I am ready to switch from my recreational saddle to a racing saddle and I am looking for reviews. I currently ride a Terry Liberator and am looking at a Terry Butterfly or Damselfly. They seem to be the only female specific racing saddles.
Any advice or words of wisdom?
Sheila Z :confused:

I am ready to switch from my recreational saddle to a racing saddle and I am looking for reviews. I currently ride a Terry Liberator and am looking at a Terry Butterfly or Damselfly. They seem to be the only female specific racing saddles.
Any advice or words of wisdom?
Sheila Z :confused:

Hey Sheila

I really really recommend the Fizik Vitesse... It is a women's race saddle that is priced about the same as the Terry line and comes in a number of different finishes and colors.

Most importantly, it is super comfortable. Several of my female teammates ride them and after sitting on one of their bikes I bought one for myself. I gave that Vitesse to my girlfriend to ride since she really liked it, and decided to get the (sort of) men's version of it, the Aliante and I have been very happy with that too. There is no cutout on the Vitesse, unlike most of the Terry saddles, and I think that might take some getting used to if you have ridden with a cutout for awhile.

Anyway, I would definitely recommend giving it a shot. The cheapest trim (CrMo rails) should be available for $60 or so. Oh yeah, they are way lighter than the Terry seats too, or ANY other women's saddles... for some reason women aren't normally supposed to get high performance products?????? Go for the Vitesse

Good luck !

Cold One,
Is there any particluar place you recommend to buy that saddle? :)
Sheila

Cold One,
Is there any particluar place you recommend to buy that saddle? :)
Sheila

http://www.cambriabike.com/saddles/saddles.htm

These guys are pretty good... they are based out of California. Vitesse should be at the botttom of that page. Looks like they have anumber of different models. Have fun!

I am ready to switch from my recreational saddle to a racing saddle and I am looking for reviews. I currently ride a Terry Liberator and am looking at a Terry Butterfly or Damselfly. They seem to be the only female specific racing saddles.
Any advice or words of wisdom?
Sheila Z :confused:

I have a Vitesse, but find it's just a smidge wide in the rear for me. I'm 5'5" and 125 lbs. My hamstring tendons, or something in that vicinity (I'm not up on details of physiology), hit the saddle and get sore after long rides. Also, I find it to be a bit firm in the middle on really long rides, though it's great on the short to medium ones. It's an older one, and it turns my butt black when I sweat on it a lot, though they may have fixed that problem in more recent years. I switched to the Terry Fly, not the Butterfly, and find that is more comfortable in the long haul. If you're not happy with the width of the Vittesse, the Fly would be one to check out. Performance had the Fly in dark blue with Ti rails on sale for $50 or $60 recently. Dunno if they still have them.

Kathy :^)

I am ready to switch from my recreational saddle to a racing saddle and I am looking for reviews. I currently ride a Terry Liberator and am looking at a Terry Butterfly or Damselfly. They seem to be the only female specific racing saddles.
Any advice or words of wisdom?
Sheila Z :confused:

My wife just went through this saddle dilema. Her situation is probably different than yours. She just turned 50, hasn't done an athletic thing in her life. I bought her a Giant TCR 2 which came with a Sella Italia Trans AM GEL. We started with one of the heavily padded cruiser seats. She tried a Terry Butterfly after many recommendations. Very uncomfortable for her. She tried my Fizik Aliante and liked it fairly well. She bought a Fizik Vitesse and has used that for the last couple months with the best success of any of the saddles so far.

Her problem concerned pinching on her labia majora in the front of the saddle. She would need to stop every 5 miles or so to get feeling back.

Her current saddle is a Trico split saddle. The cool thing is that the saddle is actually 2 halves. The width is completely adjustable as is the saddle tension via 2 tensioners. The total split eliminated any pinching. Sore spots from her sit bones haven't been a problem on any of the saddles.

Saddle tilt for women is a bit different than men. Most men like their saddle level. Many women like the front tilted down slightly but not to the point of aliding forward thus putting much of the load on your hand on the bars.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for all the advice. I am torn but leaning toward the Terry Saddles as they have had some good response and they are currently $45(men's fly and some others) at Performance. For that price if it is a mistake I figure I can resell it and break even.
Thanks to all of you.
Sheila :D

Thanks for all the advice. I am torn but leaning toward the Terry Saddles as they have had some good response and they are currently $45(men's fly and some others) at Performance. For that price if it is a mistake I figure I can resell it and break even.
Thanks to all of you.
Sheila :D

You may well consider just ordering 2-3 saddles that interest you, try them all and return the ones you don't like. Most of the mail order houses as well as local shops will let you do this. Believe me, you're not the only one that has had to go through this!

Ever heard of the RIDO saddle?
"This saddle has been my saviour! I am a triathlete based in Colchester and I have had countless problems achieving a comfortable saddle (due to the pressure underneath) which has effected my ability to race and train to my full potential.
After seeing the advert for the Rido Saddle in the Cycling Weekly magazine (April 2004), I thought I'd give it a try. I couldn't believe the difference it has made. I am able to train much further and concentrate on pushing the pedals rather then fidgeting trying to get comfortable on the saddle. I have knocked over 2 mins off my PB for 10 miles (27.02 achieved on a sporting course) and have increased my training speed average to 19.3 mph for 25 miles.
I am now confidently looking forward to my first Olympic Distance Triathlon in Cambridge knowing my saddle wont rub, especially as you have to get on the bike with a soaking wet tri-suit on! I have already ordered another saddle for my winter training bike.
I would like to thank Rido for making cycling more enjoyable!"
M.v.L, (Triathlete - female), Wivenhoe, Essex
http://www.rido-cyclesaddles.com

My wife has tried several Terry saddles, and a San Marco female specific.

Recently she was sized for a 53cm Specialized Avatar, we bought one, and she swears it is the MOST comfortable she has ever used (her words, not mine). She liked it so much that I bought a second one for her mountain bike.

The Avatar comes in three widths, depending on the spacing of your pelvic bones. The wife uses the widest of the three. You will need to visit a LBS that sells Specialized components to get properly sized.