Is 168 romin saddle too wide for me?

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zalle
Posts: 72
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2016 11:14 pm

by zalle

Hi guys, I read the specialized romin is usually more comfortable in a bigger size.

I measured my seat bones and they are 132, so I thought 155 should be good, but I went for the bigger size, and I got the 168. Maybe I've gone too far... What do you think?

By the way, a saddle should be parallel to the ground. Does that mean the rails should be parallel to the ground? Because the romin is not very straight, so I'm not sure what parallel really means...

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antonioiglesius
Posts: 290
Joined: Sat Oct 15, 2016 9:08 pm

by antonioiglesius

It's very difficult to say. The width of a saddle is one of its parameters, its general shape, and where/how you sit on it, matters as well.

For instance, if you tend to rotate your hips and cycle in the drops, then a saddle that's narrower where you sit is preferred. This is usually narrower than your sitbone width. If you usually cycle with your weight on your sitbones, or you tend to prefer that when climbing, then a saddle that's wide enough for your sitbones can make more sense. In general people do both flat and climbing rides, so both of the above matter.

What's more problematic is that it appears different manufacturers have different ways of measuring sitbone width. Which is strange because this should be a constant.

The top of saddle (not rails) need not be parallel to the ground. It's a good starting point, but tilting the nose up/down, moving it forward and back should always be done to find a comfortable fit.

fh8425
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2015 3:20 pm

by fh8425

i prefer to point it just slightly down to relieve pressure on the sensitive but not so much until it makes me slides forward during the ride (this undesirable cos it can put load on your knee when you cycle and can lead to pain later on).

em3
Posts: 883
Joined: Tue Dec 23, 2008 2:57 pm
Location: NYC

by em3

Remember that the arc of sit area is more important then the width. A 130 mm flat saddle with no arc at sit area will b very different then an arced saddle in same width.... the flat saddle will feel wider. e.g. sitting on top of saddle (flat) v. sitting in the saddle (arc)
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mpulsiv
Posts: 1384
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:17 pm

by mpulsiv

Keep in mind that Specialized Romin saddle is far from flat like Toupe. To put this in perspective, 143mm Toupe measures like 155mm Romin. Power pro saddle runs wider. 143mm felt like 168mm.


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zalle
Posts: 72
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2016 11:14 pm

by zalle

So 168 romin may just be ok?

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mpulsiv
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by mpulsiv

zalle wrote:So 168 romin may just be ok?


I fall in the same bracket as you when it comes to sit bones ~ 135mm. My Romin Evo is 155mm. I haven't tried 168mm as it's a bit wide. If you have a trainer, setup your phone to record a short clip from behind and analyze your pedal stroke. Watch your hip movement. If your hips are rocking, lower your saddle my 5-10mm. You could try the same effort with 155mm saddle. Typically with wide saddle, you'd be leaning towards the nose of the saddle, hence the back of the saddle is too wide. Needless to say your hips will shift from side to side. I was rocking my hips on 143mm Power Pro saddle. I'm not sure how Specialized labeled this 143mm. It felt like 168mm. I could not keep a fluid pedal stroke with it.

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