Hi 
Does anyone have the perfect saddle that they would recommend.
I’ve spent hundreds of £s changing my saddles on my smart bike.
Is there a such a thing for indoor cycling!!!
I ride drops and find my balls are inside me after an hour 
Tried so many bike set ups and saddles. Please drop a line and share what works for you.
Many thanks Al
No, there’s no such thing. Everyone’s anatomy differs so what’s good for one person might be terrible for you. My advice would be to consult a bike fitter or at least a bike shop that will lend you some different saddles to try.
Cycling with your bike bolted in position is a lot harder on your backside than outdoors, lacking the side-by-side movement and weight transfer. Some people swear by rocker plates to help with this. So there’s only so much that the right saddle can do.
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Hi Steve.
Yes I agree, I’ve tried many saddles and paid for a saddle fit,
No smiles for my butt so far. 
A good fitter should work with you to resolve any issues you had subsequent to their assistance and keep recommending saddles. If you have a Trek dealer nearby, should be able to return one of the Bontrager saddles within 30 days even if you use it. Also sometimes other aspects of bike fit affect how you sit on the saddle, such pelvic rotation, and that can be very important to achieving saddle comfort.
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buy copies from aliexpress in popular shapes for like £10 and if you find one that suits you, you can buy the real thing. selle italia, fizik, bontrager and specialized are copied a lot. or you can just keep using the fake saddle because they’re pretty much identical. i went through about 6 before i settled on a specialized romin expert copy from there, and i’ve been using it for about 3 years now. it weighs like 120g too which is nice. i’ve had the real thing too since and it’s no more comfortable than the fake one and it’s twice the weight
consider tilting it slightly down (between 1 and 10 degrees), almost nobody benefits from a perfectly level saddle and having it tilted up can cause you some real problems over time. i’m not a professional bike fitter so take my advice for what it is
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more details might be helpful. Are we talking pain, chaffing, saddle sores etc. How long do you ride each time. I always use a chamois cream (on me, not the shorts) and i stand up on occassion to give my butt a rest.
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You need to stand and pedal fairly often to relieve pressure.
Also it’s not just perfect saddle but saddle position and angle. Tilting it down at the front can help. Depending on your setup moving the saddle forward can also mean your position is less aggressive.
If you are getting numbness down there, stop and consult a bike fitter immediately.
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Ahem!
This is the right answer.
While some saddles are irredeemable (Giant Contact SL Forward: lookin’ at you, you ass-hatchet), many mid-range saddles shipping with mainstream bikes are quite comfortable but a bike fitter (preferably a registered physiotherapist who specializes in bicycle fitting) will figure out if fit is the issue before replacing the saddle.
What saddles have you tried, @Al_Dash ? I defer to a bike fitter and hesitate to recommend anything not knowing what you’ve tried but if I had to, these are good bets:
- Bontrager Verse Comp
- Specialized Power Comp with Mirror (really any Spesh with “Mirror” tech)
- Fizik Vento Argo R3
My bet’s on poor fit being primary though. (saddle height, tilt, setback, cleat position, and bar position)
EDIT - adding the Selle Italia Boost Superflow to the list. It’s a super popular one with well-respected bike fitters.
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Hi thanks to all that replied to my problem with being so uncomfortable on my bike. Had bike fit and walked away with saddles to try. All seem good until an hour later when the discomfort begins. I’m currently using a selle Italia boost superflow. Great for an hour. Had the SMP TRK, also great for an hour. Never used to have this problem. Maybe it’s just my old bones. Was hoping for the holy grail of saddles, but as we all know sadly there isn’t one 
it also helps to have good shorts with effective padding that works for you. Some shorts will work better than others for your butt.
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I forgot to ask about that. @Al_Dash : do you wear padded chamois shorts? (and no underwear underneath them)
Comfortable shorts with good padding (ie Assos) are a must.
Old cycling shorts that are worn out are a no go.
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I’ve found the cure to my sore butt, the Omnirocker plate. After many saddles and a saddle fit costing me hundreds of pounds, I found Martín, who makes plates to order to suit what ever you ride. My made to measure plate is awesome. Just rode 61k with no pain.
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FANTASTIC @Al_Dash ! Thanks for closing the loop on this thread. 
Some trainers have some rocking movement built in. My own Tacx NEO has a few degrees of give either side, and the Kickr line has optional squishy feet. That may be enough for some people but for others a rocker plate seems to be needed.
Out of curiosity: what trainer are you using?
Hi CJ.
My trainer is a lifefitness ic8. Never seen this on a rocker plate before, so asked Martín if he could do something for me. Within a week he made it shipped it down to me and I’m on it. It truly a life changer for my butt. 
Rocker plates are brilliant- I have one with a kickr bike on top of it!
Biggest saddle factor is width. Too narrow or too wide and the saddle, and any padding, is pushing up into soft tissue and doing bad things.
Measure your sit bone width. Put a sheet of alu foil on a carpeted stair. Strip down to your underwear, and sit down on the foil, in the general position you’d be in on your bike. Stand up. You’ll see the indentations of your sit bones clearly as two parallel deep dents. Measure the distance between the centers. Now go to the bike shop and compare that distance to the saddles–you want your sit bones to be firmly on the two main ‘lobes’ of the saddle. Not on the outside or inside edges.
Then maybe look for something snub-nosed, and something with a center cutout. Both of those help by keeping unneeded saddle material from pushing up into places you’re not sitting on.
Hey Tom. Thanks dude for all the info. I’m good now. Purchased a omnirocker plate. Instant relief. Bike moves beautifully. Can highly recommend one.
Al
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Hi John
The round cutouts are where the inflatable balls sit and the longer slots are for fixing down the trainer or bike. Mine was made for my ic8, so is a different shape. More square and works really well.
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