Came across this patent on an inflatable bicycle saddle. Looks like it could be useful for long rides. Does anyone know of a commercial version of this product?

https://www.newideasweekly.com/idea.p...&pid=2154&uid=

No

I've not thought about an inflatable saddle, but i did think of a heated one on my morning commute a couple of weeks ago.

https://www.allaysaddles.com/

They are inflated, but not like the ones you link. I don't think those would be comfortable. But I am kind of interested in the Allay saddles.
Heated saddle? That sounds like a good idea!

There was something at Interbike that looked vaguely like this. They were bright colors. I cannot remember the name though.

Nothing I would want to ride.

This patent seems like it was cooked up by someone who has never ridden a bicycle.

Do they make patches for that? What if it gets flat? Is it tubeless? Sew up?

It's an interesting idea. As a woman, I can say that for far too long bicycle manufacturers ignored the differences between men's and women's physiology as well as a cyclist's comfort. I'm glad things are changing, especially for saddles. Let's face it, if you can't sit comfortably on your bike, you're not going to ride it. I bought a Peugeot man's 10-speed road bike in undergraduate school because there were no specialized road bikes specifically fit for women. The factory-installed leather saddle that came on my Peugeot was the most uncomfortable saddle I've ever been on. It was too narrow and long. Women's sit bones are wider and a saddle made for a man just won't work for a woman.

Definitely thought up by someone who doesn't know how bicycle saddles actually work. There's a REASON that they're shaped the way they are. If you just wanted to sit on a big pillow, they wouldn't be shaped like that.

If you sat on something that cushy for a long ride, you may go beyond uncomfortable and actually cause permanent damage due to cutting off blood flow. You do NOT want something super soft for riding for any length of time.

You have to remember that women need a wider saddle with a short nose. Our sit bones are different. And I'm sorry, but soft doesn't necessarily equate bad. I put a new Terry saddle made for a woman's physiology on my bike this spring. It also has gel pads. It's the most comfortable saddle I've ever on a bike and I had no pain even after 25 mile rides.

Soft isn't necessarily bad, and of course the sit width has to be right. But making something soft doesn't make it right; the sit bone width STILL has to be right. Taking a bad saddle and putting a big cushion on top of it will probably make it even worse, because it'll apply extra pressure to the perineum.

Bottom line is that I think the inflatable part of this is just idiotic. Take a DECENT saddle, properly fitted, and put some good gel foam on it, and it'll be every bit as comfortable and far more durable.

Try a 25 X 4 and come back and tell us if your legs, feet, butt, and everthing else below your waist line felt like. I don't think 25 miles is really considerd a long ride. If we are talking your stamina sure, but what is considerd long in the saddle is not 25 miles.

The saddles in the link appear to only offer soft parts at the sit bones. I assume the part between that area and the nose to be flexible. Whether you need soft parts under the sit bones is a different issue and preference may depend on how long you ride. For me, I like harder saddles and the shape and curve of the seat are more of an issue as to comfort.

Yeah, I've never ridden very far. I ONLY ride to work and back, which is 11 miles one way. Once a year we have a meeting that's 35 miles away, so I get a 70 mile day in. But even back when I had a mediocre saddle, it was no big deal to just ride 70 miles (I was there, had the meeting, rode back by 1PM). It's even better now that I have a properly fitting leather (totally unpadded) saddle. The fact that many people have ridden 50+ miles per day, for thousands of miles in a row, while touring, on an unpadded leather saddle indicates to me that fit is FAR more important than padding.

Part of the problem may be that for a lot of the US population, it'd be hard to fit them properly because you probably couldn't FIND their sit bones.

I ride daily and in mountains (I'm in a 2.2 million acre forest in the far northern US Rockies) so my rides aren't in flat lands. During good weather the majority of my rides are generally on unimproved gravel forest roads. I've not had any issues with numbness or pain since installing the Terry saddle. I'm contemplating getting a folding bike for some upcoming trips by Amtrak. One of the first things I will do is replace the unisex saddle that's really made for a man's physiology with another Terry saddle made specifically for a woman.

Might want to reconsider. A friend of mine has one and likes it except he pointed out that every time he wants to ride, he has to reinflate it a bit to get it up to the pressure he prefers.

Good to know.

Saddle shape and dimensions are much more important for comfort than padding. The saddle most frequently recommended for comfort is the Brooks B17, and it is made of 1/4-inch thick leather with no padding. Gels and other padding devices can actually make you less comfortable on long rides.

I have tried numerous saddles over the years in my quest for more comfort, including several thickly padded and gel versions. By the far, the most comfortable saddles were the B17 and Fizik Vitesse, both of which have little or no padding but the right shape for my rear end.

I have a Brooks Champion Flyer spring-saddle, and a Terry Liberator Race Gel. Both have worked well for long rides (1500 mi/mo in summer, 40-100 mi days.) They're different but both are nice saddles. Not the lightest around, especially the Brooks. I grew up on a hard Italian leather saddle wearing shorts and jeans 45+ years ago, so I'm sort of adaptable.

Really, really important is smooth-surface padding in shorts and tights. Try Elastic Interface Technology. This is an Assos-proprietary product. Assos' own shorts and tights are really comfy (I've ridden S2 and S5s). But expensive. You can get Assos-licensed EIT in other brands, cheaper, but not really cheap at MSRP, but easier to find deep-discounted on overstocks and closeouts. (Gore Bike Wear, Craft, DeMarchi, Cannondale, et al.) I have seen Gore Ozon bibshorts at $75. Having ridden these for thousands of miles, I can attest they are great shorts.

For low-mileage riding, if you want to get cheap $30-50 shorts, you'll be fine. But if you start riding beyond 30 mi daily, and get abrasive discomfort, you'll want to try EIT.

You should try a not so overly padded seat desiged for women.

sheldon browns article about saddles is great...read that.

I think for most commuters, cheap shorts are fine. I'm going on 20,000 miles over 5 years with the same set of 3 $15 bike shorts I started with, and they're still fine (though a couple of then need some restitching done).

Once I got my Brooks (champion flyer) the shorts stopped making that great of a difference. They're still nicer, but I can ride 10 or 15 miles in jeans now without any trouble.

I have the perfect solution. Rather than getting an inflatable seat (and worry about another item to go flat) i'm just going to eat more and grow a bigger butt to cushion my sit bones. I assume my butt never goes flat.