Bicycle Saddle: Relaxed Riding on a Comfortable Road Bike Saddle, MTB or Triathlon Saddle

The purchase of a bicycle saddle is primarily an individual decision, because every person has a different anatomy in the seat area and preferences differ. Depending on the intended use and seating position (upright or sporty), different demands are also made on the quality of a saddle. Therefore, when choosing the right women's or men's bicycle saddle, you should pay attention to the appropriate width to match your anatomy and seating position. The intended use should also be considered. Further criteria for a purchase decision can be optics, material, craftsmanship and weight. In general, the following applies for every type of bike saddle:

• The more upright the seating position of the cyclist, the wider the rear seat of the bicycle saddle should be.
• The more sporty the seating position, the more the load shifts from the ischium to the pubic bone and perineal area. A wider surface in the middle of the saddle area then ensures a better distribution of pressure. The saddle is narrower overall.
• A lot of padding does not automatically mean more comfort: Bicycle saddles that are too soft increase the contact surface of the buttocks to the saddle and can therefore lead to increased friction and constant pressure on longer tours.
• Not every saddle fits every bike: Bicycle saddles are designed for different applications. For example, you have the choice between a city and comfort saddle, a trekking and MTB saddle or a road bike saddle

You can determine your perfect width quite easily! You sit down on a piece of corrugated cardboard with your legs tightened and measure the distance between the centres of the dented areas. Another way to find the right saddle for your Ischium and Pubis area is the extensive self test: If the saddle is too wide, you will often slip forward while riding. If the saddle is too narrow, you will have pressure pain on the inside of the ischial tuberosity. However, even the perfect MTB or road bike saddle can hurt on the first rides, because your bones and muscles have to get used to a new bike saddle first.

The correct adjustment of your saddle prevents pain, relieves your back, neck, buttocks and shoulders, increases comfort and therefore the fun factor of cycling. Whether you want to buy a road, trekking, city or mountain bike saddle, for full functionality, you should: 

• Adjust the saddle horizontally and align the saddle nose in line with the centre of the handlebars. 
• The saddle height can be adjusted basically in the following way: While sitting on your bike, set the right or left pedal to 6 o'clock. Now you should be able to just touch the pedal surface with your heel with your leg stretched out and your hip should remain horizontal.

Road and triathlon saddles are generally narrow, hard and weight-optimized. This design accommodates a sporty, almost horizontal sitting posture and provides more propulsion, better aerodynamics and also optimum freedom of movement. Recesses in the middle of the saddle can relieve the dam area and by choosing your cycling shorts you can counteract loss of comfort.

Triathlon saddles have a wider middle section and a specially shaped saddle nose, which, in combination with a time trial handlebar or handlebar attachment, makes it possible to maintain the typical triathlon riding position for hours.

Like road bike saddles, narrow, light and sporty MTB bike saddles allow for maximum performance and freedom of movement. The right MTB saddle allows you to react quickly on technically demanding trails and to shift the body's centre of gravity. The robustness of the material, especially the saddle frame, is also very important.

A more upright sitting position requires the saddle to be wider. Gel padding, a leather saddle or an elastic saddle shell can contribute to a better pressure distribution and thus to higher sitting comfort. On longer tours, many cyclists tend to shift the weight of the upper body to the handlebars: in this case, a stepmsaddle can noticeably reduce the pressure on the perineal area.

City and comfort saddles are designed for a particularly upright sitting position. Equipped with an extra wide seat, a lot of padding and, if necessary, a suspension, this saddle type cushions unevenness, relieves the spine as well as the intervertebral discs and minimizes the pressure load on shorter distances.

No matter whether unisex, men's or women‘s saddle, the saddle shape should always be based on your own feeling, the sitting position and the matching width. For men, the perineal area is often more sensitive, while for women the lower pubic arch is a problem zone. This inevitably results in different seating requirements, which the manufacturers incorporate into the saddle construction of different product lines. Ultimately, the decisive factor is that the selected women's or men's saddle relieves the sensitive areas when sitting on the bicycle saddle and makes you feel comfortable.

In the BIKE24 online shop you will find a wide range of saddles for women and men for road bikes, MTBs, city and trekking bikes. If you have questions about our products, you can always contact the BIKE24 customer service and get competent advice.