SEAT question please
 

I have had a few seats on my beach cruiser looking for the most comfy. My question is, is there a way to adjust spring tension on these seats? I have a Nirve seat and a couple C9',s and they all have NO spring action at all. I weigh 180 and can't bounce those springs if I try. They're USELESS unless I weigh 300-400 Lbs....and I don't. So, is there an adjustment? Longer studs? PLEASE do not suggest different shape seats or foam Vs Gel, as I only ask about the springs in this thread. If you have a suggestion/answer, please elaborate. Thank you

Not really.
they are what they are .. if you remove them you can anneal the spring temper
and then they will just break with out rebound.

maybe you can not worry about the springs,
the fat tires should be suspension enough..

take a look at some of the Brooks sprung saddles those may appeal
to your sense of bike traditions.

Could be that the springs are not only meant to handle the heavier riders (they are usually well represented among the customers who choose these kind of saddles imo), but are also meant to handle the biggest bumps, that might actually hurt, without bottoming out.

If you want a tuned-suspension effect, then the springs would have to be replaced. I can't recall seeing adjustable saddle springs, but there are adjustable suspension seat posts.

And know that anything that alters the temper of a steel spring won't change it's characteristic stiffness, unless the spring is pre-loaded so heavily that it takes a large threshold load to initiate movement, in which case a torch blast might reduce the preload force, but would also weaken the steel and lead to sagging and breakage.

If you heat it, its no longer a spring.

-SP

i bought a serfas e-gel seat for 32 bucks few weeks ago. put that on my suspension seat post and its like sitting on a pillow. very comfortable

I've been to DOZENS of bike shops and tried many seats on many bikes in the showrooms and it seems that just about every seat the springs are useless with my 180 lbs on it. No action at all. I can't believe that seat manufacturers really believe that a huge percent of riders are 3-400 lbs. At least that's how the springs are calibrated. I bought a cheap $90 Walmart Stingray yrs ago and the springer front end functions as expected (nice and springy). Why can't I get a $50 seat that works as expected?

I know I will probably get hate mail for this but--------------------get a recumbent.

I'm not buying any more seats. If I can't fix/adjust what I have, I'll just deal with it

Why do you feel that you need "spring" in your saddle? The vast majority of riders don't. Have you thought about a suspension seatpost?

The springs shouldn't really move a lot. Not like a suspension. They are meant to be just enough to take some of the sting out of the bumps.

I feel that since the spring is there, it should WORK. I'm an auto mechanic. I work on special interest cars only. 1970 and older American cars. So, that's how my mind works. If it's there, it should be functional. When I ride and I see a bump up ahead, I reach back and put my fingers on the spring.....and there's no "action" at all, regardless of how severe the bump is. So, I find myself lifting my butt off the seat when I come up on a bump. Kinda defeats the purpose of the spring being there. So, in answer to your question "do I need a spring? Maybe not. But, I WANT it, and since it's there, why not get it to "work"? In my shop, if something doesn't work, I find out why, and fix it. That's what I do. So, I felt I'd come to you guys that know a lot more about bikes to learn. I WILL FIND A SOLUTION. My fear is I'll waste a LOT of time experimenting. So, I come you guys....to learn. I'm confident someone out there has addressed this issue. Thanks again

My springs don't move at all, ever. Not even with my 240 Lb friend trying my bike.

BTW, I ride a decent amount. I rode 24 miles just yesterday on a Dahon folding bike.....and I watch spring action on most bikes when I follow.......and it seems the older bikes have more seat spring action (when manufacturers made stuff that worked instead of just visually copying parts)

Interesting that you say this, since so many cars have ornamental features (scoops and vents and fins and tails) that do nothing. :p

Most of the good sprung saddles have stiff springs, and they are designed so that they won't bounce all the time.

I doubt the springs on my seats were ever meant as ornamental features. That said, I want my springs to work.

People are much heavier these days, and for sure a saddle with too-soft springs would cause more trouble for an obese individual than would a pair of too-hard springs for a ligher rider.

So, the default is for supplying the heavier spring.

I understand the reason. This thread is my search for the fix

Unless you do expedition touring, you don't need a sprung saddle. When conditions get rough, just unweight your saddle briefly until the bad portions pass. If things are really rough for a longer period, you might want to combine wider/lower pressure tires with a suspension seatpost. For most uses, an unsprung saddle is just fine. Look at all of the mountain bikers who ride hardtails.

I don't "need"...but I "want" the springs to work since they are there

Then you're not testing them properly. They are "doing" exactly what they were designed to do. If you were to measure the effects from a sudden bump, fall into a pothole or off of an unexpected curb, you might find that your decceleration will create several g's of downward force on those springs. At your weight, this might be 400 or so lbs, which would undoubtedly deflect the springs. Their purpose is to absorb those forces at a spring constant that reflects that intent. Your static weight is not the issue.

BTW, you wouldn't want the springs to deflect at roughly your weight, you'd wind up "bobbing" as you mashed the pedals under load. Ever followed a dual suspension mountain bike rider up a smoothly paved hill, expecially one with a low spring constant or underdamping on the rear shock? That bob is energy loss.

The springs on the Brooks B72 are stiff, too.

I'm a hot rodder. I've been modifying cars to perform closer to my liking for years. The springs may be doing what you say they're supposed to do. But, I want them to do what I want them to do. So it's time for me to modify/change/adjust my seat springs. I'm not going to add a seat post spring. I want to "fix" what I have. I understand what you're saying. I never ride over potholes and curbs. If I did, I'd just stand on the pedals. I want to try something in between the useless stiffness I have now and the soft bobbing you describe. I was hoping that this thread might save me some time before I jump in with my experimenting.

Then quit using the word "fix." ;)

It would be irresponsible for me to suggest this, but if the springs are solid (not hollow), perhaps you could get them to "respond" sooner by thinning their diameter somehow.

You might consider a Brooks that is sprung in the front as well as the rear, like a B33. The thinner "stranded" springs in the rear might do exactly what you want.

What word should I use instead of "fix"? Is that word confusing the issue at hand? Does it not make my point? OK, are we past that one now? My thoughts were to maybe experiment with some light valve springs from a small car engine since I have access to a wide variety of those through my local auto machine shop. BUT, I though I'd ask here FIRST in case there were a simpler way that this novice cyclist is not aware of. For cars there are also different shock/spring combos to tune a car suspension for performance or comfort. SO, before I beat my head against the wall I'd see if maybe someone offers an assortment of seat springs to tune the seat for different weight riders. make sense? I mean I see a LOT of things offered in bike shops to make the bike lighter.....was I an idiot to believe someone might offer something in what I'm looking for to make that bike more comfortable? Yes, I know there are many shape/size seats of different padding materials.....so was I wrong in thinking that just one person might offer a variety of springs to offer choices on the bottom of the seat as well as the top?

At least for me, "fix" implies that the device is not working as designed. When you bore out an engine block to take larger pistons, that's not "fixing" it but "modifying" it. ;)

I can't see your picture very well -- what model of saddle are you working with?