My old Nishiki came with this ugly brown seat on it. I have not taken the time to go buy a new one yet so I have been riding with this ancient torture device on there. This seat seems to be one with the seat post so none of my other seats will fit and the post size is different. Will I need to get a new post or are there seats readily available which will work on this post?

Hello pitchpole. no the seat and post are not 'one'. while that is not the best type of post available, you can fromove the seat and put a new on it. you need to loosen one of the nuts, that will loosen the 'clamp' enough so you can get the seat off. if you check you local bike shop they might have a bin of "take off" seats and I am sure you will find one you like better than that one for a decent price.

and remember that old torture device was what most of had to ride back when that b ike was new. and for some a seat like that in good shape is more comfortable than the new super thin super light ones we have to use.

At least the body of the seat is flexible plastic. One of my Nishikis came with a similar faux-quilted leather seat made out of stamped sheet metal.

That one looks like it has the crown on it that wedges apart the sit bones. Flat steel, or a 2x6 would be better.

I know the seat can be taken off I just did not know if this was a common design or some old type that is not made anymore. The seats I have from other cycles wont clamp on because the center piece is too wide.

That's pretty surprising. Those rails are usually standard on nearly all saddles both with regard to their diameter and the distance they are apart. Sometimes you have to tighten the clamp for the rails to seat in the clamp though.

You might be able to find a spacer for the seatpost if you want to get a new seatpost. Niagaracycle.com has tons of them.

There's also the padded seat covers you can get at Wal-mart.

You do wear padded shorts, don't you? I believe all but the lowest end road bike saddles are designed with them in mind, and Nishiki is a pretty good brand.

I was thinking of that cartoon as well, but you beat me to it.