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Everything You Need To Know About Saddles – Part 5: Finding the best shape for you

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For our final installment in the Saddle Overview Series presented by Prologo, we look at how curvature, width and design all come together to fit different riders’ anatomies. We show how different levels of flexibility can help you choose the best saddle shape to fit your body. We also show how to pick the right width, and what the different profiles are for and why you may want to choose a “T” shape over a “V” shape. Basically, this is your guide to choosing the best cycling saddle for you!

The big takeaways from this video include making sure to get the right width to match your sit bones’ width, determining where your flexibility comes from so you can choose the right curvature, and picking the best profile for your riding style. And remember, take advantage of the fit kits and measurement systems provided by better bike shops…there’s a lot more to measuring yourself for a saddle than can be easily done on your own, and good dealers have training to help you find the best match.

Check out the other videos here:

  • Part One: Do I really need carbon rails?
  • Part Two: What about a carbon shell?
  • Part Three: What do I need to know about the foam?
  • Part Four: Road vs MTB saddles
  • Part Five: What’s the best saddle shape for me?

Huge thanks to Prologo for supporting this series. Prologo makes a massive range of saddles, with different shapes, widths, curvatures and features to fit every rider and every budget. Check them out next time you’re looking to upgrade. And be sure to subscribe to Bikerumor’s YouTube channel so you won’t miss a single episode!

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Dave Barnes
Dave Barnes
5 years ago

All you need to know about saddles is one word: Brooks.

Martin
Martin
5 years ago
Reply to  Dave Barnes

I disagree on that. The fact that it shapes to your butt over time doesn’t mean it’s good: your sit bones will push down the sides, which is fine, but the middle will actually come upwards (relatively to where your sit bones are). This middle being higher than where your sit bones are is a problem: there are a lot of nerves there in your soft tissue, and Brooks saddles are putting unwanted pressure in that area. This could even cause problems to your genitals if you keep doing many long rides on it, as prevents a decent blood flow through important parts of your body.

Like the guy in the video explains, it is important to have a saddle that has the correct weight and shape, for a proper support. Proper modern saddles will have equally good support to your sit bones as your Brooks, but without putting the potentially harmful pressure on your soft tissue.

Where with Brooks you pretty much immediately find a saddle that supports your sit bones well, as it will shape to your butt, it is indeed much harder to find the perfect modern saddle to match your rear end. But for your own health I really recommend to take the time to do some research and test many saddles, because in the end it will be much better and much healthier for you.

For me the perfect match was SQ Lab and now I have that on both my road and gravel bike. For flat barred bikes (mtb and such) my butt is luckily less picky.

Chase
Chase
5 years ago
Reply to  Martin

I agree with SQLAB 611 . However after cracking the shell twice. I went back to my old fav WTB SST Team.

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