:: My saddle obsession September 28 2016

I have a pretty extensive collection of saddles, amassed over the years in a quest for the optimal balance of comfort; toughness; lightweight; how easily the saddle shape allows mounting/dismounting, sliding off the back and generally adjusting body position without snagging my shorts; firmness; width; visual appeal, covering design (I hate exposed stitching that can chafe), the presence or absence of a perineal groove and countless other nuances.

I justify keeping this collection by telling myself that I need to test different saddles to ensure that the chamois pad and it's position in the DirtBaggies bib-liners is perfect. The thing is, since we've started using the thick, 5+ hour Endurance2 chamois pad, I've found that the saddle is no longer my main determinant for undercarriage comfort - basically most saddles are more comfortable with this pad, so I'm able to make my saddle choice with a focus on minimalism that allows me to move about better over the bike.

Because so much more comfort is bestowed by the chamois, the criteria I now use when selecting a saddle are comfort, toughness, lightweight, how easily the saddle shape allows mounting/dismounting, sliding off the back and generally adjusting body position without snagging my shorts), firmness, width, presence of a groove and style, basically it seems I now find most any saddle comfortable.

A more minimal saddle, with great padding attached to (and moving with) your butt is preferable in many ways to riding on big fat lump of jelly.