this post was submitted on 23 Oct 2025
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A well fitting road bike saddle is designed to have you sitting on your seat bones, rather than your soft tissue, often with a cutout in the middle to relieve pressure from the genital area. This is much more comfortable on long rides. The padding is minimal, since you are expected to wear padded shorts to minimise friction. Some people also use chamois cream to further reduce chafing, although I personally don't find this to be all that necessary and only really use it on longer rides, if at all. This setup is much more comfortable if you're going to spend long hours in the saddle, especially if you do it regularly and your butt is used to it.
Like with most bike parts, saddles come in all different shapes and sizes and different types make sense for different types of riding.