Girls and their bums

[andycarter]

Girls (and guys for those in the know).

I have a friend who's recently bought a road bike and is using a Selle Italia Flite Titanium saddle and finding it particularly uncomfortable. Are there any good saddles for women that anyone would recommend? She's very slim and so doesn't have much in the way of natural padding - if that makes a difference.
All help welcome.

Cheers Andy

[rollerskate skinny (sylv)]

Mmm not a nice photo as you'd expect but anyway.

The Flite is a proven design and widely regarded as comfortable for men. From what I know however, a women's saddle needs to be wider at the rear, and also the "split" design used for men's saddle works well for women too. But soft saddles with a lot of padding (like the "gel" ones) will not necessarily be comfy (rather the opposite). On that basis, something like this http://www.wiggle.co.uk/v2_product_deta ... 5300005084 might be good, saying that it's an individual thing and what works for someone might not for someone else. Also pay attention to the angle the saddle is set (sorry if you know all this already), a few angles of tilt one way or the other might be all what's needed to get a better fit.

Maybe the women in acc could advise you on a model?

[JayneToyne]

saddles are very much down to personal preference but from my own personal experience this is what i can say about them,
a lot of women get on very well with the Selle Italia tran am ( female specific) this is the same as the Terry Elia (which I use on my road bike)
I also use a Specialized saddle ( womens specific) on my mountain bike and its the most comfortable saddle Ive ever used on that bike. on my track bike I use a Selle italia SLR gel, which is a mens, with a cut out at the centre and slight gel padding, its very slim and very comfortable for the shorter harder stuff I do on the track as the saddle actually flexes rather than having excess padding.

So, it all comes down to what kind of riding you do. If its touring then I would go for the Specialized hands down. if its more roadie then the specialized that sylvain put a link up for or the SI trans am would be good, if its all out speed and on the rivet riding then a much slimmer version like the SLR or SLK.

just because someone has a slim derrier doesnt mean they need more padding. they just need the right support. a good pair of shorts never fail either. none of my saddles are comfy if I wear rubbish shorts and I dont think Im the only one. ( bib shorts win hands down for comfort)