Width beats padding, every time
The most common saddle mistake is buying a softer one. If a saddle hurts, more foam is rarely the answer — and often makes it worse, because soft padding lets you sink through it onto the shell.
What actually matters is width, because your weight should be carried on your sit bones, which are two hard points at the base of your pelvis. Get the saddle wide enough that they land on the supportive part of it, and the soft tissue between them stops carrying load.
Sit bone width varies a lot between people, and it is not related to how big you are. It is why the same saddle can be perfect for one rider and unbearable for another. It is also why the range here comes in specific widths — 142mm and 152mm rather than one size.
Women's-specific is not marketing
Women generally have wider-set sit bones, and the Turnix and Sirin women's models are shaped for that as well as for a different pelvic angle. Plenty of women ride unisex saddles happily and plenty of men are comfortable on wider ones — but if you have never got on with a saddle, the width is the first thing to change.
Cut-outs and channels
A central channel or cut-out relieves pressure on the perineum, which is what causes the numbness some riders get on longer rides. If that is your symptom, it is the feature to look for. If it is not, a cut-out is not automatically better.
Setup matters as much as the saddle
Height, fore-aft position and — critically — tilt. A saddle nosed even slightly too far down slides you forward onto your hands; too far up puts pressure exactly where you do not want it. Level is the starting point.
A new saddle that is wrong is often just badly set up. Bring the bike to our Hout Bay shop in Scott Estate and we will get it level and at the right height before you decide it does not suit you.
See also bike bags, which mount off the saddle rails.
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