Searching For Saddle Nirvana

Someone once said a happy butt equals a happy rider- didn’t they?? Well if they didn’t they should have. How many of us have heard people exclaim that they couldn’t ride a bike because the seat is so uncomfortable?!
For the past several years I have been on the search for the perfect saddle for my butt. The large number of saddles living in a box in my garage is testament to the fact that this is no easy search. When I was younger I didn’t have such saddle issues. I rode a Brooks B 17 that was comfortable from the start. I didn’t care if I was riding with a chamois or not, it just felt like a great seat. Then I became weight conscious and the beefy Brooks had to go. I wanted a svelte, lightweight saddle.
When I gave up road riding for riding on unpaved surfaces I also switched to a gravel bike. I don’t know if the geometry was so different but all of a sudden the saddles I had been comfortable on were no longer so. I was getting saddle sore issues. Not the gory, oozy, nasty infections that plague some, more like pre-saddle sores. Tiny bumps in the nether regions that just didn’t want to stop annoying me. I’ve tried various cream concoctions to help deal with this to no avail.
I am going on a 65 day bike tour this summer down the Continental Divide. I would like to be on a comfortable saddle and not have saddle sores. Ideally I would also like to ride without a chamois because it just seems that it would be cleaner than sitting on a sweat soaked “sponge” day after day. Big ask I know.
I’ve tried many of the commercial, non leather lightweight saddles and they have all found their way into the box in my garage. I have tried 3 different leather saddles. There is the Rivet, which someone swore to me was so much better than the Brooks. Not that comfortable and I still had saddle sore issues. Then there is the Selle Anatomica, which some male bikepackers swear by. First of all there is the problem of getting it set up correctly in your bike. To the eye it looks wrong because you have to point the nose upward quite a bit. After getting it on properly then I realized it is just too narrow for my sit bones, so into the box it went. After the Selle Anatomica I tried another Brooks B 17( I gavemy original one away years ago). The new leather B17 didn’t feel comfortable like I remembered the first one did). It was kind of high in the center part and I even tried hammering it down but that didn’t work. Guess where it ended up? Then I tried a Brooks Cambium Carved. The ‘carved’ means it has a cutout. I had this on my Timberjack, my bikepacking bike for awhile and it wasn’t bad. But I thought I could do better. I moved the Cambium to my Fargo and I really like it there.
Okay back to the drawing board. I have this notion that if I can get a leather saddle to feel comfortable then I can ride without a chamois and with minimal saddle sore issues. C’mon, I’m not that crazy. I know riding 50+ miles for days on end means I might experience some saddle sores. I read a randonneurs article that talked about breaking in your Brooks saddle quickly by soaking it for a few minutes in hot water and then generously working mink oil into it. The process is a bit more detailed than that and if you want the info I can send you the link. I went and got my Brooks B 17 out of the box in the garage and put it through the process. Sure enough after riding it for 20 minutes I could see that it was starting to confirm to my butt shape. But then I took it on a 10 mile ride and the same high center feeling was still there. So that saddle is not going to work. Just one more try for Brooks and I went to REI and bought a B17 Carved. Remember the carved means it has a center cutout. Just to save a trip I also purchased a Brooks Cambium Carved while I was at REI. Just in case the B17 doesn’t work. I got the B17 home and installed it on my Timberjack and took a spin around the neighborhood. It felt promising so I went home and didn’t soak it in hot water but I did slather it in mink oil. Guess I’m not returning this one. Then I went and did 2 50 mile back to back days on it. Was my butt happy- not totally but I think it might be the best yet and with some more breaking in could be even better. And I’m going to try a new ride potion called Body Glide Cycle. Stay tuned, I’ll let you know how it turns out.


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