How do you know your saddle is the right width?

Saddles come in a variety of shapes and designs.  Making the width of saddles hugely variable.  If they are all trying to do the same job why are they so different?  There are several things that will influence the width of a saddle that you need.

Your Body and Gender – Your pelvis connects with the saddle on or near your sit bones. Sit Bone width is individual. Generally the range of a womens pelvis (sit bone width) is 11-15cm, and mens (sit bone width) is 10-14cm. It is important to have a saddle that matches your individual pelvis width.

Your Body Position – The interest in doing different types of riding has lead to different types of bikes being produced. These different bikes put riders in different body positions. Different positions causes a slight variation on the part of the pelvis that makes contact with a saddle.  Hence we have different saddle shapes and widths to get the best outcome for the body position you are in when on your bike. The width and shape of a saddle will vary when you are in a more upright body position compared to a more forward bend riding position.

Time on the Bike – As you spend longer on the bike the type of saddle that you need tends to change.  The longer on the bike, the more important that your saddle needs to support an efficient pedaling technique. A saddle that won’t cause any rubbing with repetitive and more intense pedaling.  Therefore there are also differences between recreation and endurance saddle shapes.  In terms of width, saddles need to provide the right support without interfering with repetitive pedaling.

The Goldilocks Width – so basically the saddle needs to be wide enough to allow you to weight bear through your pelvis. This width is dependent on your individual pelvis width as well as the position you ride in. But not too wide so it does not interfere with pedaling. Simply it needs to be just right. 

What will you receive in your Bike Saddle Fit Kit:

• 2 x corrugate measuring sheets. You only require 1 sheet but an additional sheet is supplied in case you have to repeat the measurement.
• Information sheet including a video link to support the measuring process
• Additional support offered if you require further assistance in matching your measurement to the correct saddle width.

Take a piece of card that has a corrugate layer exposed. This type of card is often used for packaging. The corrugate must not be squashed or damaged. If you don’t have a piece you can get a thick piece of cardboard and pull off one layer to expose the corrugate.

Place the cardboard on a firm surface, like a stool. Sit on the card towards the front of the hard surface with a tall straight back. go onto tip toes to bring your thighs closer to or above the horizontal. Keeping your straight back with your hands under the stool gently pull the stool towards your bottom, this will just increase the connection between the hard surface and your sit bones, hold for 2 seconds.

If you have a lot of soft tissue in this area, with your hands you can pull the soft tissue to the side as you sit down to help expose the sit bones.

Stand up and you will see 2 areas of indent/compression on the corrugate. You are looking to mark with a X the most compressed area. Often in the middle of the indent. Some people will get some compression of the corrugate due to the pressure from soft tissue, but you can see where the bone has connected as the hardness of bone will cause the corrugate to flatten more than the soft tissue.

Corrugate layer exposed.

Remove top layer

We have a great range of saddles .  For different types of riding and different times on the bike.  Have a look at our Saddles and get a saddle that matches you as a rider. Our saddles will come with a size guide that will show you the correct size you need to match your sit bone width.