Finding a bicycle saddle that is comfortable for you can be difficult and frustrating. If the saddle is uncomfortable, then your ride experience may be completely ruined, and it might cause you to dislike cycling or even stop cycling altogether.
A saddle (or seat) can be too wide or too narrow. If it’s too wide, it may cause chaffing on the inside of your thighs, and if it is too narrow for you, your “sitting bones” in your pelvis may go over the edge, making the seat very uncomfortable or even painful to ride. The correct width depends on your anatomy, riding style, and personal preferences.
Generally, women need wider saddles than men, but of course, we all have individual body shapes, so it is not certain.
So, take a seat, or a saddle, and let’s look at some solutions to make your cycling more comfortable.
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Does your saddle feel uncomfortable? The basics on saddle width fitment
Let’s see how you can determine the perfect saddle width for your needs. There are three main factors you need to assess:
- Your sitting bone width
- Your seating position when riding
- How frequently do you cycle
- The rule of 20
As mentioned before, generally, women require a slightly wider saddle than men, which we will get to in the example below.
Sit bone width
This is the base measurement for determining your correct seat width.
To measure this, take corrugated cardboard (not flat cardboard!), a pen, and a ruler.
- Lay the cardboard on a wide, flat, raised, hard surface (such as a step, stool, or bench) where your thighs can be raised to about 30 degrees above the horizontal.
- Sit on the cardboard with your thighs raised for 10 seconds (2-5 minutes, depending on your weight and the hardness of the cardboard). You will see some indents on the cardboard – put a dot at the deepest point.
- Measure the distance between the two dots – your sitting bone width.
Your seating position
The seating position is essential as the further forward your back leans on the bike, the contact point of your pelvis on the saddle changes. And the further forward you lean, the narrower the seat required.
You can also think of it this way. For athletic riding, you lean forward, and much of the weight is put on your hands, while in a relaxed riding position, you sit more upright, and more weight is carried on your sit bones.
So check the figure with how you sit on your bike.
So, how do these riding positions affect your recommended saddle width?
- For athletic riding position, change nothing on the seat width.
- For a moderate riding position, add 15mm to the width.
- For a relaxed riding position, add 30mm to the width.
A saddle is designed to carry a part of your body weight. The remainder is supported by your legs & feet and arms & hands. The more you cycle, or the fitter you are, the more your muscles are trained to support your body, and you apply less weight on the saddle.
How often do you cycle, or how cycle fit are you?
So, if you are not “cycle fit” or are looking to take recreational rides, I suggest adding 10mm to the seat width guides below.
The rule of 20
To get the ideal saddle width, you also need to add 20mm at the very end.
Worked examples:
For me on my city / hybrid bike:
Sitting bone width: 105mm
Riding position: Moderate: +15mm
Cycle frequency: frequent, so no change
Rule of 20: +20mm
Seat width required = 105mm + 15mm + 20mm = 140mm.
I actually have a 135mm wide saddle as sometimes I ride a bit more athletically, and I find it perfect.
For my wife on her recreational eBike:
Sitting bone width: 120mm
Riding position: Relaxed: +30mm
Cycle frequency: infrequent +10mm
Seat width: +20mm
Seat width required = 120mm + 30mm + 20mm + 10mm + 20mm = 200mm.
My wife has a 195mm wide saddle installed on her bike and loves it. The bike originally came with a 150mm wide seat and she hated it.
With this new information, if you need a different saddle width, try a few different saddle options for long rides. The block is not long enough to know if the saddle is comfortable.
Ignore options to add padding or gel – these will not solve your discomfort for an extended period. It might feel suitable for the first few minutes, but afterward, you might return to being uncomfortable.
For more information, Selle Royal has made a great study on this topic, as you can see here, although they suggest buying their saddles afterward. Also, as usual, Sheldon Brown is a fantastic resource for bicycle knowledge, and also for saddles.
In more detail, what is the best saddle for various types of cycling?
As mentioned, you need to check your own size and seating position, and here is a guide for factors for seat width for different types of cycling.
MTB – XC / Enduro: Athletic, frequent cyclist = sitting bone width + 20mm
City/Dutch bikes: Relaxed, frequent cyclist = sitting bone width +50mm
Hybrid bikes: Moderate, frequent cyclist = sitting bone width + 35mm
Road bikes: Athletic, frequent cyclist = sitting bone width + 20mm
CAUTION: Some road bikes such as TT and triathlon bikes use an aerodynamic position not shown above. This could make the seat even narrower, but if you have issues with your road bike please see a specialist bicycle store.
Gravel bikes: Athletic, frequent cyclist = sitting bone width + 20mm
Trekking bikes: I’m not touching this – too many personal choices here!
How to best position your saddle
Another reason the seat may feel uncomfortable is that the saddle is actually incorrectly positioned. There are three factors to position your saddle correctly:
- Forward/rearward position
- Tilt angle
- Height
Forward/rearward position
Typically, it’s best to place the saddle as centrally as possible. If you feel too far from the handlebars or are leaning forward too much, perhaps move the saddle slightly.
As you can see in the picture below, I have the saddle slightly forward because I have a high ape index, so have a smaller frame for my height, and still feel too far from the handlebars with the saddle pushed back. If this is not enough, perhaps you should better change the handlebar position which we covered in this article.
Of course, if you feel too close to the handlebars, you can also move the seat slightly rearwards.
Tilt angle
Normally the saddle should be set flat. I prefer the saddle slightly upwards at the front (a few degrees) to stop me from moving forward when I pedal hard. But the best is just to set it flat to start with.
Setting the seat height correctly
You can use two methods to find the perfect saddle height for you.
Pedal height method – better for frequent cyclists
Ideally, you should adjust the saddle for riding to match your pedal stroke. This ensures maximum efficiency when pedaling (less effort for you!) and less stress on your body. The problem with this method is that many modern bikes have pedals higher from the ground, which means you cannot touch the ground with your feet when you need to stop. You can put your foot on a raised surface (I just used curbs normally), but not everyone is comfortable with this.
- Adjust the seat to a suitable height and sit on the bike supported so you don’t fall over.
- Put your pedal to the bottom (furthest from the saddle) and place your foot on the down pedal in the normal position you use when riding. Your leg should be almost straight, with about a 5-degree bend, but not entirely straight.
- Adjust the seat height until you get there. It might feel weird for a few rides, but you will get used to it and will hate ever riding a bike with a low seat again!
- Ground height method – better for some recreational cyclists
Touch the ground method
As mentioned, if you are not confident about dismounting from the saddle each time you stop, it’s better to adjust the saddle height so your leg is slightly bent when your foot rests on the ground. While this method may boost your confidence, it can lead to some knee pain when you’re exerting power.
This may be a good initial setup for a beginner cyclist or an infrequent cyclist, but if you ride long distances regularly, you need to use the first method if you want to spare your knees.
If you feel discomfort with this position, it might pay to learn to dismount the saddle when stopping and raise the seat height.
Extra tips for comfort
Saddle material
Most saddles today use a plastic base with a “gel” (it’s foam) pad on top.
Traditionally, hammock-style leather saddles, which mold to your shape, were used, and these become far more comfortable once worn in if they are the correct width. If you can afford a leather saddle, it’s recommended to try it!
Suspension saddles and seat posts
Some recreational bikes and city bikes already have suspension installed in the seat or the seat post itself. This small amount of padding reduces the impact of any bumps on the road to your rear end, further increasing your comfort. Especially for recreational and less frequent cyclists, these options are a good idea.
