this just dawned on my last night as I was reading about saddle fitment from Cervelo "THE FOUR AND A HALF RULES OF ROAD SADLES" http://www.cervelo.com/en/engineering/a ... dles-.html

specifically on the portion: "Saddle width rule of thumb" section i got to thinking.. by following the measurement suggested then add 2cm or 20mm to the overall center to center measurement, my seatbone measures to 134.62mm (5.3 in.).

so ideally, the '12 toupe pro in 155mm i'm testing out on should work, but it doesn't. i measured the saddle width and in fact it's 155mm or 6.1 inches wide. BUT, here's the kicker.. it's almost towards the end of the saddle where the silver plastic wing sticks out from. also, when it's near the 155mm mark, each side of the saddle (wing part) begans to slope downwards. thus if my seatbone is sitting all the way at the back of the saddle and in between those area, then essentially, my seatbone will be resting towards the sloping part of the wing. which in turns means more pressure to perineum; even with the cutout.

i did a quick diagram here: http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/7139/63021915.jpg
* the red line is the overall width of the saddle; let's assume it's 155mm
* the green line is where my seatbone would rest

the above theory would work as long as the wing part of the saddle doesn't start to slope down and if the width can be more forward rather than backwards.

so that's why i'm thinking maybe the romin pro 2013 with 168mm might work better, since if the wing part does slope down, then at least i know based on my seatbone width, it will be supported on the flat portion of the saddle instead.

i know the only way to test out this theory is to try it.. but it seems only romin offers it in 168mm.. not sure about other companies out that offers such a wide saddle for road bike.

but what do you guys think of my theory.. plausible?

Great read, but the 2cm width rule doesn't always work. According to the Specialized "assometer" I should be on a 143mm saddle. My sit bones are better positioned on a 143mm width but, my thighs rub causing even more pain. So I ride a 130mm Toupe.

If everyone was simply a skeleton with no fat and muscle layers separating the sit bones from the saddle then this would be perfect. However, everyone's body is different.

I know that Specialized used to offer a 30 trial from the day you bought the saddle. If they still do, it would be worth it to pick up the wider one to see if that works for you.

The assometer also said I should be on a 143mm saddle. Tried a 143mm Toupe and it didn't work for me. 130mm is much better. The shop had no problem making the exchange.

The 130mm Toupe (any version- I have a couple) is the best saddle I have used yet.

I run a San Marco Concor Sprint saddle on my road bike which is 134mm wide. I can ride it for as long as I need to. So when I got my MTB a few weeks ago...I figured it would work on that too. Wrong...after about 20 mins on the trail...my ass felt like a pummeled prune. I switched to a Romin Expert in 143mm and no more pain.

What saddle widths you run can also depend on how low you are on the bike. The more upright you are...the more pressure is going to be on your sit bone and lower back.

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well.. i was able to get a refund on the 2012 toupe pro. funny thing was when i was there.. i saw 2 other returns for the same saddle too. i know it's a personal thing.. so now i'm trying the Selle Italia SLR Superflow 145mm. did a quick ride today to test out the farsport 38mm clinchers and so far saddle felt good. at least it passed the immediate discomfort test. i have more than 30 days to test it out so will put it to good use.