Looking for a 6'1" 180lb Saddle

I think i was in the same boat as you when i got stationed here in korea.

I have a TREK 1000 that came with a Bontrager Race Basic Lux saddle, but found it was a little on the the short side. Akthough the width was very good, i traded it in for a Bontrager Race X Lite Pro. It almost has the same width as the Race Basics, but with a longer nose for when I need to hammer it down. Comfort wise they are both a little firm for me, but that's really something i prefer. I don't normally ride for more that 20 - 25 miles a day so long term sitting isn't an issue.

Oh by the way I'm also 6'1'' and weigh in at 191lbs. so hope that helps.

6'1" 180lb saddles would be mighty hard to sit on and would make your bike impossible to pick up 😄

Being serious, why not try a Selle san marco Rolls or Regal? There is also S Italia Flites.

Specialized saddles do tend to be a bit hard for long rides, but they are trying to increase blood flow, which requires a smaller contact area on your sit bones.

Have you tried shorts with a bit more paddling to compensate? Or maybe a saddle cover to add a little more foam?

Phill P said:

Specialized saddles do tend to be a bit hard for long rides, but they are trying to increase blood flow, which requires a smaller contact area on your sit bones.

Have you tried shorts with a bit more paddling to compensate? Or maybe a saddle cover to add a little more foam?

Yep, I've gone through a handful of bibs with a handful of padding shapes/sizes. It's all of course a mix of choices, but so far no luck. Plus, I'd rather not have to replace bibs more often because the padding is going weak when I'm hoping to find the saddle that will just plain work. Pipe dream?

I've just purchased the Selle Italia SLK. It's a little more narrow than the Toupe, but with a flatter "playing surface" and a little more padding. I'll have it in the mail in a week or so and will give that a shot. The Selle Italia Flite Gel Flow is next on my list. Cut out is a must for me.

VW

NomadVW said:

I'm so tired of looking for saddles.

If you're my size, and happy with the saddle you're on. Lemme know. I realize sit bones are different for everyone, but I'm just wore out on the saddle search.

I've used: 155mm Avatar (stock on the bike) - too wide
Fizik Arione (too narrow, i end up sitting on the peak down the middle with no support for the sit bones)

I'm currently riding a 143mm Toupe. I thought this would be the saddle for me. For rides under 2 hours, it probably would be. But I'm on the bike 13-14 hours per week and by the time I roll around to a off-the-bike day, I'm hurting. It feels like my sit bones are trying to carve a niche in the saddle. It's not bad in the drops, but I like to ride on the hoods once in a while too.

So... all that said. I'm looking at the Sella Aspide Arrowhead (or the gelaround version of the same). A lot of the reviews there mark that the saddles are a little on the narrow side, but if they're a flat playing surface, that might work out for me.

Everything is delayed for me because I'm overseas without a bike shop that stocks a bunch of saddles to try and I'd like the next saddle to be "the one." Hah.. wouldn't that be great?

6'2" 210 lbs - Fizik Arione is perfect for me. If you are sitting where it's to narrow perhaps your postion isn't quiet right.

Cheers

Geoff

bobbyOCR said:

Being serious, why not try a Selle san marco Rolls or Regal?

If it's good enough for Boonen and Museuuw...

I like mine. Minimal padding. Perfect for 6-8 hours in the saddle.

Bro Deal said:

If it's good enough for Boonen and Museuuw...

I like mine. Minimal padding. Perfect for 6-8 hours in the saddle.

Another junior I race with has a Turbomatic 4 on his 'training' bike. He complains about how ugly, heavy and uncomfortable it is. I said, mate, you do not realise how much of a classic that saddle is. Pros would keep using it if SI kept making it. He shut up and looked at me with disbelief.

NomadVW said:

I'm so tired of looking for saddles.

If you're my size, and happy with the saddle you're on. Lemme know. I realize sit bones are different for everyone, but I'm just wore out on the saddle search.

I've used: 155mm Avatar (stock on the bike) - too wide
Fizik Arione (too narrow, i end up sitting on the peak down the middle with no support for the sit bones)

I'm currently riding a 143mm Toupe. I thought this would be the saddle for me. For rides under 2 hours, it probably would be. But I'm on the bike 13-14 hours per week and by the time I roll around to a off-the-bike day, I'm hurting. It feels like my sit bones are trying to carve a niche in the saddle. It's not bad in the drops, but I like to ride on the hoods once in a while too.

So... all that said. I'm looking at the Sella Aspide Arrowhead (or the gelaround version of the same). A lot of the reviews there mark that the saddles are a little on the narrow side, but if they're a flat playing surface, that might work out for me.

Everything is delayed for me because I'm overseas without a bike shop that stocks a bunch of saddles to try and I'd like the next saddle to be "the one." Hah.. wouldn't that be great?

I'm 6'2" and 185# and ride on a Selle Italia SLR XP that came with my Fuji Team Pro. I have no problems with it on 2-3 hr road rides, but for some reason it feels a bit on the hard side when I'm on my KK trainer. Overall I'm happy with it.

NomadVW said:

I'm so tired of looking for saddles.

If you're my size, and happy with the saddle you're on. Lemme know. I realize sit bones are different for everyone, but I'm just wore out on the saddle search.

I've used: 155mm Avatar (stock on the bike) - too wide
Fizik Arione (too narrow, i end up sitting on the peak down the middle with no support for the sit bones)

I'm currently riding a 143mm Toupe. I thought this would be the saddle for me. For rides under 2 hours, it probably would be. But I'm on the bike 13-14 hours per week and by the time I roll around to a off-the-bike day, I'm hurting. It feels like my sit bones are trying to carve a niche in the saddle. It's not bad in the drops, but I like to ride on the hoods once in a while too.

So... all that said. I'm looking at the Sella Aspide Arrowhead (or the gelaround version of the same). A lot of the reviews there mark that the saddles are a little on the narrow side, but if they're a flat playing surface, that might work out for me.

Everything is delayed for me because I'm overseas without a bike shop that stocks a bunch of saddles to try and I'd like the next saddle to be "the one." Hah.. wouldn't that be great?

For the life of me, I don't know why people sit on the WRONG PART of their saddles ...

Try moving ANY of your saddles forward so that your sitbones are above the last (most rearward) couple of inches of the saddle ... where the saddle was designed to be sat upon -- the top of the rear of the saddle will NOT be visible when you are properly seated upon it unless a person is an anorexic without any glutes ...

Think about it ...

Most people can sit on a hard or barely padded chair for hours ...

Kids lean their butts against the front edge of pews in Church ...

A saddle really can't be too wide -- except from an aesthetic point of view.

A saddle can be set too high OR (as I've found) be too narrow (I tried the equivalent of one of those ultra-narrow 50s-vintage racing saddles for about 5-seconds-or-less before dismounting due to the discomfort) -- in both types of instances, I found that it was like trying to wedge my sitbones wider ... in the former case, when rocking back and forth, you are essentially doing the wedgie thing with the saddle one-sitbone-at-a-time ... and, with the too-narrow saddle, the wedging process is simultaneous on the sitbones.

IMO, and many disagree with THIS aspect, the nose of the saddle should be at least 0.5-and-1.0 centimeters lower than the rear of the saddle (again, IMO, where your sitbones should be located).

BTW. I wear unpadded, Rugby shorts when riding in the warm weather, and only resort to padded cycling shorts in the cooler/colder weather for insulation!

FWIW. Most racing saddles are designed for those dwarfish (by comparision to your size) Tour riders ... and, even then, they are probably NOT necessarily riding the saddle shell beneath the saddle "cover" OR the shell may be a custom width shell; so, just because a Pro rider appears to be using a particular saddle doesn't necessarily mean it is what it appears to be OR what you will get from an LBS or through mail order.

alfeng said:

FWIW. Most racing saddles are designed for those dwarfish (by comparision to your size) Tour riders ... and, even then, they are probably NOT necessarily riding the saddle shell beneath the saddle "cover" OR the shell may be a custom width shell; so, just because a Pro rider appears to be using a particular saddle doesn't necessarily mean it is what it appears to be OR what you will get from an LBS or through mail order.

Yes but we don't ride 1000km weeks for money, they do.