Hi Lexicalie.
A good and properly fitting saddle is really important for women. I spent years racing on saddles designed for men because, other than huge bulky padded saddles, nobody made a racing saddle designed for women. I have to say the discomfort at times was near intolerable. It was with huge delight that on my return to cycling after a lay-off I discovered "female specific" saddles designed for racing, touring, mountain biking and any other bike you care to ride. Female saddles do not have as long a nose as those for men, and they do need to be a little wider in the butt. There are two important factors: Make sure you get one with a cut away (i.e. not rounded on top), either with a hole straight through the saddle, or a deep depression. Secondly you need to measure the width between your sit bones (forgive me if you already know this). These are the two bones you can feel in your butt - the easiest way is to sit on a foam filled chair seat or something similar like memory foam, note where the depressions are when you stand up again - then measure the distance between them. This gives you the size of saddle you need - the bones sitting on the side pads of the saddle. I use a 155cm saddle. My racing bike has a lightweight female Selle with hole in middle, my mountain bike has a Bontrager standard female saddle (with depression but no hole) which I could ride on all day, and my Thorn tourer has a standard Thorn female specific saddle with depression, which I can and do ride on all day with absolutely no discomfort. Saddles with too much bulk and too wide cause your hips to rock side to side when you pedal, which will eventually give you saddle sores and sore hips - so avoid too much padding. If your saddle is right, your position on the bike, any bike, i.e. on the drops, upright etc will all be accomodated.
Hope this helps Good luck.
