Ladies specific saddles

[ElyDave]

my daughter is uncomfortable with her current saddle.

Any recommendations for a ladies specific fit, or is that a red herring?

[Duckfoot1606]

Women specific saddles tend to have a shorter nose (check the Brooks B17 vs the women's B17 S as an example), I would say make sure the saddle is the right width to support the specifics of her sit bones, any decent bike shop should be able to help

[ACyclingRooster]

Women specific saddles tend to have a shorter nose (check the Brooks B17 vs the women's B17 S as an example), I would say make sure the saddle is the right width to support the specifics of her sit bones, any decent bike shop should be able to help

Hi ElyDave.
Womens specific saddles do not only deal with the issue of 'Sit-Bone' width but they also are made with a pressure relief channel as do the mens saddles.
It is not only the male of the speci that suffers with pressure on the undercarriage bits but women are also prone to the same problem.

It is so often referred to as 'Numb Nuts' albeit the nuts have nothing at all to do with the sensation that is realised and should more realistically be called 'Disappearing Willy Syndrome' in the case of us blokes.

I would imagine that females would have an intense tingling and loss of sensation resulting possibly in a spell of bladder incontinence.

This sensation of numbness is caused in both sexes by the pressure that is exerted on the hundreds of tiny blood vessels that run between the perineum and the coccyx.
The perineum is generally defined as the surface region in both males and females between the pubic symphysis and the coccyx. The perineum is below the pelvic diaphragm and between the legs. ... The anterior urogenital triangle, contains the penis (males) or vagina (females) The posterior anal triangle containing the anus.

Personally I only ever ride Selle Italia saddles and actually have one of two on my two bikes,my 50cm Steve Goff dropped-bar road bike uses a Selle Italia - Gel Flow perforated leather saddle with pressure relief and my 50cm Bianchi Via Nirone 7 Alu Carbon Flat-bar Hybrid road bike uses a Selle Italia Trans-Am XR also with pressure relief.

In both cases I am riding a 145mm (14.5cm) width saddle. I am quite short in stature 4' 10" tall and currently weigh-in at 66kgs.

[phantasmagoriana]

Everyone's different, really. Loads of people seem to like the Selle Italia Diva, whereas I didn't get on with it at all. I've currently got Specialized Ouras on most of my bikes because I like the shape better. Spesh saddles come in different widths and there's some sort of device you're supposed to sit on to measure sit bone width, but I've never bothered trying it and the first one I tried (143mm, bought ex-demo, because I'm cheap) seems fine.

Personally, I know that I prefer a T-shaped saddle to a pear-shaped one, I prefer something that slopes slightly (like the Oura does) instead of a totally flat one and I like a cutout - so these are the criteria I use. Others might be totally the opposite...

[rafletcher]

Kajsa Tylen solved her saddle "issues" with an Infinity saddle..

http://infinitybikeseat.com/

Edit: They can hired from the UK distributor / retailer Ten Point to try before you buy.

[Kim]

The only thing that reliably works is a recumbent seat.

Failing that, you just have to try a lot of saddles, find the least-worst one and don't overlook the clothing and bike-geometry aspects of the problem.

I too like the Specialized saddles (currently using the Lithia, which is slightly wider than I'd like in the nose, but otherwise mostly harmless), I find cutouts worthwhile and suffer greatly if a saddle's not quite wide enough.  It's still a trade-off between genital pain (definitely not numbness!) and hand numbness on rides of more than a couple of hours, though.  Pragmatically, I tend to err on the side of genital pain in my bike setup, because hands are precious, and I tend to do longer rides lying down.  Others - particularly those who have never embraced the Darkside - might reasonably err on the side of never doing long bike rides.

FWIW I had a sit on Kajsa's bike and decided the Infinity saddle was doing *exactly* the wrong thing.  As with Brooks^[1], it's a classic case of YMMV.


_{[1] I don't get on with them, though there's a lot to be said fo a manufacturer that isn't going to discontinue your preferred saddle design just in time for your next crash/theft/n+1}

[Jurek]

^
Other than phanta's, the most informative post on this thread, so far.

[The French Tandem]

Women specific saddles tend to have a shorter nose (check the Brooks B17 vs the women's B17 S as an example)

That's indeed what you can see on all ladie's Brooks saddle. I don't know however if there is any anatomical reason for the shorter nose. I tend to think it is just a tradition. Many makers now don't make anymore male/female specific models, but make saddles of different width that might suit males and females as well.

[Kim]

Many makers now don't make anymore male/female specific models, but make saddles of different width that might suit males and females as well.

I think this is the best way to approach the subject, even if the manufacturers have given them girly names.  By all means dismiss something for being made of leather, or for having lycra-eating flowery embroidery^[1], or whatever other sensible reason, but if you're a bloke who happens to need a wider saddle, then it seems daft to eliminate some of the options just because they have 'ladies' written on the retail packaging.


_{[1] A older BG saddle of mine that fitted really well suffered from this.  Idiots.}

[hellymedic]

My favoured saddles have long since been discontinued and were comfortably used by my male partner until they wore out.

The male and female pelvis are not the same shape. The angle beneath the pubis is wider in women. People's sizes also vary. As others have posted, different people suit different saddles and recommendations are VERY individual.

If you find something that works comfortably, buy another before it is discontinued.

Do the same for shoes!

[The French Tandem]

....if you're a bloke who happens to need a wider saddle, then it seems daft to eliminate some of the options just because they have 'ladies' written on the retail packaging.

Look at SQLab for example, they have no pinkish model, they have wider models which are the same color as the narrower models.

Slightly OT, I was appalled during  LEL by the high number of female riders whose bicycle was painted in a "girly" color, or had pink or purple ornaments I would say probably 60 - 70% of the female riders. Are we in the 21st century yet? Women really need to ride a pink bicycle?

[Kim]

Bike geometry is probably even more important than pelvis shape:  The more upright you sit, the wider the contact area.  Hence even the same rider won't want the same saddle on a TT bike as they do on a Dutch roadster.  By way of example, I find the standard Brompton saddle pretty good (in spite of its lack of a cutout) on an S-type Brompton, but too narrow on the more upright M-type.

And then there's the how-far-you're-riding factor.  Soft squishy saddles are comfortable for short rides and unbearable for longer ones.  For longer rides you need something more sit-bone specific, which may not feel as brilliant initially, but won't get much worse with hours on the bike.  So you might reasonably fit different saddles to geometrically similar bikes depending on how you use them.

On the gripping hand, what hellymedic says about shoes applies.  If you find a good saddle, buy one for all your bikes, because then you can rob the one from your infrequently-used MTB to replace the one on your audax bike when it needs replacing and has been discontinued.

[Kim]

....if you're a bloke who happens to need a wider saddle, then it seems daft to eliminate some of the options just because they have 'ladies' written on the retail packaging.

Look at SQLab for example, they have no pinkish model, they have wider models which are the same color as the narrower models.

The current crop of Specialized ones are sensibly coloured, thankfully.  The 'women-specific' ones might have more girly names.  (Personally, I think 'Lithia' conjures images of Sheldon's Real Man Saddle.)

Slightly OT, I was appalled during  LEL by the high number of female riders whose bicycle was painted in a "girly" color, or had pink or purple ornaments I would say probably 60 - 70% of the female riders. Are we in the 21st century yet? Women really need to ride a pink bicycle?

Combination of factors:  If you're small and want a bike that fits, then you might not get to be too fussy about sexist marketing/styling.  Some people do actually like pink, and it probably serves as a security feature.  And purple's a perfectly good colour anyway.

In the 21st century we were supposed to get (I reckon we're due a refund on the last couple of years), people could ride bikes of any colour.  Equality doesn't actually mean the eradication of femininity, just that it doesn't have to be compulsory.

[hellymedic]

Pink is a useful colour. It makes identification easier as only a few chaps will use it.

I might well choose something of that hue, even though I mostly dislike the colour.

[ElyDave]

Thanks all.

I guess I'm just lucky that on both my uprights I've been happy with the saddles that were present when bought

[Kim]

Women specific saddles tend to have a shorter nose (check the Brooks B17 vs the women's B17 S as an example)

That's indeed what you can see on all ladie's Brooks saddle. I don't know however if there is any anatomical reason for the shorter nose. I tend to think it is just a tradition.

I think it's about skirt-friendliness, or simply to avoid this issue:

[phantasmagoriana]

Slightly OT, I was appalled during  LEL by the high number of female riders whose bicycle was painted in a "girly" color, or had pink or purple ornaments I would say probably 60 - 70% of the female riders. Are we in the 21st century yet? Women really need to ride a pink bicycle?

Some of us *like* pink or purple. Some men do, too. My main bike's got loads of purple bits - jockey wheels and everything. I built it up how I wanted it, and I don't care what anyone thinks. Would love it if I could get a purple saddle!

[jsabine]

Slightly OT, I was appalled during  LEL by the high number of female riders whose bicycle was painted in a "girly" color, or had pink or purple ornaments I would say probably 60 - 70% of the female riders. Are we in the 21st century yet? Women really need to ride a pink bicycle?

Some people do actually like pink

Pink is a useful colour. It makes identification easier as only a few chaps will use it.

Some of us *like* pink or purple. Some men do, too.

My Roberts is pink, and I like it very much. Got me round LEL just fine, thank you.

[Morat]

I was marshalling at a triathlon this summer, and was impressed by a totally pink Specialised Shiv one of the competitors was riding. There were a _lot_ of women on pink bikes at that event but I wonder if it's more common in the Tri world due to the "Chicking" thing?

Anyway, back to saddles - the only thing to do is try them. Male or Female.

[Feline]

I personally really like these http://www.brooksengland.com/en_uk/b17-s-imperial-3.html
I bought a bike once that came already fitted with a mens Selle Italia gel saddle. It was absolutely agony. I had one of those in the womens version too but didn't find it anywhere near as comfy as the Brooks. But apparently you need to have a Brooks bum for them to work for you.

[Feline]

Just to illustrate that point further- in 2011 I bought an almost new Brooks B17 second hand from Peli OTP. She had found it unbearably uncomfortable. I rode PBP on it shortly afterwards and suited me fine, bit like sitting in a comfy armchair.

[Wowbagger]

Kajsa Tylen solved her saddle "issues" with an Infinity saddle..

http://infinitybikeseat.com/

Edit: They can hired from the UK distributor / retailer Ten Point to try before you buy.

I asked about this. £50 a week saddle hire doesn't sound like a good deal to me.

[hatler]

Thread resurrection time.

Can anyone recommend a purveyor of ladies' saddles in the SW/S London area ?