Question: I want to buy a new saddle but don’t want to purchase several to find one that’s comfortable. Any ideas? — Patrick C.
RBR Replies: First, check at your local bike shop. It may have a loaner program, allowing you to pick a couple of seats most likely to work, then do at least one ride on each.
A shop may also have a 30-day return policy for saddle purchases. If you work with one of the shop guys to determine which seat is likely to work well, but it doesn’t, you can trade it in for a different model.
Another possibility is to check with riders in your area, possibly through your local bike club. They may have saddles in their spare parts bins.
Or, get together with several riders to form a saddle-swapping club. Each person buys a different saddle, then you trade around until finding the one you like best.
If you have a person in your ride group or in your community who repairs or builds bikes, contact them as they often have spare saddles which you can try.
I currently have about 30 saddles and offer to swap out them as often as needed until a rider finds one that is comfortable for (fits) them.
I got my best saddle from my bike fitter. I sat down on a special piece of paper/cardboard to determine the width of my sit bones. The saddle is very comfortable.
If you buy saddles from REI, you have a year to return them.
Also note that the saddle industry is a bit confused. They label saddels as “racing,” “touring,” “confort,” etc. The important thing is to get a saddle that supports your ischial tuberosities (bones in your butt that you sit on). You need to select a saddle that is wide enough to support the bones that you sit on, but not excessively wide. It has nothing to do with whether you are racing or riding more casually.