Recreational & Family - Bike saddle for kids

I think my 7 yr. old daughter is ready for longer bike rides. In the past when we go for longer rides she complains about her butt hurting. If you've ever tried sitting on the seat that comes w/ a standard kids bike you know they are brutally uncomfortable. Does anyone have a recommendation for a saddle for a child? Preferably something cheap. I do plan to get her some padded shorts for Christmas so hopefully that will help too.

The saddles seem to get slightly better as the bikes get bigger.

I do like the saddle that came with a Kona we bought. I do not know if they are sold separately.

I picked this up on eBay for my daughter.
It's a child sized sprung saddle with padding - NOS.
It's for her 1930s style British path racer I made for her out of a '73 Raleigh Mountie (tiny version of a standard Raleigh, with 20" skinny wheels)
Kid's seats show up on eBay every now and then and they are always inexpensive as no one else ever bids on them.

You could get something like this and transfer it to future bikes you get for her.
http://www.terrybicycles.com/product_images/display/21185.gif
http://www.terrybicycles.com/saddles/detail.html?item_no=21185

You could get something like this and transfer it to future bikes you get for her.
http://www.terrybicycles.com/product_images/display/21185.gif
http://www.terrybicycles.com/saddles/detail.html?item_no=21185

$71 for a seven year old kid's saddle!?!

$71 for a seven year old kid's saddle!?!

Well, I bought my 12-year-old a Specialized Phenom. Cost me $85. It's worth every penny when he rides with me.

Kid sized saddles are not plentiful. While the above saddles are nice, they are for the most part adult sized (except for the red sprung saddle). They will do okay, and frankly kids generally adjust to about any bike irregularity.

Since OP's daughter has problems with the current saddle and there are no ready solutions, their best bet will be to go to an LBS to have her try a few. Many LBS's realize the difficulty in finding a comfortable saddle and will exchange them. Our local Performance store as well as other area stores do this. I am confident the OP will be able to find the same in their area.

We have a saddle cover on our son's saddle. Its a NEMO cover that has a toggle cord. Is a generic saddle from a kids bike but it works...

We use Serfas Reactive Gel Youth Saddles on our fleet of kid bikes. See them at the Serfas site here (http://www.serfas.com/product.asp?ProductID=41). Generally we can find them for about $20.

http://www.serfas.com/images/large/KS-264.jpg

Steve

There are a lot of children saddles below $10 actually.
1)http://www.bikebarn.co.nz/Product/STS0362811/Velo_Kids_White_Saddle
2)http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-Velo-Velo-Juvenile-kids-saddle--for-up-to-16inch-bikes-12514.htm
3)http://www.bonthronebikes.co.uk/494-0
The issue is quality and you will have to think upon it carefully as well as just simply about the fact that your daughter will be growing. Thus you will have to buy a new saddle plenty of times. Wouldn't it be easier to spend some money now and to buy a good and comfortable saddle that she will be able to use when she becomes older?

I have refurbished quite a few kids bikes, and one thing most of them have in common is that the saddle is scuffed and worn on the sides, where kids lay or drop them. I'd hesitate to pay much money for one, unless I was sure the kid wouldn't treat it the way most of them do.

I have refurbished quite a few kids bikes, and one thing most of them have in common is that the saddle is scuffed and worn on the sides, where kids lay or drop them. I'd hesitate to pay much money for one, unless I was sure the kid wouldn't treat it the way most of them do.

Exactly what I was thinking when I said: $71 for a seven year old kid's saddle!?!

Thanks for the input. I have an extra adult saddle. I'm going to give that a try w/ a padded cover. If that doesn't work I'll try the $20 Serfas Youth Saddle.