# What is different about a women's saddle, and can a man use one?



## BklynRx7 (Jun 8, 2013)

Long story short, I accidentally bought a Bontrager women's saddle on clearance before I had a bike. I now have a road bike from bikes direct that works fine for me but the seat is really uncomfortable. Is it safe to try riding with the women's saddle or should I just go buy a new seat? Thanks for the input.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Jun 24, 2014)

Ride whatever is comfortable. In general, woman's saddles tend to be a little shorter and wider than men's, but in spite of what some of the leading manufacturers state, it's much more of an art of trial and error than a science. If all else fails, get a Selle Anatomica and thank me later.


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

They tend to be shorter and wider. Not sure why they'd be shorter but why they are wider probably speaks for itself. 
It's not problem for a male to use them. Or if it is a problem it's not unique to it being a woman's saddle.....it's that it's just not right as could be the case with a men's saddle.

The ones I've seen look to be a bit big and bulky for what most men who ride aggressively would want but my guess is they'd make a really good casual/more upright saddle for a lot of men.


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## PJ352 (Dec 5, 2007)

BklynRx7 said:


> I now have a road bike from bikes direct that works fine for me but the seat is really uncomfortable. Is it safe to try riding with the women's saddle or should I just go buy a new seat? Thanks for the input.


A couple of "ifs" here. 

IF this is your first road bike and IF you've only been riding a short time, the discomfort *could* be more an effect of acclimation than saddle. Most new riders experience some discomfort at the sit bones during this time.

Also, fit affects comfort in numerous ways, so if you bought the bike online and haven't yet been fitted, I suggest you do so before chasing down the 'right' saddle. It's more apt to cost you more to do the latter.

Lastly, consider your bike shorts. If they aren't padded and cycling specific, that too could be a contributing factor. 

I suggest a fitting wearing the appropriate apparel, log some saddle time,_ then _reassess the saddle situation.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

Try it. It'll work, or it won't, but either way that won't have anything to do with it being a "woman" saddle.


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## BklynRx7 (Jun 8, 2013)

Thanks for the reply's. Ill try riding with the included saddle for a while to see if its just a matter of me getting used to it before I change the seat. The mountain bikes im used to have much different seats, so that could be it. I was just afraid that there was some type of design difference I wasn't aware of that could cause some type of damage.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

When I visit home, I raise the saddle on my Mom's bike and ride that. Nothing bad has happened yet.

If you're a high-mileage mountain biker, the saddles you like off-road are probably suitable for road too. My all-time favorite saddle was originally marketed for MTB.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

AndrwSwitch said:


> My all-time favorite saddle was originally marketed for MTB.


And my all-time favorite for MTB was marketed for road - a S-I Flite. I've worn 2-3 of them out.


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## PBL450 (Apr 12, 2014)

It's only a saddle... It's either comfortable or uncomfortable. You won't grow breasts or ovulate. I promise. One of the few reasons to experiment with saddles besides comfort is weight. That's it.


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