HOW TO CHOOSE THE PERFECT MOUNTAIN BIKE SADDLE

It doesn’t matter what you ride these days, cross country, trail and enduro bikes all come with saddles that look and feel hard and uninviting to those who don’t know the first thing about saddles. When working in bike shops, you’ll often hear people comment on saddles as they browse, saying things like, “I’d never survive a seat that size,” or, “My butt hurts just looking at that saddle.” There is a lot going on in the background when a company decides to develop a saddle. Armed with this information and a few pro tips, you can greatly increase your chances of finding the perfect perch on the first try.

 

THE BASICS

“The saddle is a foundation of support. If you have an improper foundation, you can have multitudes of problems that many don’t immediately identify as saddle issues, but are indeed caused by the saddle.” —Sean Madsen, WTB

Width: Measuring your sit bones, or pelvic bones, is the key to finding out the width of your saddle. A saddle is designed to support your sit bones so that your skeletal structure is taking a majority of the weight and pressure instead of the soft-tissue areas. Paying attention to the type of riding you do most often and what your body position looks like when seated can affect your saddle width. The more aggressive or bent forward your riding position, the narrower your saddle needs to be to effectively support your sit bones.

In contrast, the more relaxed or upright your riding position is, the wider your saddle needs to be. If your saddle is too narrow, your sit bones won’t be properly supported and will essentially be hanging off the sides of the saddle with all the pressure on your soft-tissue or perineal area. If a saddle is too wide, your inner thigh will rub on the saddle and cause chafing, which we all know is very uncomfortable. All of this must be considered when measuring yourself to choose a saddle. There are numerous ways to do this, and most manufacturers have a guide to do it yourself, or you can go into almost any bike shop where the employees will help you with their special tools.

Profile: Choosing the right profile is similarly important to width. There are three main profiles that rule the saddle world—curved, neutral and flat. A flat saddle profile will let a more dynamic rider move around the saddle more effectively on technical or steep terrain. Flat saddles will often have a longer and wider nose to provide more support when the rider moves.

A neutral profile has more of a designated support zone with subtle surrounding ramps, though it will still allow a rider to move around on the saddle comfortably. Neutral saddles are a little shorter with slightly narrower noses that don’t offer quite as much support up front.

Curved saddles have a firmly designated support zone with prominent ramps that supports a more static riding style where the rider doesn’t move much when seated. Flat saddles are often the choice of XC racers as they move around their bikes pushing hard for the win. Neutral saddles are the most popular style amongst trail and enduro riders who don’t need to be as dynamic in their movements. Curved saddles are better for a static riding style where the rider doesn’t move around too much. Each of these descriptions is a generalization of certain styles of saddles and doesn’t ring true for every saddle of said style.

Material: When choosing saddles, the density of the foam is one of the hardest things to wrap your head around. Many people see a soft, cushy saddle with a thick coating of foam or gel and associate it with a La-Z-Boy recliner and assume it will be just as comfortable. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Saddles are designed to support your sit bones, but if the foam is too soft, your sit bones will sink into the padding and put unnecessary pressure on the soft tissue. This can cause pressure spikes in places that aren’t meant to handle that and, in turn, be very uncomfortable over a long period.

Rider comfort actually starts with the shell or base, and its material, shape and flexibility. The shell defines the points of support on the saddle and is what the foam or gel is mounted to. If the shell is too flexible, the saddle won’t provide the necessary support; if it’s too firm, the saddle will feel very harsh. The rails also have a small part to play in the comfort of a saddle. Different materials like titanium and carbon rails take out some vibrations, while alloy and chromoly rails are more durable for more aggressive riding, providing less comfort qualities.

Fit: Potentially more important than even the choice of saddle is the way you set it up. Getting the correct height, fore-aft orientation and tilt are crucial in making a saddle fit properly. If the saddle is tilted too far forward, you’ll be putting too much weight on your upper body, causing numbness in your hands and arms. Conversely, if it’s tilted too far back, you’ll be putting too much pressure on your soft tissue, causing pain and numbness in your private areas.

If a saddle is too low, you’ll be putting too much stress on your outer knees, and if it’s too high, your lower back, hips and inner knee will be affected. If your saddle is too far forward or back on its rails, you’ll lose a bit of performance and may be too stretched out or too close to the bars. This is the most important part of mounting a saddle. Make sure the support area is level and go from there. If you feel discomfort in any area, adjust slightly and try it out. Keep using those small adjustments until you begin to feel comfortable. It’s tedious but worth it.

 

MEASURING IS KEY

Let’s talk about the inferior ischiopubic rami—your sit bones—and why it’s important to measure them to get the right saddle. These bones take your weight when sitting in any capacity and curve in three dimensions in their space of existence. They start narrow at the front and widen at the back, so, as you can imagine, it’s difficult to get a true measurement of them without spending thousands of dollars on specialty equipment. The orientation, shape and size of these bones are unique to every individual, and part of the reason why no one saddle will ever work for everyone.

Finding the correct width of your sit bones can be relatively simple, as most companies have a DIY guide for at-home measurements, and most bike shops have a bench that makes measuring sit bones a simple task. You can use anything from tinfoil to corrugated cardboard; SQlab will even send you a free kit with everything you need to measure your sit bones and choose the correct saddle. Specialized has a guide on their website with a video that will lead you through the proper steps and an engine that helps them recommend not only the width but the saddle itself. WTB has a unique approach to sit-bone measurement that requires measuring your wrist. We tried this method and were surprised to see how accurate it actually was, being only a couple of millimeters off our physical sit-bone measurement.

Measuring your sit-bone width would mean nothing if saddle manufacturers didn’t make saddles in different widths, so they do. SQlab has four widths available in most of their saddles in order to accommodate any number of people—from those with unusually narrow to unusually wide sit-bone widths. Specialized and WTB have two or three widths depending on the model of the saddle for the same reason. The important thing to consider with saddle width is not the overall external width of the saddle, but the width of the designated support areas for your sit bones. That’s where your weight is, after all, so it’s good practice.

Once you’ve measured your sit bones, add between 15 and 25mm to your number to choose a saddle, or else you’ll get something too narrow. Each of the manufacturers listed above has that covered for you and will tell you what width range you’ll need based on a chart they provide, so you shouldn’t worry too much about making the calculations yourself.

A BREAKDOWN OF SHAPE

“Saddle shape is a three-dimensional consideration. The profile is one dimension, top-down is another and front view are all interconnected.” —Sean Madsen, WTB

Side profile: There are three main side profiles—flat, neutral and curved. The main reason for ramps at the back of the saddle, aside from being there to keep riders from sliding or pushing themselves off the back, is they allow riders to lean more forward in the saddle with the extra support they provide. Max Holz helps us understand this concept by saying: “If your pelvis is rotating frontwards due to a sporty sitting position, the sit bones are lifted in the air. With a ramp at the end of a saddle, you can still distribute the pressure on bony areas.” Of course, SQlab, with whom Max works, has very extravagant ramps in the rear of most of their saddles and a design that is effective at relieving pressure in sensitive areas.

Top-down: This is the view of the saddle from above. From here you can clearly see cutouts or channels in the perineal area of the saddle. These areas provide soft-tissue relief. This view will also show you the width and support area for the sit bones, but it’s hard to discern exactly where the rider will be sitting since you can’t see where the saddle falls away on the sides.

Another thing you can clearly see from the top is the saddle’s length and nose width. Some saddles are longer, and some are shorter, and it can be hard to pinpoint why some lengths feel better than others. As Max Holz says, “The function of a saddle nose is to offer stability, security and a better handling of the bike. You can also add the width of the saddle’s nose. For MTB saddles, it is mandatory to use a longer and wider nose, but for road cycling, the length can be shorter and the width slimmer.” The nose brings another level of support that can be affected by the length and width of the nose itself for either more movement or to relieve pressure from the perineum and reduce thigh chafing.

Front view: We’re pretty sure we don’t need to explain what this one means. This is where you’re going to be able to best view the support areas and side flare of the saddle. The top-down view can be misleading, as it can make you think the support areas are wider than they actually are, but with the front view, you get to look at where the saddle drops off to get a scope for where the support ends.

SIDE PROFILE

A saddle’s profile is the side view where you can see the rise and fall of the surface. There are many minuscule differences in profiles throughout the world of saddles, but there are three main profiles manufacturers seem to follow.

1) Flat profile: Saddles with a flat profile allow dynamic riders to be more active on the saddle when sitting. Consider an XC racer who has to navigate all sorts of climbs of varying technicality and steepness, either with or without the use of a dropper post. These riders are operating at a high degree of intensity and need to be active on the bike to keep the movement going. Their saddle needs to be supportive, but not get in their way throughout the race. Flat saddles often have a longer and wider nose that will keep the support going throughout the saddle’s surface. A common problem with a flat profile is numbness in a rider’s private parts as the soft tissue is supporting more weight than intended, though this doesn’t affect everyone the same way.

2) Neutral profile: These saddles have a bit more shape than flat saddles, which is usually evident at the back of the saddle. They feature a ramp towards the back, which will help riders keep their position on the bike more securely while still keeping the option open to move around. These saddles will often feature perineal relief channels to alleviate pressure from the soft-tissue areas, but won’t be over the top in this area.

3) Curved profile: A curved profile is designed to cradle the pelvis and keep it stationary as you ride, promoting a static riding style. These are often shorter than flat or neutral saddles and can be more comfortable over longer distances.

 

A PENANCE OF PADDING

Padding is a hot topic in saddle design, as many people believe in a “the more, the merrier” approach. Even those in the know about what padding does to a saddle and its correlation to the body have differing opinions. It’s all about finding the balance of support and comfort without adding unnecessary pressure points in the wrong areas.

Manufacturers use different durometers (hardness ratings) of foam for their saddles that usually fall within a certain effective density range. Sean Madsen lays this out for us by saying, “There is actually a fairly small window of durometers that work for saddles. Too soft, around 42A, and the rider compresses the pad too much and bottoms out on the shell. Too firm, around 52A, and the foam doesn’t compress enough to take the edge off of the firm base underneath.” He goes on to say that comfort is somewhat subjective, with some riders preferring harder saddles, and others more comfortable on softer saddles.

A saddle’s foam padding is primarily there to complement the shape of the base and provide additional support to the riders that will sustain them as they go. Too much padding can undermine the support designed into the base of the saddle, with the sit bones sinking in so much that it causes unintended pressure points on soft tissue. Specialized’s James Read tells us, “If the saddle’s padding is too thick, it can cause ischemia,” which is to say, cut blood flow in the genital area. This is a cause of numbness in some people.

Specialized has developed MIMIC technology, which uses three different foam densities in tandem with a channel to relieve the pressure from the soft tissue and discourage swelling, specifically for women. This technology helps keep enough support on the soft tissue to keep it happy without putting unnecessary pressure on it. It’s a fine balance, but Specialized put an immense amount of time into developing this saddle with the help of Dr. Andy Pruitt, who is the director of the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. MIMIC technology has been aimed at helping women specifically be more comfortable when on long rides.

We asked Specialized’s James Read about the Mirror technology in their 3D-printed saddles, and he said, “Our Mirror technology allows us to design and tune a saddle in a way that cannot be done with foam. The design possibilities are extremely vast, and we are just scraping the surface on what is possible with the technology.” Other people we asked were less accepting of the technology, saying the price of production would have to come down exponentially to be spec’d as OEM, which is where a majority of saddles go. Despite what they say, it’s a technology we’re excited to see more development with and will be looking out for future breakthroughs.

BASE MATERIAL

The base or shell of the saddle where the foam is attached is one of the most important parts of the saddle, as it makes up the shape of the saddle itself, therefore, determining the support of the saddle. This base has a few jobs aside from just providing a place to sit; however, it also has a lot to do with the comfort of the saddle.

As you might have come to understand by this point, the comfort of a saddle is a multifaceted subject. Foam density and thickness are part of it, but so is the flex of the shell. If a shell doesn’t have any flex at all, the result can be a harsh saddle with little forgiveness in any way. All bike feedback will be directed directly into the sit bones and will be a great cause of discomfort over longer periods. The other side of that is a shell that flexes too much. This can result in not enough support for the sit bones, causing too much pressure to be placed where it doesn’t need to be. Max Holz of SQlab puts it well: “It should be flexible at the side for more comfort while pedaling, and stiff in the middle to create a stable pressure relief of the perineum area.”

Rider weight can be a factor in choosing the right saddle, as the heavier the rider, the more solid and stiff the shell will have to be to keep its shape and flexibility. If a light rider were to try to ride a saddle meant for the heavier rider, the light rider would have a harsh saddle experience and feel discomfort.

SADDLE CUTOUTS, CHANNELS & PRESSURE POINTS

Cutouts in saddles are meant to relieve pressure on the soft tissue and perineum. This doesn’t always work because people are anatomically different from each other in many ways. Cutouts work well with some people and bring horrible pinching pressure points to others who might need more support in that area.

SQlab’s Ergowave technology has a profile mixing the freedom of a flat profile and the stability of a curved profile. It’s just as it is described—a wave. The back of the saddle is like the crest with two descending levels stretched out before it, concluding with a nose that stretches out and curves down slightly. The main support area is the second level nestled near the back, so the rider is securely tucked into the supported sitting position. This elevated supported position does the same thing as a cutout or channel might do on a flatter saddle. It relieves pressure on the perineal area while still adding enough support to be comfortable.

RAIL MATERIAL

Rail material doesn’t have a whole lot to do with the overall comfort of a saddle, but it’s certainly tied in. Rails affect weight more than anything, with carbon fiber and titanium being the lightest, then alloy, then chromoly, and finally steel. Some of these materials offer some semblance of vibration damping, specifically carbon fiber and titanium, while alloy does little in that regard and is more tough than anything else. Carbon rails are often sized differently than the typical 7mm clamp diameter and have an oval appearance. Carbon is tunable and can be manipulated in many different ways to damp more efficiently while keeping a stiffness that is useful, though it’s not used as much for mountain bike applications.

Some companies, like SQlab, find it useful to attach devices that allow a saddle to rock back and forth to give them a more comfortable ride feel. SQlab has something called Active Saddle Technology, which uses three different elastomers to adjust the flex of the saddle. Their thought behind this is that it provides a more natural rocking motion of the pelvis that increases comfort similar to a walking motion that mobilizes the intervertebral discs and minimizes pressure on the sit bones. We have one to test and have felt pretty good about it so far, but haven’t used it enough to bring a cohesive review at this point.

FITMENT

Choosing the right saddle means nothing if you haven’t fit it properly to your bike. You can have a saddle that is perfect for your anatomical structure that is ruined and uncomfortable just by the way you mount it.

Height: Setting your saddle to the right height is crucial from a comfort and safety standpoint. If your saddle is too high or too low, it can cause stress on your knees, as well as other parts of your body. Sean Madsen puts it into perspective: “Too high and there is strain at the back of the knee and excessive rocking with the hips, not to mention increased perineal pressure. Too low and the saddle might feel fine, but the strain on the anterior (frontal) knee is significant, and the glutes don’t engage properly.”

Saddle height is easily measured with the help of your riding shoes and any chamois you might wear while riding. The reason we mention those things is because they add height to your person while riding. With your shoes and chamois on, mount your bike while leaning against something solid and extend your dropper all the way up. One technique to get you in the ballpark is to take your heel and place it on the pedal instead of the ball of your foot where you’d normally ride. At that point, you’re going to rotate your cranks so one side is at the bottom of the pedal stroke. The position you want, when you’ve reached this point, is for your knee to be fully extended, but not to where you’re rotating and extending your hip uncomfortably to compensate. You’ll want to do this on both sides so you can be sure you’ve reached the right height. You may do this after you’ve fully positioned your saddle just to make sure things haven’t changed.

Another popular method to get things in the ballpark is to measure your inseam in bare feet and then multiply that measurement by 0.883. That number is your seat height measured from the middle of your bike’s bottom bracket to the top of the middle of the saddle.

Tilt: Again, this is another crucial setup step that needs to be adjusted correctly or you’ll never be comfortable. The first rule of thumb is to set your saddle up to be as level as possible. Sean Madsen once again has an excellent explanation: “Having the saddle’s nose up too much increases perineal pressure. Having the saddle’s nose down too much causes the rider to slide forward and increases pressure on the hands, shoulders and upper body. Start by making sure the seating area is relatively level (not tip to tail), and then adjust a few degrees either way for preference.”

Setback: Getting this right is also relatively easy, but you may need an extra tool you might not already have in your bag—a plumb line. You’re going to, once again, be using the solid object you used before with your dropper fully extended to get this measurement. This time you’ll be placing your foot on the pedal as you would if you were riding and rotating the cranks so they are level with the ground. At this point, you’ll take your plumb line and run it from the tibial tuberosity (the bony bump below your kneecap), so the weight hangs down below your shoe and pedal. The line should pass directly through the center of the pedal’s axle. If it’s too far forward, push your seat back a bit; if it’s too far back, push it forward a bit. This will mainly help with efficiency when you’re pedaling and will give you the best results on the trail. This, of course, is a basic guide and should be adjusted based on your feel and performance on the trail.

INDIVIDUALITY

By now, this statement has become a cliche, but there is no perfect saddle for everyone. Our anatomical and preferential differences are always going to play a part in what feels comfortable or not while riding, and we must remain patient and persistent if something doesn’t feel quite right. Though there is no one saddle for everyone, there are hundreds of saddles with equally as many different shapes out there in the world. If you can’t find one that fits you, we’d be very surprised. Just remember, it’s all part of a system that must be custom-tuned to your riding style to be effective. Don’t give up if you don’t find a good fit right away. This is just a guide to help you get to a point where you’ll be able to find it more easily based on your riding style and personal preferences. Our advice is to try a bunch of saddles until you find the one that you’re most comfortable on.

If you’re looking for the best saddle be sure to check out our collection of the ten best mountian bike saddles.