How to Choose a Bike Saddle

Your body comes into contact with your bike at 5 points: your 2 feet, your 2 hands and your posterior. Shoes and gloves help protect your feet and hands, but what about your rear end and the adjoining, rather sensitive area between your legs?

Fear not. There are many saddles available that are built to protect your posterior and other delicate parts.

New Cut on an Old Design

For many decades, the bicycle seat—or saddle as it is referred to among dedicated cyclists—remained unchanged from the original penny-farthing bikes. Sure, there were other designs, the banana seat perhaps being the most celebrated, but the basic triangle design endured.

And why not? It seemed to work. The broader backend offered needed support while sitting up, the elongated front did the same when you bent over the bars or stood on the pedals.

All of this changed in the 1990s, however, with the recognition that cyclists, both men and women, who ride long distances or in rough terrain may experience numbness in the perineal area and decreased sexual function. As a result, the public demanded a kinder, gentler saddle and manufacturers have responded by altering the original design.

Any serious bike shop today will carry a wide selection of saddle designs. These saddles, for the most part, feature a raised, padded area that distributes weight evenly across the sit bones and a cutout or softened groove where the perineum comes in contact with the saddle. These saddles exist in both women's and men's designs.

The Perineum

The perineum is the area between the sit bones, through which traverse the nerves and arteries responsible for regulating everything from waste to sexual function.

Agitation or bruising of this area can lead to numbness, incontinence, erectile dysfunction, impotence, bloody urine, and in very rare cases, inflammation of the prostate.

Is the new generation of padded saddle, then, the right saddle for you? Perhaps. If you experience numbness or discomfort on a regular basis, this is the type of saddle you should consider. But first, you may want to examine several other factors.

Other Bike Saddle Considerations

Unless your saddle is a ragged echo of its former self, you may not need a new saddle. Consider:

The saddle is too high. This causes you to shift your weight from side to side on the saddle and often results in irritation to the perineal area. See the REI Expert Advice Fitting Your Bike article for fit information.

The saddle is improperly positioned. Even slight changes in the tilt of the saddle can lead to agitation. Most often, a big bump will cause the saddle to shift; then, as you ride, you'll notice discomfort. If your saddle is flat and you experience discomfort, try a very slight forward tilt.

Your riding style asks for change. Big bumps and long distances are the most common culprits of perineum compression. To alleviate this, you can:

• Stand up briefly on your pedals every 10 minutes or so.
• Stand slightly over bumps, using your legs as shock absorbers.
• Get a full-suspension bike or at least a suspension seatpost.
• Switch to a recumbent bike.

Your lifestyle begs for change. Diabetes, being overweight, smoking and hypertension can all contribute to perineal numbness. If you're cycling to overcome these problems, congratulations!

As with any health matter, if the problem persists, see your doctor.

Getting a New Saddle

If, by process of elimination, you've determined that you need a new saddle, then you're left with one more choice. Which saddle do you get? Some recommendations:

Don't get the saddle your friend recommends. If your rear end hurts, you may need more padding. Or, you may need a narrower, harder saddle. Everyone has a different bone structure, and the soft saddle that works for your friend may not work for you.

Consider the way you ride. If you are going out for a light jaunt along a country road, you can ride a wide saddle with spring or elastomer shocks. Take this same saddle on a serious ride and you'll find yourself begging for a hard saddle. Why? Soft doesn't necessarily mean more comfortable. Fit is everything. If you ride aggressively, get an aggressive saddle with extra padding only where it is needed, which is right under your sit bones. In general, women need a wider saddle than men. And again, a groove or cut out will help relieve the perineum.

Don't "kick the tires." You've probably pushed on a saddle with your thumb to test the way it compresses. This isn't the best strategy. To truly test a saddle, you have to put it on a bike and ride with it. Most stores, if they don't have the exact saddle you want mounted and available to test, will have something comparable that you can try. Get on it and ride. Try various positions, hit some bumps, do a wheelie. Really put the saddle to the test.

Check out the rails. A little known fact about saddles is that the rails (those two bars that help attach the saddle to the seat post) can have a significant impact on the ride. Most rails are made of chromoly, which is excellent for almost all uses. But if you want high performance, titanium rails are stronger and more flexible, providing longer wear and a smoother ride.

Look at the saddle's construction. Good saddles will feature:

• Premium leather or synthetic leather cover material.
• Impact guards on the rear and scuff guards on the sides of the saddle.
• Titanium or manganese rails.
• Weight of approximately 400 grams or less.

Shop REI's selection of men's saddles and women's saddles.

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