I'm new to this forum, I thought it might be a good place to get some advice on an ongoing problem I've had with choosing a saddle.
I've been riding for 8 years about 2 to 3 times a week. My current bike is a Santa Cruz Blur with XT and XTR. My rides range from 25 km up to 70 km. The terrain I ride is very dry and rocky (Israel) and I am a fairly aggressive cross country rider.
I have had an ongoing problem for the last 2 months with finding a comfortable saddle to ride on long rocky rides most of which last 4 to 5 hours.
I have had 3 Selle Italia Flite saddles (with and without Gel), they are all very good up until 2 or 3 hours into a ride, when I become numb and cannot sit down any longer. I've tried to change my shorts to baggy shorts, now I'm back to lycra with a smidge of chamois cream. This has helped a little but not much.
2 months ago I set out to research on the net what was the most comfortable saddle for the masses (I know what is comfortable on some is uncomfortable for others), I ended up paying $150 + tax + shipping (a staggering total of $225) for a Brooks Titanium Swift. For the first week it was great and then became more and more uncomfortable. I just returned last weekend from a 120 km cross country ride which was wrecked by my uncomfortable saddle.
2 days ago the mechanic at my local bike shop felt pity on me and let me borrow is WTB Rocket V which I had heard is very comfortable, it felt better than the Brooks, except the pain started when I needed to climb a hill, as I was putting more pressure on the saddle in my sensitive areas. It failed the test.
I am now back to my Selle Italia Flite temporarily, but I am running out of options on what to high quality saddle to buy.
Has anyone tried the Fi'zi:k Plateau or Nisene, they look like high quality saddles - are they any good?
Is there anything else that anyone can recommend, it doesn't have to be the newest or latest techno saddle, but it needs to be well made and preferably leather?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated particularly from people that have used a selle Italia Flite in tha past and have had similar problems with long term comfort, and have since found a better saddle...
Pauly Wauly
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