# Saddle Decisions - AGAIN - Terry, but which one??



## Higgins23

Hi all,
Well I finally went with the SI Lady Gel Flow saddle after much resarch and review reading. I love the cutout, but now I have a lot of pressure on my left sit bone  I thought less cushioning was the way to go for me, but apparently that's not the case. 

Back to researching and I'm seeing good reviews about Terry Butterfly saddles, but I'm not sure which model to try out.
I have a Trek Madone road bike and sometimes I ride longer distances.

Any helpful input?
Thanks!!


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## il sogno

Have you tried rotating the saddle a bit to one side? Might be worth a try.


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## thekarens

The SI Lady Gel Flow is a pretty cushy saddle. It may not be the saddle for you, but I doubt it's due to the lack of padding unless your saddle is old and has broken down.

A lot of bike shops have a 30 day guarantee. You could go to one of them and keep trying saddles until you find the one you like.

FWIW my partner has a Madone and uses a Terry Butterfly TI.


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## Dave Cutter

I am guy... an old guy... but I like the cut out for men myself. 

I thought after I lost weight my saddle needs would be less important. I was surprised to find out the cut out is still the better saddle for me. 

I had been using a Forte classic (cut out) saddle. Which... by the way looks a bit like the women's terry butterfly saddle. I bought a another bike for a back-up/trainer bike and found I needed another saddle. I picked up another Forte classic... but the design/materials had changed just a tad. 

I ended up also buying a Selle Italia Q-Bik SE Saddle. Not a lot of padding... kind of light weight.... but the right width for my sit bones and VERY comfy. Of course I am guy and it's a guys saddle so that saddle isn't a recommendation for you... but I think I like the brand. 

Another thing... in my hast to try the saddle I centered and leveled the saddle in the seat post bracket... and off I went. It actually took me about 4 or 5 different 20 mile rides to realize the adjustments were off. 

The Forte saddle had sat about 1/2 inch higher (_because of the padding?_) than the Selle Italia does... and my normal placement was (had been) slightly forward (not centered) and just very slightly titled downward (not level). 

Fortunately I keep a record of such things... so resetting/fitting was pretty easy. But keeping the fitting in mind when trying a new saddle is worthwhile. I wonder if your "left sit bone" discomfort is now a fit issue... or do you need a wider saddle (_or maybe even just more padding?_).


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## c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n

Can you get them on eBay? Cheaper to sell it off in case you did not like it.


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## Higgins23

Thanks for the input everyone! It really helps. I think I'm going to go get a really good fitting done first. I think Dave Cutter (above) has a point about positioning due to saddle type and cushioning. I have noticed that with my new SI saddle, I'm abble to get my unclilpped toe to touch the ground when I stop w/out getting completely off the saddle much, much easier than I could with my old saddle. This tells me obviously that my old saddle was a bit higher than my current one. This could be the problem. Before I spend loot on a new saddle, I think I'm going to have a pro take a look at me on the bike. I've been fitted at the LBS, but I sort of feel like it wasn't thorough enough. Stay tuned....


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## aureliajulia

If you have a lot of pressure on one hip, you have have a leg length discrepancy (actually, uneven hips). A very good fitter should be able to correct that with spacers, etc.


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## Higgins23

aureliajulia said:


> If you have a lot of pressure on one hip, you have have a leg length discrepancy (actually, uneven hips). A very good fitter should be able to correct that with spacers, etc.


Yes, I actually do have a slight discrepency, but it's so small I didn't think it would really make a difference. My right leg is a tiny, tiny bit longer, but it has always caused issues with my left hip....


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## Dave Cutter

aureliajulia said:


> If you have a lot of pressure on one hip, you have have a leg length discrepancy (actually, uneven hips).


All things being equal... that would be true. 

But... if the saddle is too low the knees and hips may not be affected exactly equally. In other words... you could have just pain in the left hip (at least for some time). Or... you could even have discomfort in the left hip.... and right knee.


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## KensBikes

il sogno said:


> Have you tried rotating the saddle a bit to one side? Might be worth a try.


I agree. Selle AnAtomica's old setup instructions included some guidelines for rotating for specific purposes. If I recall (can't find the paper copy), if you have more pain on one sit bone, rotate so the saddle nose moves toward that side by about 1/16 inch at a time. I actually used this trick once or twice, and it did balance out the sitbone pressures and remove that source of pain.


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