# Selle Italia Diva (woman's) Gel Flow Saddle



## wgscott

I bought this for my wife:










It appears to get very high ratings (Amazon, REI) and everyone (almost) gushes about how amazingly comfortable it is. I got it on Amazon for $120; REI had it for $160.

Briefly, I blew it. (Return would be much more straightforward with REI than with a 3rd-party amazon seller.)

Anyone else here have any experience with this saddle?

We've tried tipping it down, tipping it up, moving it forward, changing the height. Nothing helps. She gets pain both in the pubic arch and the ischial tuberosity ("sitz bones"). 

I realize bike saddles are a highly individual thing, but statistically, this outcome seems unlikely. Is it possible there is some "user error" involved. I want to be absolutely sure we aren't doing something stupid. She is not new to cycling, fwiw. I should have got her a Brooks.


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## Alfonsina

I have one and it is totally meh. It is not as good for me as the ladies nashbar generic I replaced, before that I was riding a sliver of a mens seat and even that wasn't as meh as this. I just tolerate it because I am not fussy enough to buy another one. I bought it from the UK so there was no easy return but I paid maybe $70 on sale. I am put off buying saddles based on reviews really, I did buy the big TRK ladies SMP4Bike TRK Lady Saddle | ProBikeKit.com for my trainer bike and that is suprisingly great and way cheaper but it is a big seat that I wouldn't want on my road bike, aesthetically.


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## il sogno

If she's having pain in both the pubic arch and the sit bones, the saddle might not be for her. I used to have that saddle it was okay. I ride Specialized Romin saddles and am currently trying out a Bontrager Affinity. 

Saddles are a very personal choice. What works for one person may not work for the other. I would return the saddle.


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## jnbrown

My wife uses one on our tandem and likes it better than the Terry Butterfly it replaced.
One thought is maybe the saddle is too wide for her?
There ways to measure the width of sits bones either by going to a LBS or doing it yourself.


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## NWbikergirl

I am so happy with my Carbon comfort saddle by RideOut, I read about it in Crazy Guy on a bike blog and tried one. I know it looks a bit weird but I love it and I get off the bike now because my legs are tired, not because my seat hurts. Every body is different and I used to ride a Brooks but as I have age, the seat became intolerable. All I know is I love this and I'm not going back. I think the saddle is the most important part of the bike.


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## HFroller

wgscott said:


> We've tried tipping it down, tipping it up, moving it forward, changing the height. Nothing helps. She gets pain both in the pubic arch and the ischial tuberosity ("sitz bones").
> 
> I realize bike saddles are a highly individual thing, but statistically, this outcome seems unlikely. Is it possible there is some "user error" involved. I want to be absolutely sure we aren't doing something stupid. She is not new to cycling, fwiw. I should have got her a Brooks.


Perhaps I am a statistical outlier too. I had the men's version. I made exactly one trip with it, less than an hour. The saddle was terrible. I can't imagine someone being comfortable on that contraption, no matter how you adjust it. I was lucky and the LBS gave me back my money.


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## Migen21

I have the Selle Italia SMP Gel Flow on all of my bikes. It's the saddle that works for me. It's as close to perfect (for me) as I've found.

My girlfriend doesn't ride as much as I do, and we've been through quite a few saddles for her. She's been on a prologo of some kind (she found it in a pull-off bin at a LBS). It's ok, but she doesn't love it.

I bought her this ladies version of the gel flow, and so far, after three rides and about 120 miles, she's loving it. She's still a little tender mind you, but she's been off the bike for 8 months, and is just getting back into it. She likes it enough that she's going to give it some more time. We have some long rides planned for this weekend.

Seat choice is a very personal thing. So many factors go into matching a seat to your anatomy and riding position. What works or doesn't work for one person, might be completely different for someone else.


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## il sogno

HFroller said:


> Perhaps I am a statistical outlier too. I had the men's version. I made exactly one trip with it, less than an hour. The saddle was terrible. I can't imagine someone being comfortable on that contraption, no matter how you adjust it. I was lucky and the LBS gave me back my money.


I use men's/unisex saddles. The Specialized Romin is one. It's really just a matter of individual comfort.


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## stellar12

I have been riding on a Sella Italia Lite 209 for about 3 years and love it. I don't need butt cream on this saddle. But, saddles are a very personal thing.


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## wgscott

It's working out perfectly on my daughter's bike, since she refuses to ride it.


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## Marc

123456


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## ChiroX

Rode it for about 40 miles. The cutout in the back is so wide my sit bones rested on its edges. Hurt. A lot. Sent it back. 

Ride a 155 Romin, before that, a Toupe for several years. Toupe is okay. Robin is perfect. The cutout on the Romin is very good for women, methinks. The equivalent Oura is much shorter, and I'm 5'7", so decided on the mens' version. Specialized saddles tend to be unisex.


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## il sogno

Yep, the Romin is a good saddle. :thumbsup:


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## dlb1918

The Selle SMP line is very well designed, and the theory behind it is good. Likewise the ISM line. The SMP TRK was $51 from Amazon, with 30 day money back, at least if you subscribe to Prime. An ISM Adamo for road use costs more than that, but if it works better.... 

If you subscribe to Prime, returns seem to be free if you choose an acceptable reason. I chose 'wrong size' when I returned a seat, which had the advantage of being (at least sort of) true.


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## Seabeast

Migen21 said:


> I have the Selle Italia SMP Gel Flow on all of my bikes...


Selle SMP and Selle Italia are two different companies. Can I assume you're using the latter? (Selle is the Italian word for saddle, so a lot of completely unrelated companies have that word in their company name.)


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## Seabeast

If a person is planning to try an SMP, ideally they want to deal with a shop that lets them try a model out for a while. They make a bewildering variety of models that all look similar at a glance but fit completely differently.
I recommend the Steve Hogg bike fit website for anyone looking into getting one. It's far more informative than the manufacturer's website, which has the strange notion of choosing a saddle by waist size. According to their charts, I should be riding one of the widest models, when in fact I like the Lite 209 the best.


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## Migen21

SeaBeast said:


> Selle SMP and Selle Italia are two different companies. Can I assume you're using the latter? (Selle is the Italian word for saddle, so a lot of completely unrelated companies have that word in their company name.)


You used your third post on this site to tell me about a typo I made a year and a half ago? 

I won't edit my post, but here is my correction.

My saddles are Selle Italia SLR MAX Gel Flow, not Selle SMP. 

Please accept my sincere apology.


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