Best Seats That Don't Pressure The Important Soft Parts Down There?
 

Which seats would you recommend for daily urban commuting and weekend fitness and light touring rides? Something that will have you sitting on your sit bones and not the important soft parts down there, and will still offer good cushion and shock absorption?

Overly soft seats have a tendency to collapse under your weight and pressure soft areas that shouldn't be pressured.

I'd sincerely appreciate your thoughts.

Been getting back into cycling and loving it. Have gotten great advice here.

No way to know what will fit you best without trying. I like traditional leather utility saddles like Brooks as I ride sitting upright.

As you likely know, l this is a highly personalized thing. Upright, Brooks saddles seem to work well for a lot of people. But, if you are really talking about riding on your sitz bones, in a pelvis rotated position, SMP saddles are really worth demo-ing. Be sure to try one of the $100 Extras before you pop for one of their $200-400 pro designs.

I was used to my comfort seat on my cruiser, put it on my uptown, really disliked how that felt. A few weeks of using the stock seat and i cant imagine using anything else.

- Andy

You just have to try different saddles. I suppose you can get scientific about it, measure the distance between your sit bones and look for compatible models, but there will still be trial and error required.

Try adjusting the angle of your saddle, or of any saddle. Very small changes from horizontal. A slight nose up angle often helps position your bottom on the rear, wider part of the saddle. Brooks saddles especially often benefit from this.

To elaborate, the comfort seat i was using has about a half inch of gel with about another half inch of foam under that, and the stock breezer seat has about a half inch of a higher density material that "dents in" where your sit bones rest to keep you from shifting, bt soft enough to be comfy on longer and rougher rides. For real the first 2-3 weeks with the new seat was really uncomfortable, but my body i guess got used to it or the material wore in or something, but i swear it seems more comfortable than the old serfas gel comfort seat....

I had the TB40C, but i think you may want to look at a trimmer model.

https://www.serfas.com/products/index_riding_style/75/3

- Andy

I personally use an ISM Typhoon and it's great. This company has a full line of seats that address soft tissue issues.

Adamo Road | Innovative SaddleMaker

Bicycles do not have seats, they have saddles (unless they're recumbents, or trikes, or other unholy, unnatural devil machines). You have to use the lingo if you want to be in the club. A seat supports all of your weight, a saddle is sat upon, but weight is also dispersed through the pedals and through your arms. Now why a saddle sits on a seatpost, which is inserted into a seattube, is one of life's little mysteries.

Like others have said, many prefer leather suspension saddles like Brooks. I recently tried their rubber saddle and it's HEAVEN. The shape and angle of the saddle will help determine how it sits....combined with your position and the bike's size. The same saddle can feel differently on a different bike with different positioning. The only way to get it right is experimentation, but a Brooks is likely a good place to start.

I agree.

While I too use Brooks, mountainwalker should be warned that they have zero padding. They are not a "seat". If you try to ride them that way, you are in for a world of hurt. If you ride them like a proper saddle, i.e. as a means of support while using your arms and legs properly, they are quite comfortable but if you are looking for a marshmallow to cushion you, look elsewhere.

The sprung and wider Brooks saddles actually aren't bad in those applications! The truth is that all the padding in the world isn't going to be comfortable over significant distance; your butt is still pressing down on a fixed surface. The shape of the surface, and give of suspension, is more important than padding.

I have a lot more weight down of the saddle when I ride this more upright position:

http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/a...t/photo-45.jpg

The wider rear definitely helps, and I do notice that the springs help after distance as well.

Basically anything that has the proper width in the back of the saddle, doesn't have too much cushion (I think maybe 10mm is the max cushion I'd want), and most importantly, is installed correctly, with the reach to the bars, the angle to the pedals and the tilt of the saddle correct. You can wind up sliding off the wide part and putting pressure on the narrow bit of the saddle if any of those is wrong.

I don't disagree but if mountainwalker doesn't know how ride properly on a bike, putting a Brooks on a bike isn't going to solve his problem. He (or she) needs to develop the proper technique or the Brooks would go to waste.

first you should get your sits bone measured to find out which width suits you.
next look saddles with a full center cut out take to the pressure off the perennial area for the boys sake .
that's what did no more numbness or pain.
also you'll have to experiment with the saddle adjustment.

And proving that much of this is subjective, I HATE those cuts in the saddle...they always seem to cause more pain in the sides of my leg. You'll figure this out by riding the bikes, moving the saddle position and learning what will work from the feedback you get.

"Riding properly" BWAHAHAHAHA ! What is that exactly​ ? I get pain in the tush if I'm noodling. If I'm all out or at least "at tempo" -which cannot be sustained for more than 2 hrs at best- little to no pain. There is no properly.

Where can I learn about this technique? [Seriously, I'm not funnin' you, I had no idea there was technique I should be using on my saddle].

Yes, there is a "properly" when it comes to riding a bike. Many people don't know this and they end up not being able to ride for very long times without pain. I tour by bicycle and can ride for 6 to 8 hours without suffering.

Well, as with most things bicycle handling related, you can learn a lot more about how to ride properly by riding a mountain bike off-road. Most people ride a bike like they are sitting on a seat...they "sit" on it, like a sack of potatoes. Doing so is hard on the bike and hard on the rider. Every impact lifts you (and the bike) off the ground. To avoid the problem, ride "lighter" in the saddle. You use your legs and arms as well as the saddle to support you but you don't really "sit" on the saddle. It's a very dynamic way to ride rather than the more common passive way that people ride bikes.

If you don't use your legs and arms on a mountain bike off-road, you'll not go more than a few miles. The terrain will just beat you to pieces. You learn how to float over terrain rather than just slam into it out of self preservation.

On the road, you can be lazy and let the bike take more punishment but at a price to your delicate bits. For on the road, start by anticipating impacts. Look further down the road and when you see any cracks or surface irregularities, lift off the saddle slightly. You can do it while you pedal or, for big cracks, you can coast over them. Relax your arms and knees as you approach the crack and let your arms and legs flex at the joints to absorb the shock. If you feel the shock at your saddle, get a little higher off the saddle for the next one.

Again, I agree. The ones I've tried are far more uncomfortable than any other saddle I've ever used. If nothing else, I find that the do exactly the opposite of what is advertised. They numb the ol' Wallys.

Got padded bike shorts? Riding properly starts with a good bike fit. Saddle height, reach, bar height etc. If one can not ride for more than 2 hours, your not doing something correctly.
OP, what kind of bike, wheels and tires are you using?

+1

Seats are for sitting on... bicycles have saddles. Cyclists should perch themselves on the bike using the three contact points [handle bars, pedals, and saddle]. From time-to-time when cycling stand-up if for no other reason than to allow blood to flow in the large muscles (AKA buttock). It is generally fatigue that causes a cyclist to remain seated, and then get sore. Being fit is often the solution for eliminating saddle pain.

For urban commuting in 40F and below rides on mountain bikes i would recommend the sqlab airflow 604. It has different width to fit different sitbones width and an elevated platform to relieve pressure on soft tissues. I find this saddle too warm for above 40F rides. I believe it is because of gel gathering heat. I don't use padded bike shorts on this one which can be convenient at times in urban rides. Some people that commented on it didn't like the elevated platform. I didn't like it neither at first but i had to for the sake of my soft tissues. Now i like it a lot.
Noseless saddles are another good bet especially on cruiser bikes i believe. The most comfy saddle i have ever been on was a noseless saddle. Though the one i've tried put too much pressure on the wrists.
For weekend fitness and light touring rides i would recommend saddles with narrower nose and less padding. Brooks saddles are pretty popular.

Everyone's butt is different.

The WTB Devo is my go-to saddle. for road, cross and mtb. I wouldn't object to a longer nose, but other wise great. I buy a lot of used bikes and try everything they arrive with (well, as long as it's not a curved top - think Arione - those go in the parts bin immediately). Nothing comes close. Oddly enough, one of the most uncomfortable saddles was the WTB deva, which is a more padded devo.

I also have a City bike with a sprung Brooks and a touring/commuter with what I think is a B17. They came that way and I've left them, as they work fine for what they're used for.

OP, what kind of bike? How upright or lean forward? This makes a huge difference. After trying a few different saddles I chose a Brooks (B67?) for my Opafiets. I also have a Selle Royal on my bakfiets that I like though if I were planning a longer ride on it like greater than maybe 25 miles I'd probably move my Brooks over to it. Oh, along with questioning my sanity for riding that far on a bakfiets (though I have done it once).

My wife's favorite is a Selle Royal. I think this one: Selle Royal Manhatten "Relaxed" upright saddle

My road bike is a Fizik Alliente. Again after trying numerous (thanks to a terrific LBS (Grand Performance in St Paul) who has a large supply of try-before-buy seats (I say seats, when I raced we all called them seats, I'm pretty sure our coaches who among them had a handful of national championships and one runs a pro tour team today all called them seats.)).

Until someone builds up their legs to a point where they can float, there will be butt pain. This will slow progress.

Also, terrain is moot on a trainer. Again, at effort, I'm doing this "floating" But on the recovery rides, there isn't enough power to float. Otherwise, it's effort. So until my body is stronger, I need a different saddle, or better fit.

But I'm not the op.

You don't need a lot of strength to float over the saddle. The fact that you seem be be able to do it under hard effort would say that you have enough strength but you can't seem to apply it at lower effort. Think of what you do during hard effort and do the same while recovering.