As a 70 year old and just getting on a mountain bike & weighing 230lbs so far the worst part of riding the seat... There has to be a seat out there that works for me..
Help
Mac

Welcome to cycling.
Any bike seat will be uncomfortable until your backside gets used to sitting on it.
I'm 67 and I've tried more than a dozen brands/styles/models. My favorite at this point in life is my Specialized Toupé (on my Felt).
I have a Specialized Phenom on my Litespeed. Also very comfortable but not quite as nice as the Toupé.

I'm 72 and can just about ride any seat, at least for the distances I ride - like maybe 2-3-4 hours. However, it takes time to adjust to any saddle - in my exparience, anyway.

Agree with Ron H . . .
Contrary to what you may think, a wide/soft/squishy saddle is NOT the answer to comfort.
More riding will toughen your butt muscles.
On drop bar bike you even out body mass/weight between the lower bar postions, pedals and saddle.
On Mt. bike, because you sit upright with flat bars, most of weight will be on the saddle/butt.
Getting some bar extenders on your mt. bike will allow you to lean forward more, give you more hand positions so all weight not always be on your buns.
Perhaps it would be nice if you lost some of that 230 lbs . . .
BTW I turn 80 this year and have ridden drop bar bikes for over 300,000 miles.
Stick with it!

As previously said, its a matter of fit, not of padding. Myself and many others ride on leather saddles and love them because they fit our butts and the more we ride them, the better they fit.

Thanks guys i'll just keep on pedaling...

There's a kind of bike that's comfy right from the start.



Or you can toughen up your butt on what you've got. I recommend starting with short rides and increasing your time-on-saddle slowly.

See my sig.

I have a collection of saddles, some better than others. The one that works the best for me is a Brooks B17. It's not perfect, but close. After 40 miles my butt can start to get sore. I find that if I get off the bike for 10-20, my butt has recovered and I'm comfortable for another hour or so. Standing up for a couple of minutes while riding also helps.

On tour my butt still gets sore, pretty much every day, but I just get off the bike for awhile. I don't make as much progress as someone who sucks it up and keeps riding hour after hour, but I'm not in that much of a hurry and I like breaks.

After about the 3rd-4th ride, your butt should stop hurting. I don't have a conscious thought about my seat(either one) while riding now. Stock seat on Specialized Allez and Specialized body geometric seat on the mountain bike. I think its more a matter of you getting used to riding than having the "right saddle".
I'm of the thought that if your butt hurts:
1) You haven't ridden enough to get YOU broken in.
2) Your bike doesn't fit you or you haven't been fit correctly.
3) Most people start riding with their seat WAAAAY too low. That puts ALL your weight on your butt instead of some being on your arms/hands.

6'1" 225lbs

I went through the whole seat thing . . . must have tried close to 10 seats.

I found the Brook's B-17 very comfortable, right from the start, but began to be plagued by 'numbness.' This was clearly unacceptable.

I finally lighted upon a ISM Adamo saddle. It took a while to break in my sits bones, but once that happened, I don't notice the saddle when I'm riding and numbness gone. I put over 2000 miles on it last summer.

I'm a big boy, 240# so I feel your pain.

Good luck, happy riding

One thing you will have to learn---That is if you haven't realised it already---Is that if you learn to pedal while standing--It doesn't hurt.

You have the common problem of Novice Butt Ache. It will hurt till you get the butt and saddle attuned to each other. May take a while or you may be lucky but it is going to hurt. However- you can relieve the ache by regularly getting out of the saddle for short spells. May be while coasting on a down slope- Maybe while on the flat and you may even have to learn how to climb hills by getting out of the saddle.

Good luck and don't give up on your current saddle till 20 hours of riding have been done.

I would like to suggest a good leather sprung saddle for upright riding. The Brooks B-67 pre-aged. Wallbike even has a return policy.
https://www.wallbike.com/brooks/singl...oks-b67-saddle

I think saddles are a lot like shoes. You end up trying on quite a few before finding one that really fits.

I purchased the Novara Saturday, I am setting it up according to instructions on numerous biking sites.. It is already getting better, seat height is set, today I will set the seating foreward and back for balance.. The bars are next does not appear they can be raised much if any, they are about 3-4 inches lower than the saddle..Did try to let go of the bars and did not feel like the balance is there yet need to move the seat back...
Thanks for the replies
Mac