offer? I did a lot of looking at saddles over the past few months, everything is much more streamlined and just different looking and less "chunky" looking I suppose. If ya find one that works for ya, go with it! Saddle is such a personal preference you just never know until you ride it.
> 
> View attachment 1192326


She has agreed to let me try her Ritchey saddle on her MTB. If saddle shape is indeed the cause of her sit bone issues then we will go the Ritchey route. Thanks again.

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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

stripes said:


> I wish they'd make it in a narrower width and I would own a million of those
> 
> It's a nice saddle.


This is what my wife uses and loves it (160mm width). They make a man's version just a bit narrower (mine is 150 and there's the "Max" at 145) which I use and it's pretty nice as well. They last longer than other saddle's I've used, as they don't seem to "pack out" as fast.


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## stripes (Sep 6, 2016)

MSU Alum said:


> This is what my wife uses and loves it (160mm width). They make a man's version just a bit narrower (mine is 150 and there's the "Max" at 145) which I use and it's pretty nice as well. They last longer than other saddle's I've used, as they don't seem to "pack out" as fast.


I might have to try the 145mm version then. Thanks for the head's up!


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## Lucy Juice (Dec 29, 2010)

The new Ergon women's line is AMAZING. Need to measure sit bones though. An Ergon dealer can do that for her.


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## UPSed (Dec 26, 2010)

Lucy Juice said:


> The new Ergon women's line is AMAZING. Need to measure sit bones though. An Ergon dealer can do that for her.


Thanks! We are going to our friend's bike shop this Saturday for a fitting and sit bone measurement. Hopefully he will have a good saddle recommendation.

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## verslowrdr (Mar 22, 2004)

I just picked up an Ergon SME-3 Med saddle for my road/roller bike and really like it, but I'd already had an extended test drive on a bike I wound up buying off a friend. Others that have done well but now discontinued are the Fizik Donna, Specialized Jett, and the late great Selle Italia Trans Am ldy. 

The Terry Butterfly mangled my skid plate to the point that I'd gladly light the thing on fire in the driveway. Seemed like there was too much padding that caused wrinkles in the leather on the side once it broke in after a winter of riding rollers. 10/10 canNOT recommend... but I'm a fan of pretty hard saddles, YMMV.


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## petey15 (Sep 1, 2006)

I also like the new women's Ergon MTB saddle. I got the medium/large. Stripes asked me what I thought about it. I said I totally forgot it was there, which is a good thing - I've spent way too much time thinking about saddles I've ridden previously, lol. I've also liked the Specialized Myth saddle, but the Ergon, for me, feels better.


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