Finding a comfortable bike seat

DEL 707

DEL 707

DEL 707

Soldato
Joined
20 Mar 2004
Posts
4,578
I have a hybrid bike, a Carrera Crossfire 1. I only use it on the weekends as a chance to get out and about in the country side, so it does a mixture of on-road and off-road, mainly country lanes in crappy conditions.

My main problem at the moment is finding a decent seat.
The 1 that came with the bike has given me a fair bit or bum ache, so I went along to Halfords today and bought a replacement, tried a few in the shop, with the staff helping me adjust it.

I've come away with a Selle Royal Lookin "Relaxed" seat, with Halfords telling me it's their most comfortable seat, think it was also the most expensive.

Bikebits3.jpg


So I took it for a spin around the carpark, then rid it home. Comfortable on the bum, but I was starting to get some discomfort in the area between my bum and my meat and 2 veg.

Admittedly I wasn't wearing my padded cycle shorts, very cheap pair, but is this kid of thing normal or a pretty new, casual rider? Do I need time to "toughen up"?

If not, can anyone suggest another seat?
 
Looks like a woman's saddle to me.

Padding doesn't make a saddle more comfortable, getting one the right width does. Also, it's the width of your pelvis / sit bones that matters, not the overall width of your bum.

Charge Spoon is a good option for most people.
 
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That looks horrifically uncomfortable.

As for suggestions? Unfortunately you can only find what works for you with trial and error. You need a good pair of shorts, and then to find the saddle that fits your seat bone. Wiggle's 'no questions asked' returns policy is wonderful for this, think I went through 8 or 9 different saddles before I settled on the "one" for me.
 
Thanks for the replies, definately going to take that seat back tomorrow, seems weird, but even though I got off the bike over an hour ago, still feeling a little sore down under.

I like the sound of that Charge Spoon, seems to be getting some good reviews, even though it does look far to small for my fat ****. Looking at Wiggle, I can't believe how cheap it is, it's nearly 1/2 the price I paid for my current monstrosity.
 
platypus said:
That looks horrifically uncomfortable.

As for suggestions? Unfortunately you can only find what works for you with trial and error. You need a good pair of shorts, and then to find the saddle that fits your seat bone. Wiggle's 'no questions asked' returns policy is wonderful for this, think I went through 8 or 9 different saddles before I settled on the "one" for me.
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I've been looking at replacing my saddle, I feel it's a bit narrow so most of my weight isn't on the sit bones.

Was worried about ordering a saddle and having it not be comfortable, so Wiggles returns policy would enable me to order a seat, try it out and return it?

Been looking at ISM seats as well, slightly paranoid about harming the ol' pudendal nerve!
 
Dunks said:
I've been looking at replacing my saddle, I feel it's a bit narrow so most of my weight isn't on the sit bones.

Was worried about ordering a saddle and having it not be comfortable, so Wiggles returns policy would enable me to order a seat, try it out and return it?
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Yeah thats exactly what I did over the course of a few months. No point trying a saddle and seeing if it fits either - you need to ride with it because you need to make sure its comfortable in most positions - obviously not possible to do that much testing but it's still great.

I even told wiggle on the reasons for return form that the saddles didn't fit and I was going to carry on until I found one that did.
 
your arse eventually mans up but if it's pushing the nerves etc near your groin its worse than a sore buttock you will get serious damage over time

Stick a piece of printer paper on your stairs and sit on it then measure the dents from your sit bones and do what it says at the bottom of this chart.

JFmvNkC.jpg

the pressure is supposed to be on your bones so gel padded seat etc are worthless and just put the pressure on your groin and nerves
 
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Hard to tell from the photo but the saddle looks a little nose up?

It can take a little while to toughen that area if you're bit riding a lot, but you should know pretty instantly if its just plain uncomfy.

Also avoid wide saddles, they just end up pushing your hips apart.
 
I took the ball crusher back to Halfords today and got a refund.
Then went a local bike shop and got them to order a Charge Spoon for me, was only £2 more then Wiggle. Had a chat with the guy and made sure I could return it if I'm not happy.
 
Went and got my new saddle today, just had a quick ride infront of the house, wasn't the world of comfort I was expecting. :eek:

I'm doing an Ashford to Canterbury cycle tomorrow, think I might take my old seat along in my saddle bags, just incase. :p
 
Why not buy some padded shorts/bibs? I expected the worse from my road bike saddle first getting it, got the shorts/bibs and it's been absolutely fine (first couple of rides were a bit uncomfortable). I went for bibs and just wear a top over the top as the shoulder straps at least keep the pad from moving while riding.
 
DEL 707 said:
Went and got my new saddle today, just had a quick ride infront of the house, wasn't the world of comfort I was expecting. :eek:

I'm doing an Ashford to Canterbury cycle tomorrow, think I might take my old seat along in my saddle bags, just incase. :p
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get some padded undershorts? what are you riding in?
 
I have some baggy padded shorts, won't look very attractive in the tight 1's. :p

Wasn't wearing them today, but I'll be wearing them tomorrow.
 
Did my Ashford to Canterbury cycle today, probably clocked over 25 miles and a good 2+ hours in the seat.

New saddle and in my cheap padded shorts, went alright, but after 2 hours my bum started to ache. Riding home from Ashford station was quite discomforting! :eek:

Having to ease myself into chairs at the moment.
 
arknor said:
you're supposed to stand out the saddle for a bit every 10-20 minutes and let the blood flow to your ass
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What?

Anyway, back to the issue at hand.....

Discomfort on your bum is normal, after a little while your buttocks acclimatise and you don't get it any more.

Discomfort on your perineum (what was stated in the OP) is very different and it sounds like your change if saddle as pretty much resolved this, yes?
 
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