Don't fix it if it ain't broke. I have applied this adage to saddle choice for as long as I've been riding a bike. I have been sitting on the old-school Sella Italia Flite for years, I had no reason to change it. It was for this reason that when I received a Specialized Toupe Pro to race on as part of Team Mike's Bikes I wasn't exactly ecstatic.
To boot, last year I borrowed a Toupe from a friend to race at the track and after a couple laps I swore to never again sit on that saddle. It felt like I was sitting on a knife! Needless to say, I figured my new Toupe would be left in the closet. That is until I got a hip bone width measurement as part of the Mike's Bikes BG fit. And no, my fit specialist, Jake Lopacinski, did not run a tape measure across my butt. Rather, he uses an incremented seat pad that records the width. Turns out ergonomically I am best on a 143mm width saddle. Very well, I thought, I have just the 143mm width spot in my closet for this thing! Days later, despite my stubborness I attached the saddle and went for a ride. I completely forgot I was riding a new saddle! In fact, not once during the ride did I think about the fact that I was riding a new saddle until I got home and set my bike against a wall. I found my new favorite road saddle! Amazed and confused, I called my friend whom I borrowed the Toupe from a year earlier and inquired of the width of the saddle he lent me. Go figure, it was a 130mm saddle. Go get your butt measured!
-Rainier
