How to choose a women's bike saddle?

Who hasn't experienced an uncomfortable or even painful bike ride? Just like getting your position right, choosing the right saddle is essential to ensure enjoyable rides without discomfort. Whether for urban use, road or mountain biking, you will need to find the women's model best suited to your anatomy. But it's not easy to navigate all these references, which are very often developed for men. Fortunately, specific models for women or unisex options do exist. Here, we will help you see things more clearly.

Standards

• Profile: rounded, flat, semi-rounded
• The central channel: none, relieved or cut-out
• Width and length
• Saddle shell and rail material

Saddle types

It is important to point out that it is not possible to guarantee that any particular model will necessarily suit you. Only testing over several rides of varying durations and with different adjustments can validate a model. However, here is what generally emerges from both user feedback and manufacturers.

Women's saddles can be classified under three types of shape:

Rounded

Generally appreciated for long distances and by cyclists seeking comfort. Weight is often better distributed, and the shape limits chafing over time.

Flat

Designed for short distance and/or intense effort. Appreciated for races requiring frequent position changes.

Semi-rounded

In order to offer versatile saddle models, an intermediate shape between rounded and flat is often found.

Central channel

To reduce strain on the perineal area, some saddles may feature a channel on the central section of the saddle. This channel can be simply relieved a to reduce pressure, or even fully cut out b to eliminate it in that area entirely. Due to female morphology, women are more prone to experiencing body pressure. This chafing and pressure can easily lead to discomfort.

Width and length

Width

The choice of saddle width is often made based on two characteristics: the size of your pelvis and your position on the bike. Ideally, pressure should be applied as much as possible on the pelvic bones, known as the sit bones (ischial tuberosities). Particularly in road cycling and mountain biking, this can sometimes be difficult to achieve due to the aggressive riding position, so it is essential to opt for a specific saddle to limit excessive pressure or repeated chafing.

The female anatomy features wider-set sit bones than in men. Suitable saddle models will therefore naturally be wider. With a men's saddle, there is a strong chance that both sit bones will end up outside the saddle. The entire weight of the cyclist will then rest on the perineum. Note that women's saddles are also shorter than men's saddles, again due to pelvic anatomy.

Your position on the bike will also influence saddle width. The distribution of your weight between the saddle, handlebars and pedals differs depending on whether you adopt an aggressive position where more weight is on the front, or a more upright position where more weight is supported by the sit bones.

The width of your pelvis determines the contact points of your sit bones on the saddle. Saddle width ranges between 135 mm and 165 mm.

Length

Again due to pelvic shape, women's saddles are often shorter than men's models. Short saddles (under 250 mm in length), increasingly used in road cycling, Gravel or mountain biking, allow you to find a position more quickly and provide greater clearance when moving to the back of the bike on steep descents. Additionally, when riding out of the saddle, a short saddle chafes the thighs less.

Long saddles (over 250 mm in length) are ideal for rides where the position is less demanding, such as Triathlon or competitive cycling.

 

Materials and rails

Materials

Different materials are available for the cover. While plastic offers only relative comfort, memory foam adapts more effectively to your anatomy. The same applies to leather models, which will mould to the shape of your sit bones over the kilometres. Gel has an excellent reputation for absorbing shocks. However, care should be taken not to choose a saddle that is too soft. If the sit bones sink too deeply into the gel, pressure will also be applied to sensitive soft tissue. With or without gel, the ideal saddle should be neither too rigid nor too soft.

Finally, it is not uncommon to find the same saddle model offered with different rail materials. Beyond the weight saving, the material will also provide more or less comfort, but be aware, this will have an impact on the budget:

Rails

The steel rail is comfortable but is the heaviest of the materials on offer.

The aluminium rail is less comfortable than steel but is lighter.

The titanium rail offers the best comfort-to-weight ratio but at a higher cost.

The carbon rail is the stiffest and lightest of all.

Reminder: Each manufacturer uses their own designations for rail material alloys (e.g. TiroX, Kium...) which can be misleading. Always check carefully before making your choice. Please note that carbon rails are commonly oval rather than round, and therefore require a seatpost with a compatible clamp.

Which saddle should you choose?

This will partly depend on your riding discipline.

On a city bike, the position is often very upright and the contact points will be mainly at the rear of the saddle. Pressure will thus be applied on the sit bones (ischial tuberosities). A wide saddle at the rear section is therefore ideal.

On the contrary, road cycling favours a position shifted towards the front of the saddle with the torso leaning further over the handlebars. A saddle fitted with a relieved or cut-out central channel and a downward-angled nose will therefore help relieve pressure on the perineum.

Finally, for mountain biking, the position is relatively close to that of road cycling, although more upright. Care should therefore be taken to maintain a good saddle width whilst reducing pressure on sensitive soft tissue. The saddle must also be more robust to absorb the shocks associated with the terrain.

Depending on your position, bear in mind that the more upright you are, the more weight will be distributed onto the saddle. In this case, it is recommended to opt for a slightly wider saddle. However, be careful, a saddle that is too wide can hinder the pedalling motion and cause chafing on the inner thighs over time. If you suffer from perineal pain, try a saddle with a hollowed or relieved central channel.