mling1985

Hi everyone, just started riding a few days ago and I want to make my my riding as comfortable as possible, I dont really care about speed so much, just want it to be as smooth as possible . I am looking to buy some stuff after doing some research, would like to hear if you guys have any suggestions on what I should get or look into.

My folder is a Tern Link D16, I mainly use it to commute, road surface around here is generally pretty flat but can get bumpy from time to time.
My height is 187cm (6ft 2) and about 195 pounds (90kg)

I am loving the riding experience but there are a couple of things that bother me very slightly so would be good if I can improve on them to make my riding experience even more enjoyable

The things that are bothering me are right now are:
1) My sit bone gets a little sore after 30 mins or so, it doesnt hurt that much but it is a bit uncomfortable.
2) When the road gets bumpy, I feel quite a bit of vibration in my hands, forearms, and my ass is bouncing a little on the saddle lol which increases the soreness I am getting on the sit bone.

So right now, I am thinking of getting some new parts for my bike but not sure how much it will help or if it is necessary.

Things I am thinking of getting:
1) Big apple tires - heard a lot of good things about them, but not really sure what width to get so it will fit.
2) Suspension seatpost - not sure how much this will help, but even a little bit of improvement would be worth it I guess
3) A different saddle - not 100% sure if this needed, maybe the soreness just comes from the fact I have been riding for years. Even if I were to decide to get a new saddle, I have no idea what to look into.

Please let me know what you guys think, any advice and suggestions are very much appreciated.

badmother

Welcome to the fold.

I would say ride some more before you start shopping. Try different ways of taking weight off your hands and bum (take some of it with your legs). If you buy a new saddle do not buy a softer gel one.

Do some searching in the forums and read about the topics. You are not the first one to ask. Several threads on the topic if you search.

dahoneezz

About no. 2) maybe try to adjust your seat position/angle/height. Try this first before you go out and buy a new seat.

Schwinnsta

I think your list is good.

Supple tires, wider the better, before suspension post. Maybe, a saddle with springs, but tires first.

Sangetsu

More time in the saddle will adjust your body to the bike, and you will feel more comfortable as your body gets used to it.

Like many others, I would recommend a Brooks B17 saddle, especially if you often ride without cycling shorts. Once broken in, the B17 is remarkably comfortable. I have tried many bikes and saddles, and used to scoff at those who said the old-tech B17 was the best you could get. But after finally buying one for myself, I became a convert.

12boy

Lots to try:
1 A narrow hard saddle will be most comfortable once your sit bones are used to it.
2 Adjust saddle height so your heel barely reaches the pedal at max down stroke. This will give your knees a break. If you tilt the nose up a bit, so it is just a little higher than the rear it will through your weight back from your hands.
3 Get Ergo grips and bar ends. Ergos provide a wider platform for your palm and protect the ulnar nerve. Bar ends provide some additional hand positions, and that is a big help.
4 Even if you don't get bigger tires try inflating the ones you have to 80% of the max pressure recommended. Really can take the sting out.
5 Use bike shorts or short liners so you are not sitting on seams that can chafe your ass, literally.
These are things that work for me after 30-40 years of bike riding but we are not all the same, so you may prefer other solutions.

linberl

+1 B17, but you might consider the pre-aged version. Some people have no trouble breaking in a Brooks and some do - I was absolutely miserable for months even though I tried some of the "tips" online. Happy now, though. Would not break another one in from scratch. If someone stole my saddle I would hunt them down and kill them and I am not a violent person. My seatpost and saddle both have special security bolts.

shrooms

If 400mm long seatpost is enough for your bike then Suntour SP12-NCX suspension seatpost is the best. It adjust for a weight of a rider, has 50mm travel, pretty durable, and not too expensive.
I'm a fan of Brooks C17 saddle but you have to find one which works for you.

mling1985

Thank you everyone for your advice and suggestions!!

Thanks badmother, yes judging from everyone's responses, I really need to ride some more before buying stuff.
Sorry for opening this instead of searching for previous ones. I tried searching but I am not very familiar with the search function hence I didnt find anything

Thanks dahoneezz, I will have a read on what position does what and try them first

Thanks Schwinnsta, the tyres I am considering are the big apple, they offer a few different width. Do you have any idea what is the widest I can go with my bike?

I heard a lot of good things about the B17 saddle when reading, I will have a look now in case I still need them after my body has adjusted, thanks for the suggestion!

Thanks very much for sharing your experiences and advices. Sounds like my saddle height is too low, will adjust it higher tomorrow and play around with the angle of the seats and see what happens. Will look into ergo grips and bar ends also, didnt think of that, thank you!!

mling1985

Thanks linberl, didnt know there is a pre aged version, will do more research and learn more

Will look into the suntour seatpost you mentioned, thanks for your suggestion shrooms!!

linberl

https://www.brooksengland.com/en_us/s...17-aged-1.html

I've also read good things about the cambium model (which can get wet without issue).

dabac

Learn to "go light".
Don't sit like a deadweight when you see you're about to hit a bump. Rise out of the saddle, bend your knees and elbows a little and help the bike move beneath you.

Diode100

Trade in the Tern and get a Birdy, Downtube, or some other fully suspended bike.

Saddles are very difficult, you have to expect some pain the begin with whichever saddle you have, only if it doesn't improve over time should you think about changing it, unless it's a Brompton where the saddle is actually a medieval torture instrument disguised as a bicycle saddle.

edelay

Welcome to the fold.

- as others have said, hold off on the purchases for a bit, since some of this will just be your body needing to adjust over the next few weeks. After that break in period, you can focus on making changes that are required for whatever discomfort still persists
- the sore sit bones are just part of toughening up your butt. Just like breaking in new leather shoes/boats, you are to a large extent breaking in your feet.
- if you are female, consider getting a female specific saddle. Saddles without mention of gender will be for men.
- if you go over a rough spot or a bump, push down with your legs to take the weight off your bum or even raise your bum off of the saddle for bad bumps. Your legs will act as shock absorbers. Also bend your arms at the elbows to absorb the shock to your arms/hands
- resist getting gel saddle. The most comfortable saddle I've had is a leather one A Comfortable Bicycle Saddle but the cost is breaking it in. See below.
- wear padded cycling shorts, even if it is under normal shorts. This will help prevent butt soreness. No underwear under the padded shorts.
- padded palm bicycle gloves will help absorb road vibration
- ergonomic grips will help with any hand/write pain and numbness. I've had to switch to these in the last few years
- I ride Big Apples on one of my bikes, but just running your existing tires at a lower pressure would achieve the same effect of a softer ride with less vibration. To get the proper width, just bring the bike with you to the shop if/when you make an order

If you do consider getting a leather saddle, just for kicks here is my experience breaking a Brooks B17 Special. Each day had two rides of 10km for about 30 minutes as part of a commute to and from work. As you can see I found that a leather saddle was way more uncomfortable that a padded vinyl saddle before it is broken in. After breaking it, the leather saddle is more comfortable.

day 1: so slippery almost fell off
day 2: sit bones hurt so much that almost didn't ride, slipperiness gone
day 3: sit bones hurt less but still ache
day 4: mild irritation at first but gone by end of ride.
day 5: less irritation, not ideal but not really an issue
* two days off bike. Adjusted seat to flat and raised post a bit*
day 6: no pain or irritation, but seat feels hard. Need to raise seat more
day 7: minor discomfort
day 8: minor discomfort
day 9: minor discomfort
day 10: didn't notice saddle for first time today
*two days off bike. Increased seat post height
day 11: saddle feels hard, otherwise no pain or discomfort
after a few months saddle went from feeling like a piece of wood sculpted to the shape of my butt (which was comfortable but hard) to being soft.

Let me know if you have any questions.

mling1985

Thanks again linberl

Will keep that in mind when I go riding later, thanks!!

Dont really want to do a trade in as I really like the looks of my tern, and getting stuff for it is kind of fun for me hehe, thanks tho

mling1985

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience with breaking in the saddle edelay, def good to know what to expect if I do need to get a leather later. Yes I will listen to you experienced folks and give my body time to adjust and also practising proper riding techniques before making any purchases.

I will try lowering the pressure of the tyres and see how that goes.
Big apple seems to be rather difficult to get in my country (I already called a few big bike shops around and none of them have them in stock). So I am thinking of ordering them online from abroad, since I wont wont be able to show them my bike, is there any measurement I can do myself to see what tyres width would work for me?

Abu Mahendra

Best bang for the buck

IMI all saddles will become uncomfortable after a few hours. The best way to avoid this is a good pair of padded shorts.

shrooms

I would recommend Kenda Small Block Eight very nice soft tires. You can buy them everywhere. There are 1.75, 1.95, 2.125 diameter options and cheap. You will have a comfortable ride even if you get 1.75 ones in diameter.

ttakata73

Definitely get the fattest tires that can fit. When I went from 1.5" stock tires to 2" Big Apples on my 16" Strida it was immediately more comfortable. If you don't want to spend time moving your seat, grips, and bars, into different angles and front to back; a proper bike fit might be worthwhile. Lots of videos online about it or take it to a shop. I'm too cheap for that so I just bring a set of tools with me to move things around every few minutes to dial things in.

Although it adds a lot of weight I love my Brooks B67 Select because it is beach cruiser wide and has 2 springs you can actually feel moving when you are lazy and not lifting your butt. I've only done 25 kilos at one time though. Many people say a harder saddle is actually better for longer rides. I also have a Selle Anatomica which is very comfy for a road bike style saddle. I also like the Ergon GP3 Biokork grips because they spread out the load onto the palms and give an alternate hand position, but again, very heavy grips. Sadly comfort usually adds weight to an aluminum framed bike.

chagzuki

Before I started using a thudbuster on my dahon I spent a long time trying different saddles out with the aim of softening the ride. If you're not going Brooks/leather then I think some of the designs that include a flexing wing thingy (bendy plastic) between the shell and the rails work extremely well. Perhaps there are some new designs available now, of that kind.

fietsbob

On Pg 106 of 'the Brompton book' , 1st edition, I see a kit made to turn that folding bike into a recumbent..

THe crank is changed to have a chainring on both sides ,

with the left side going forward to the pedals on a boom ahead of the front wheel..

Hiring a Frame builder to make one is possible...

[Bike Friday made a Sat-R-Day folding Recumbent, 2 versions, with 349, and 406 wheel, they occasionally re sell ]


..

edelay

The sidewall of your existing tire will have a width. It will be easy if there is a Big Apple with a the same width. Here is a chart which shows tire widths that work given the rim width.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#width

badmother

There is a "bikefit" forum here too. I bet 95% of the bikes mentioned are not folders but you can still learn a lot from there.

Fitting Your Bike - Bike Forums

If you decide to start shopping I would look into a sprung Brooks saddle plus wider tyres instead of the suspension seatpost. You could save some money that way.

Abu Mahendra

Big Apples are a bit porky in weight. I'd first look to 1.95" Maxxis DTH or Torch, both of which are a good 100g lighter per tire and come in folding bead.

Torch

DTH

mling1985

Thanks Abu I didnt know padded shorts exist before opening this thread hehe, I am def going to get some!

Thanks again shrooms, I will add the kenda tires into considerations also.

Thanks for your suggestions ttakata! I have just watched a quick video on youtube about bike fitting and already see a lot of positions i have set wrong, will read about bike fitting more later on today

I will most likely go for a brooks saddle seeing so many people here recommend it, but thanks for your suggestions!!

Oh my! this does look very comfortable but i m not sure if I want to turn my bike into a recumbent yet hehe, thanks!!!