Saddle Width & Sit Bones: Find the Right Saddle

Your weight rests on two bony points — the sit bones (ischial tuberosities). A saddle that fits supports exactly those points. Too narrow, and the sit bones slip over the edge so your weight lands on soft tissue and blood vessels: numbness and pressure pain follow. Too wide, and the inner thighs chafe. Width is therefore the base decision — ahead of saddle height and saddle position.

Measure your sit bone distance yourself

1. Put a piece of corrugated cardboard or aluminium foil on a hard, flat step.
2. Sit on it, lift your feet and lean your upper body slightly forward — as far as you sit on the bike.
3. Shift your weight briefly, then stand up. Two dents are visible.
4. Measure the distance centre to centre of the two impressions in millimetres.

Typical values are between 100 and 130 mm. Women average a slightly wider distance, but the spread is large — measuring beats guessing.

From sit bone distance to saddle width

Add an allowance to the measured distance that depends on riding position: the further forward you lean, the more the pelvis rotates and the narrower the effective contact area.

Riding position	Allowance on sit bone distance
Upright / city / trekking	+ 25–40 mm
Sporty / road bike on the hoods	+ 10–25 mm
Aggressive / aero / drops / time trial	+ 0–15 mm

Sit bone distance	Saddle width, sporty	Saddle width, upright
100 mm	approx. 130 mm	approx. 140 mm
110 mm	approx. 140 mm	approx. 145 mm
120 mm	approx. 145 mm	approx. 155 mm
130 mm	approx. 155 mm	approx. 165 mm

Shape and cutout

• Flat vs. curved: if you move your pelvis a lot and change position on the saddle, a flat saddle suits you better. A curved (waved) profile holds the pelvis in one place — good for a stable, consistent position.
• Cutout / relief channel: a channel or hole down the middle relieves the perineum and urethra. Worth it for numbness or pressure despite correct width — not a substitute for the right width.
• Saddle nose: shorter "short-nose" saddles relieve the pubic bone area in a low position.

Saddle tilt

The saddle sits level to at most 1–2° nose down. A nose pointing up presses on soft tissue; a strongly nose-down saddle makes you slide forward and loads the arms and wrists.

Symptom → likely cause

Symptom	Check
Numbness / tingling in the genital or perineal area	Saddle too narrow, nose too high, or no cutout
Pain at the sides of the sit bones	Saddle too wide or too soft — sit bones sink in and tip
Chafing on the inner thigh	Saddle too wide at the front
Pressure at the front on the pubic bone	Nose tilted too far down, saddle too far forward, or cockpit too long
Constantly shifting back and forth on the saddle	Wrong shape (flat/curved) or tilt, possibly saddle too high

Self-check by video analysis

Saddle width itself comes from your sit bone distance. What the video analysis adds: it detects pelvic rocking and left–right differences in hip angle across the stroke. Both show up when the saddle doesn't fit — too narrow, wrong shape — or is set too high. A quiet, symmetrical pelvis in the video is the goal; if it rocks, check saddle height first, then width and shape.

Check pelvic movement & hip angle now for free by video →