glassman

https://www.spongywonder.com/

I was wondering if anyone here uses this bike seat? I ride 100-125 miles a week and was thinking it might be good to use a seat like this. I am not having any pains or problems but I was talking with a customer at a bike shop and he said he had to have surgery and he had to use a similar seat.

I also found this seat
https://shop.store.yahoo.com/hobsonseats/easyseat.html
but this one is a little different
https://shop.store.yahoo.com/hobsonse...bsonseat1.html


Now this one looks cool
https://www.comfortsaddle.com/

FarHorizon

I tried one very similar called the "Easy Seat" or something like that. I rode it one day (for about 15-20 miles) and took it off. Since there's no "nose" to the saddle I couldn't ride with no hands (no way for the thighs to control the bike). Also, the saddle was a "one and only one" position type saddle. Once you sat on it, there was nowhere to move around to. This lack of potential movement made me sore by the end of the ride. On the positive side, there's no perenial pressure so you don't get numb or sore.

glassman

The easy seat one says
Easyseats are easy to adjust, and are built to last. Lateral adjustment of the cups is achieved by loosening the thumb screws and sliding the cups along the support tube to the desired width. Tilt is adjusted as on any ordinary bicycle seat.

Thanks for your reply, I read a post talking about problems that could happen with regular seats and was just looking for alternatives.

FarHorizon

If you want a REAL alternative to bicycle seats, look at recumbent bicycles. They have an "easy chair" that you sit in (not on) that are supposed to be the ultimate in comfort.

glassman

I don't want that, I ordered a Scattante CFR and it will be here tomorrow. I was just looking at alternatives and wondered if anyone on the forums used something like this.

FarHorizon

Try the seat that comes on the Scattante - you may like it! Happy riding!

KeithA

Well, given that on one ride, I was feeling it (you know what I mean), I have to say I'm intrigued. Since then, I've worn my cycling shorts and haven't had any problems, but I'm not sure if the two are related. So, I'm going to keep an open mind about it. Certain things I'm not willing to risk...even for cycling.

JavaMan

Glassman, I made a seat like that once, and on the test drive I was surprised at how bad it was! The bike lost it's handling, and I felt like I was going to fall off whenever I turned. There was no way to keep from sliding off the back or either side. All in all, it is a bad, even dangerous design.

Get a regular seat that supports mainly your sit bones!

glassman

I know what you mean, while I have not experienced any problems, I don't want to.
I am thinking about trying the spongwonder, it has a good guarantee

What if I'm not completely happy?
If you are not completely happy you may return your SPONGY WONDER BIKE SEAT within 70 days from the date your seat was mailed and we will refund the total purchase price!

If I don't like it, I can send it back, what can it hurt to try it?

GrannyGear

Glassman,
I've had seat talk up the wazoo!! Just kidding. My concern is mirrored by someone above...you can't move fore and aft (fore for spinning and aft for heavy pushing) to get a little variety on the sit bones. With no real basis for thinking so, I still wonder if these seats aren't intended more for short hops to the store or neighborhood cruises with a pretty upright position. Hardly what your new Scattante is intended for.

MORE IMPORTANTLY: Give us a review of your new bike and some pics once you get it tweaked and have some fun with it. Pretty exciting stuff!

glassman

I will be posting pics, I bought a digital scale at Bass Pro shops today and will weigh the bike. I have been playing with the scale a little, I may become a weight weenie...lol

GrannyGear

Glassman,
Cool idea now that you have a digital scale. Let's get out the Black and Decker and start drilling out the Scattante, them maybe the helmet, figure a way to do your water bottles, lose as many chain links as possible, etc.
Maybe its time for bed here.
Night all.

Digital Gee

I carry powdered water. It's much lighter than the reconstituted stuff.

cheeseflavor

I've still got two of these.

When I started biking, early last year, I was just coming off a 30 month bout of prostatitis and the act of sitting on a "regular" bicycle seat was unbearable. Hell, I couldn't even wear briefs. This saddle is what permitted me to start biking and I went through a lot with one of these. Probably 3 thousand miles easy if I think about it. I had it on a comfort bike, a hybrid, a Specialized Sequoia and until recently, my Roubaix.

It was a great investment for me at the time.

Steve

biker7

Steve...my sense is you have moved on? If so, why did you change and what saddle did you choose that you found liveable?
Thanks,
George

glassman

Are you still using it? Most of the testimonials I read from users of these types of saddles do not appear to be from road riders. But I am still thinking about trying one out. Thanks for posting. I see in you sig you must be using this saddle now, how do you like it?

cheeseflavor

George,

I really didn't have a good reason. The saddle was working great for me. It was a very, very comfortable saddle, and I could literally spend hours in it (and did on many occasions). However, I felt it may have been slowing me down due to there being no horn when I was in the drops and that my hands were bothering me a bit.

By last June, my symptoms had subsided to the point where I could actually ride a conventional saddle so I thought I'd try one. I got a Brooks, but that wasn't the answer (numbness hours after the ride), so I ended up with a Specialized Alias which I really, really like.

Knowing the chances of a reoccurance of prostatitis, I hang onto the Spiderflex just in case.

Take care,

Steve

cheeseflavor

I like it a lot. No numbness. No pain. It looks really firm, but it's every bit as comfortable (more so for me) than the Brooks B.17 I tried to like. I've got about 500 miles on it and I like it more all the time. Good saddle.

Steve

GrannyGear

Steve,
Size is relative of course, but what width Alias are you using?....I think the 155mm Alias matches the 155mm width of a B-17. The next, middle-sized Alias is 143mm. My Regal is around 150mm as a reference.

I just traded Dan (thanks FarHorizon for our brief but glorious Parts Exchange!) a B-17 for his 155 Alias.
David.

biker7

I have a B.17 if someone wants to embark on a parts exchange for an Alias 143. I would like to try an Alias saddle. I measured my sit bones and contacted Specialized and they suggested a 143mm width if riding in the drops frequently which I do. One's sit bones narrow when rotating pelvis forward for riding in the drops. My bike is deliberately not set up aggressively with less than an inch from saddle to handlebar height delta. My sit bone spacing is 113mm or so the best I could measure.
George

cyclintom

Especially the hydrogen component.

cyclintom

Saddles I've tried:

Selle Italia: Flite, Flite SLR, Flite Gel - yuck, don't fit me and can't find a comfortable position.

Fi-zik: Aliante - comfortable but limited size means you can't move around much. Also very expensive for no reason.

Selle San Marco Saddles:

Rolls: too squishy soft.

Concur: These seem to vary a bit but the wider ones work very well for me and are super light.

Regal: Perfect

Several Regal-shaped models: excellent

Aspide: Super light, Super hard, yet surprisingly comfortable. Can't move around a lot on it like on the Regal (Tom Boonen rides a Regal so weight isn't every consideration).

Specialized saddles: Since they started making "body geometry" saddles they work very well as long as you get the proper width. Many Specialized dealers have some loaner models that you can try.

Vetta: Made a Concur look alike that worked well for me on a cyclocross bike.

biker7

Nice review Tom. The Aspide looks nice...but a bit narrow at 130mm's and not sure it will work with my sit bone spacing. Hear good things about the Rever and would like to try the Specialized Toupe as it looks like a very nice saddle as well. You seem to really like the Regal and I don't know anything about it.
George

glassman

Specialized saddles: Since they started making "body geometry" saddles they work very well as long as you get the proper width. Many Specialized dealers have some loaner models that you can try.

How do you measure for proper width? Is there a chart somewhere that tells you?

GrannyGear

BikerZ,
Regarding Regals, I've ridden them for years and they're still available (not currently thru Performance or Nashbar) just do a search-- $80 to $100 or so. Plastic base, leather covered saddle fairly wide by today's racing standards at 150mm. Not particularly light but lighter than a B-17. The rivets are cool but merely cosmetic. Fairly firm saddle under your behind. Appearance wise, to me it has an elegant look.

The perforated leather version, if still available, looks good but doesn't wear as well...tends to tear when the bike inevitably falls over from time to time. (Rubber cement, etc work well enough on those little tears.) Also, the perf wears on "rubbing" areas like the nose--for those of us with fat thighs! Overall, both learther covered versions wear well over many miles--the padding is dense and doesn't noticably pack down much.

Overall, the saddle was marketed as a plush, luxury saddle in the mid 80's...one snake skin covered model sold for big bucks at the time.

I try other saddles....but come back to the gool ol' Regal. We all are waiting and eager for that rumor of the next saddle, surely the final, perfect one, eh--just over the next hill! After 60 miles or so, I don't think any saddle is going to be truly "comfy"...some are just less of a pain in the ***
David.