The Best Bike Saddles for Plus Size Riders
We’ve rounded up the five best saddles for plus size riders. From casual riding to touring to gravel racing, we’ve got a saddle for your needs!
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If you’ve found this page, you’re probably looking for a more comfortable bike seat! Let me tell you - you’re in the right place! All of the recommendations below are great for bigger riders, with the first 4 recommended saddles not having a weight limit.
It’s always good to remember that you’re not married to your saddle - if it’s causing you pain, saddle sores, or discomfort, that’s a good sign you need a different seat.
Before we dive in, a few things to note:
Just because your butt is big, does NOT mean you need a huge saddle! Your saddle width is actually determined by your hip bone width.
Your saddle shouldn’t feel like a comfy couch. There will be some pressure, but it should not cause you pain.
You should be sitting on the hard part of your butt - aka your sit bones. The bony part of your butt should hold the majority of your weight while riding - if you’re riding on soft tissue, it’s a recipe for pain.
the best saddles for heavier riders
The B33 is a saddle for urban cycling featuring stranded rear coil springs and a front loop. Also a good choice for a heavier commuter, the B33 is intended for the upright cycling position. Made of vegetable tanned leather and coming with a 10 year guarantee, the Brooks B33 saddle is both stylish and comfortable.
Designed for endurance riding, the Terry Butterfly Cromoly Gel Saddle is a great option for nearly all riders. Wider and flatter in the rear than typical sport saddles, this design provides good support for your sit bones
It also has a complete cutaway through the nose and midsection which provides flexibility and reduces pressure.It also has a complete cutaway through the nose and midsection which provides flexibility and reduces pressure.
Brooks B135
The B135 is an urban saddle for the upright position featuring double rear coil springs and a double-loop front spring. A comfortable saddle for casual riding, this saddle has a 10 year guarantee and is rated for riders over 280 lbs.
Saddle pressure makes riding bikes a real pain—literally. But the all-new Women’s Power Saddle with MIMIC technology makes numbness and pain disappear with a design that mimics the body’s response to different types of pressure to create equilibrium within soft tissue. Rated for up to 300lbs.
The Ergon SC Core Prime is the most comfortable saddle I’ve tried for city and touring rides. Vibrations and shocks? The ergonomic core simply absorbs them. Back problems? Not with this saddle. Three seals of approval attest to the back-friendly effectiveness. Feelings of numbness? Prevented by the relief channel specially developed for women.
Revisiting Marley's Favorite Rides - Feats of Strength at SSCXWCX in Victoria
Dates: November 2015
Route: Unfortunately there isn’t one… basically look for all the silliest things in Victoria and ride them!
You could sum up my early years of bicycling with one word - naive. I jumped headfirst into all sorts of ridiculous adventures, absolute not knowing any better how challenging, dangerous, or just plain stupid what I was about to do was.
The beginning of the Meat Stick with Justin Reznick and Rza Allen
Which leads us to my first adventure in cyclocross racing - Single Speed World Championships in Victoria, Canada (SSCXWC). At the time, I had gone to one cyclocross race as a spectator, and sure as heck hadn’t raced.
“No bother, you’ll be fine” my friends said, and convinced me to join them for trip across the Canadian border. Sure enough, I was fine. More than fine, but again, I might not recommend this course of action to anyone else.
I arrived in Victoria via the Victoria Clipper, a speedy boat that transports you (and your bike if you’re smart) directly from downtown Seattle to Victoria in less than three hours. Knowing I didn’t own a single speed bike, I decided to rent one in Victoria, not really intended to participate in the weekend events as more than a spectator. This plan lasted all of an hour, as I quickly found myself getting rowdy on trails with my friends on a woefully inadequate bike.
This is not a cyclocross bike. It is a single speed
By Friday night, we found ourselves at a private curling club with hundreds of other bike hooligans from around the glob e - signing the registration book and paying a dollar for lifetime membership. The weekend was off to a good start and I think it was this night that I was convinced to go to the Feats of Strength in the morning.
If you been to a SSCXWC, you know that you don’t just get to show up on race day and compete in the championships. Doesn’t matter if you’ve won all the local races, you’ve got to earn your ticket through The Feats of Strength - a daylong series of ridiculous challenges meant to whittle down the field and be a ton of fun.
I joined my group and very quickly realized that I was in for a surprise - I was the only one not on a cyclocross bike, I had a slick tires, and maybe most importantly, no clue what I was in store for.
Throughout the day, local organizers led our group all over Victoria - we found climby singletrack in the woods, a stupidly steep hill, a beach and a pumptrack. We partied in the woods all day - just a precursor for the fun to come on actual race day.
I can’t remember if I actually won one of the challenges or not, but all the women registered ended up getting an automatic bid for the championship race the next day. I wisely made the decision to only spectate on Sunday, but the fun on Saturday was way more than enough for me.
I’m still friends with a number of the folks I met that day and will forever remember their graciousness as I struggled to keep up, the laughs as I crashed many times, and most importantly, the lack of judgement towards me, my bike , or my ridiciulous ideas.
SSCXWX is coming back again this November, this time in Durango, Colorado. While I hope to be riding by then, I know that I’m definitely in for another good time.
Revisiting Marley's Favorite Rides - Bikepacking with Komorebi Cycling Team
Six years ago I went bikepacking with the Komorebi Cycling Team. My first time riding single track, a visit to the Olympic Hot Springs, and a weekend to never forget.
Starting out on the Adventure Trail. Oh how naive.
I still have dreams about the bikepacking trip I did with Komorebi Cycling Team in 2016. Before I knew what single track was, before I knew to fear a 2000’ climb in 10 miles, heck, before I knew you could get paid to do this work!
This was to date probably one of my hardest and yet most rewarding trips. Not only because I got to go with folks like Anna Brones and Meghan Sinnot (who have become good friends) but because I was introduced to a whole new world of bikepacking, pushing my limits, and body confidence.
Our route took us on nearly 27 miles of single track, which for the record, is doable but not recommended on a fully loaded gravel bike. We rode to the Olympic Hot Springs. We hiked with bikepacking gear. It was a dream.
I still think my original blog post from that trip is one of my best - you should also check out this video from Nutcase Helmets and write-up from Anna Brones for the full story.
Revisiting Marley's Favorite Rides - My First Solo Bike Tour
I can’t ride my bike currently (thanks knee surgery) so I’m revisiting some of my favorite rides. First up is my solo trip in 2015 around Puget Sound.
Dates: September 4-7, 2015
Location: Round trip from Seattle, across the Hood Canal Bridge to Bremerton and back
Ridden on the lands of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Skokomish, and Puyallup people. Learn who’s land you’re on at Native-land.ca
Original Blog Post (you should definitely read it! So many fun gems)
This trip was my first true solo bike adventure. I took off from work on the Friday of Labor Day, caught the ferry to Bainbridge Island and was off for adventure. My plan was three nights with four days of riding, totaling around 130 miles. I ended up finishing the trip in three days and two nights, with one unexpectedly long (but fun) day.
When I look back at this trip nearly seven years later ,a few things are seared into my memory:
-Hitting my day 2 campsite at 10am and deciding to ride another 60 miles. Oh, to have that kind of endurance again.
-Eating one of the most delicious burgers of my life and having it come back to haunt me later in the day.
-The life saving salvation of an ice cold chocolate milk from a gas station.
Looking back at these photos, I really need to go out on another solo adventure. To make decisions based on my body’s needs - hunger, thirst, energy. I need to sleep outside. I need to move under my own power.
