(Nick Kew) writes:

I have a knackered saddle that badly needs replacing. Criteria for
a new saddle include comfort (I'm a wimp) and that it shouldn't
rip holes in my trousers too quickly (hate that kind of waste).

I had a look in my normally-friendly&helpful LBS, and they have
a range of wierd and wonderful things, including some with holes
or slits in, which leads me to wonder how far some people take the
leg-over metaphor. However, they didn't seem particularly keen
for me to test-ride with any of them, leaving me unable to choose.

So, I'm looking for tips. How do I go about selecting a saddle
"blind", without risking a sore bum?

and - ahem - what are the strange shapes in aid of?

The strange shapes are to protect the plumbing that runs under your
pelvic bone from damage. Scarring of these tubes can lead to infertility
in cyclists.

Different people have different shaped arses and consequently need
different saddles. The key is fundamentally the width of your
pelvis. Essentially you need a saddle which is as wide across the back
as another saddle you're comfortable on.

My advice would be to go to the shop with your old saddle and get the
Brooks saddle which has the same width. You do a lot of cycling so
even if the Brooks isn't initially the right shape for you it will be
within a week or two. In my experience they're the best saddles for
comfort, although I know quite a lot of people find them too hard at
first.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; MS Windows: A thirty-two bit extension ... to a sixteen bit
;; patch to an eight bit operating system originally coded for a
;; four bit microprocessor and sold by a two-bit company that
;; can't stand one bit of competition -- anonymous