rhinomike

Me and my wife just got our first bikes. We got Electra Townies 21 speed. See link below. I have recently lost about 60 pounds. I am now 310 pounds and about 6' 1" tall. I want to ride as much as possible. It is funner than a treadmill. I love the bike so far. The first day we rode about 6 miles. The seat really hurt my butt. Yesterday I tried to push thru and we rode 12 miles. My butt hurts soooo much. I could of went much further if my butt didnt hurt. I ride a Harley and know that it will get better with time..... But I think I need a new, bigger, better seat. Right now it has the stock seat on it. My butt hurts inside (sore) and it is raw (sorry if that is TMI...LOL). I cant even ride today it hurts so bad. Oh yeah.... Money is not an issue.

Also maybe some bike shorts would help? I am just wearing sweat shorts and a T Shirt. I dont want to be the fat guy riding down the street in spandex so is it ok to wear sweat shorts over them or will that defeat the purpose.


Sorry if these are dumb questions.... But I am a newbie. I havent owned or rode a bike in 20 years...

So what seat do you guys recomend? Bike shorts? Anyo ther thoughts or suggestions. Thanks guys and gals.

https://www.electrabike.com/Bikes/tow...21d-bikes-mens

TrojanHorse

Shorts will definitely help and although it defies common sense, a harder saddle will probably help. You can find lycra short liners to wear UNDER "normal" shorts if you want or just find some mountain bike shorts.

For example: Liners - https://www.performancebike.com/bikes...92_-1___400065

Baggy bike shorts: - https://www.love2pedal.com/Items/Item...ce%20of%20Size

You probably need to raise your seat too, just as a total guess.

wfournier

So a search, I'm not saying this to be a jerk rather that you will get more information than we could ever hope to put into one thread. In short bike shorts will help. Just looked at the picture, big padded saddles like that are meant to make someone think "this is comfy" while they ride the bike around the store. Long term they are likely not going to be comfortable and cause problems with pressure points. That bike looks made for a Brooks B17 IMO (I'm basing this on riding position not necessarily looks).

jethro56 

Most people have sore butts when beginning to ride. Wider saddles are only good for very short rides. I'd stick with what you have for awhile. Unlike riding motorcycles your legs are rubbing the saddle. Wider makes this worse. That with sweat causes saddle sores. The padding (chamois) wicks the moisture away in cycling shorts to help with sores. I use this product as well https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...0052_506940_-1___

As far as shorts most of us like bibs https://www.love2pedal.com/store/cate...t=1&catid=8255 has been a good source and Dan@love2pedal.com would be happy to help you with sizing.

fietsbob

LBS, here, has a dozen types on the wall and a ride a while and exchange policy
to sort thru the choices.

it's between Your bum and saddle not mine, so what works for me
may not work for you..

Traditional thick leather saddles such as Brooks have made a comeback.
because only leather will suspend between 2 rigid ends , and then
begin to give way making a pocket for the rider's individual pelvis structure.
and as they absorb and evaporate sweat will let it pass..

CJ C

in you haven't ridden in years then you arse will hurt for a month. no saddle will change that in the first month. no after the 10th ride its the same then you have a problem

also they do make bike shorts underwear. I have a pair of GORE bike wear (w/ windstopper) that i wear basketball shorts over. love them

IBOHUNT

Well said.

I *used* to think wider and squisier was better and even went as far as to add a gel pad to a squish saddle. Went form bad to worse. Now my road saddle is a Fi'zi:k Arione and my MTB saddle is a Specialized Phenom gel that I picked up for $30 new

dcrowell

On my first "real" bike I switched from the stock gel saddle to a Brooks B17 and after some "toughening up" it was much better.

CraigB

Chewing tinfoil is more fun than a treadmill.

Welcome to the wonderful world of cycling, by the way.

jethro56 

Hi. My name is Jeff and its been 10 days since I recomended a B17 to someone.

Seve

Have a read through this article regarding a comfortable bicycle saddle, it may help out. https://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html Your bike is designed for an upright riding position where a significant amount of weight is on the saddle as opposed to a road bike. A wider saddle will generally be more suitable for this style of bike. Some examples can be found here. https://www.brooksengland.com/catalog...+&+heavy+duty/ Brooks is just one brand, but, it should give you an idea of the general shape of saddle you should be looking for.

OKIE_55

When I started, 7 months ago, my LBS said to put a few hundred miles on the factory saddle first, then go from there as to what type of saddle to get. As it turns out, it's not so bad now, but not good enough for a 4hr ride. Was told to look at the SMP saddles, (save my prostate), so I'm checking them out now. I stood up so much my feet hurt as well, but that all got better in time.

Good luck, just keep riding, it gets better.

Judi

The townie saddle is just not that comfortable. And the squeaks and creaks it makes no matter how much you lube it don't help either.

I had a schwinn cruiser saddle that was squishy and covered with a spandex-type material that cost $25 or $30 at Walmart and had springs, not the rubber pieces (think those are elastomers). That saddle held up to my weight perfectly. Once I had to twist one of the springs back into position, but other than that it held my weight for ten or more miles a day without complaint. When I replaced my bike, I put the schwinn saddle on my daughter's bike because she was tired of wearing the shorts with the chamois (thinks those cause butt pimples haha). Since then, I have been suffering with that hard and squeaky Townie saddle. I want to replace it. The schwinn saddle was like riding a couch, except that it was better exercise. The townie doesn't lodge between my sit bones and cause agony the way that a basic mountain bike saddle does, but there's nothing comfortable about it. My townie came with the white saddle, it's blue now because I rode it with jeans on. I would take my old schwinn seat back from my daughter but I think she'd have a fit. I have to wait until some weekend when my husband is totally distracted (and won't notice more bicycle expenses) and buy another schwinn saddle.

My littlest daughter has an Electra with springs, she says her seat is comfortable but we never take her on rides longer than 5 miles.

Yo Spiff

That's too long. Did you have any withdrawal pains?

I ride a Brooks as well. A Team Pro on one road bike, Colt on the other. Both fairly narrow saddles. I may put a B17 on the tandem. They get comfier with each ride. They will never be squooshy soft, but my butt rarely aches. I think the last time it did, I eventually realized I had put my riding shorts on backwards. Speaking of which, I have no problem being a fat guy in lycra. The clothes are designed that way for a reason. I had some baggy MTB shorts until I lost enough to fit back into my lycra roadie stuff again. Never liked the baggies nearly as much. I can understand the concern, however. Wear whatever you find works best for you.

If you really do want a large gel saddle, I have one of these that came off a used hybrid I bought. If you would like it, just cover the postage for me.

rhinomike

Wow. Thank you for all of the reply's. I really apreciate all of the help. We were at Sports Chalet and my wife saw this seat cover (Click on below link) so she bought it for me. I put it on last night and went for a 6 mile ride with my boys. What a difference. It was much better. Not perfect but definately made it better. I think this will hold me over until I get used to it. Thanks again for all of the info. After a week or so I will update again. Maybe then it will be time for a new seat or I will be used to it.

https://www.sportchalet.com/product/3...ortby=ourPicks

goldfinch

Aren't Townies crank forward bikes? The seats that are comfortable on those types of bikes may differ from what is comfortable on a more conventional bike and may tend to be wider.

Or I could be wrong.

Judi

Yup, they're crank forward and you sit a lot more solidly on your buns than you do with most bikes. The wide seat is helpful but the one that the townie comes with is just plain hard.

That cover looks good, just make sure you check the tightness of the drawstring every so often.

I bought my squishy Schwinn cruiser seat tonight and put it on my Townie, while the hubby was distracted (I bought 400 lbs of topsoil and let him load it while I did the rest of the shopping )

redeyedtreefr0g

PM sent, Yo Spiff