DJISALIAR

My 7 yr old grandson has some issues and the seat on his bike (Polygon Relic 20) which causes him pain when riding for any length of time. He absolutely loves going riding with me, but as he gets older is starting to avoid it due to pain. I've searched high and low for a noseless seat or something that puts no pressure on his prostrate/testicle area and can't find anything in this category that is narrow enough for his little butt. Everything I've seen are wider adult comfort seats. The local bike shops have been zero help on this and have more of a 'suck it up' attitude. We've played with all sorts of seat/handlebar adjustments and can't come up with anything that works well enough to get him enthused again about riding. Any ideas would be appreciated.

terrymorse 

I'm with the local bike shop on this one.

Unless a body suffers from a deformity, a noseless saddle is not a solution to any problem. And a noseless saddled introduces other problems.

Bontrager makes a decent saddle, down-sized for youngsters. It might work for a 7 year old:

Bontrager Kids' Comfort Bike Saddle

Leisesturm

Think inside the box on this one. There won't be a noselesss saddle made for a seven-year-old. Is his bike made for a seven-year-old? Pictures please.

DJISALIAR

Look up Polygon Relic 20. I tried to post a link but until I do 10 posts I can't

79pmooney

BF at it's best. Not one responder save the last has had anything useful to say. Just suck it up. I"m guessing this child has an issue that is real and causes what the OP describes. And that just doing like everybody else does is not going to make a cyclist out if this kid who wants to ride.

I'm sorry. At this time I don't have the "idea" yet but my thought is to make the seat. If I get a flash on a feasible way to do that, I"ll come back.

DJISALIAR

Thanks for the support. I didn't think I'd need to go into a full medical history on this and not sure if it would have helped, but yes until he's old enough to have his issues corrected we're stuck with what we have and I try hard to make my little friend as comfortable as possible. The bike shops I'm sure would lend a hand if I were in there dropping a few grand on a new overpriced kids bike and accessories, but to just discount me was a little over the top. One guy a popular local shop came over asking if I needed help and when I explained what I was looking for simply said they don't have much for kids and walked away. Real helpful.

Anyway, I might try the Bontrager and if it doesn't help it doesn't help. It does have a little deeper and wider relief than what came with the bike so just maybe. If I have to get one made I'll get one made.

Leisesturm

Most bike seats have an adjustable range front to back and most people put them as far back as they can possibly go. Go the opposite way and put the seat as far forward as it can possibly go. Wide is not bad. Narrow is what is bad. handlebars should be higher than the seat. The style of that bike is very aggressively downhill. Does grandson like that? Like I said think inside the box and don't go wild on solutions it's right in front of your face.

Murray Missile 

Have you looked at the ISM Adamo series? One of their saddles might work. I have them on a few bikes and love them, they can be pricey new but like Brooks saddles they aren't for everyone and often show up lightly used at a deep discount.

terrymorse 

Agree to disagree. Noseless saddles are a hazard that should be avoided if possible.

And since we are guessing, I’m guessing that the child is a normal kid who doesn’t ride much, and he gets irritation down below from riding more than a little. Just like every other new rider.

Barry2 

Saddle adjustment can be counterintuitive.

Having the saddle nose press where it should not can result in people adjusting the saddle nose downwards.
This can tilt the pelvis forwards resulting in more pressure, not less as expected.

With the bike on level ground, try setting the saddle perfectly level (with a bubble level) and see if that helps.

Barry

koala logs

An option is a "pedal-forward" bike with bucket seat. It will be absolutely nice to the butt, just not sure it comes in 7 year old size.

https://bicycleman.com/crank-forward/

I have to caution that true noseless saddles would only be comfortable if you have a large setback setup (pedal forward, semi-recumbent, recumbent etc). Otherwise, it can still hurt the butt. At least hurting the butt is less risky than hurting the middle parts.

veganbikes

You could try a different saddle but I would agree noseless doesn't make much sense there is a reason why saddles are designed with noses. In the end a big factor is proper adjustment. However looking at that bike it looks like a mix of department store with a starter kids bike at a shop so the saddle could be crap.

If you can find one try a Specialized BG Kids saddle that would be a great option as it uses Specialized's Body Geometry ideals which incorporate a lot of fit data and other factors to make saddles and other components more ergonomic and comfortable. SDG also makes the Fly JR. which generally gets decent reviews (and they also do a whole line of other cockpit components for kids).

If they are truly having medical issues I would go and see a fitter who can help out (as well as a sports medicine doctor familiar in cycling) and see if they can help out. I know I had pain as a kid but I now know it was because my saddle was not adjusted for me and might not have been my ideal saddle but mainly if I had it better adjusted and maybe also had the sense to wear cycling shorts on longer rides I might not have had that pain. However now it is all gone and I am riding more than ever.

70sSanO

I would take measurements of his current saddle and then contact ISM, or similar mfg, to see how close you can get.

John

koala logs

The PR and PM models, the narrowest ones might work. Some simple modding might be required though for a child. Zip-tie the front-most end of the rail tightly to make the nose narrower.

Leisesturm

I think this post more than any other gets to the crux of the biscuit. Most seven year olds when I was seven were on banana seat cruisers doing figure 8's in their driveways. A round trip from one end of the block to the other was an epic journey. Things need to be kept in context and the o.p. greatly needs to manage their expectations and let the kid grow out a little more before they can become a satisfactory riding partner. Things happen fast in the first 8 years of life and it might be only one more year till a kid looks forward to a 10 mile ride but it might take three more. A Weehoo attachment or similar or a tandem with modified Stoker compartment is the usual initiation for young riders that are expected to accompany adults. I have never seen this kind of thread in the Tandem or Family cycling forums. FWIW.

Edit: Wait a minute. There are 'issues'? Seriously? "I didn't think I'd need to go into a full medical history on this ..." Why not? I'm leaving my advice up only because I worked hard on it but its essentially moot in light of recent information. It all is. If the o.p. can't be more forthcoming in an anonymous forum we're just shooting in the dark. The proper place for discussion on solutions is with care providers OR here, but with the full 411 provided for background.

CliffordK

Ok, so it is a little mini-MTB.



https://www.bikesonline.com/2022-pol...-mountain-bike

20" wheels.

By age 7, he could already be outgrowing it. Time for 24"? And that is the problem with kids growing like weeds.

_ForceD_

Would something like this seat work?

https://www.archersbikes.com/product...-seat-4633.htm

Dan

CliffordK

Make sure that the bike is the right size for the kid. By age 7, he could already be moving into a 24" wheel size bike.

How far of distances are you riding? What kind of bike do you ride? There are a number of "Road bikes" available for younger kids, either with 24" or 650c wheels.

One can stand up on the pedals from time to time to readjust body dynamics and rest the buttocks a bit.

Keep in mind that the angle of the seats are adjustable. I don't believe in making the seat level. For my road bikes, my general rule is to point the seat at the handlebars.

Anyway, try dropping the nose of the saddle by a few degrees. Too much, and one must also use the legs to dynamically hold oneself in place which may be a problem.

But, there may well be a happy medium place of adjustment.

70sSanO

[QUOTE=Leisesturm;22625853]I think this post more than any other gets to the crux of the biscuit. Most seven year olds when I was seven were on banana seat cruisers doing figure 8's in their driveways. A round trip from one end of the block to the other was an epic journey. Things need to be kept in context and the o.p. greatly needs to manage their expectations and let the kid grow out a little more before they can become a satisfactory riding partner. Things happen fast in the first 8 years of life and it might be only one more year till a kid looks forward to a 10 mile ride but it might take three more. A Weehoo attachment or similar or a tandem with modified Stoker compartment is the usual initiation for young riders that are expected to accompany adults. I have never seen this kind of thread in the Tandem or Family cycling forums. FWIW.

Edit: Wait a minute. There are 'issues'? Seriously? "I didn't think I'd need to go into a full medical history on this ..." Why not? I'm leaving my advice up only because I worked hard on it but its essentially moot in light of recent information. It all is. If the o.p. can't be more forthcoming in an anonymous forum we're just shooting in the dark. The proper place for discussion on solutions is with care providers OR here, but with the full 411 provided for background.[/QUOTE

OP says his son has a medical issue and you want the OP to go into more detail for something you probably don’t even have an answer.

Pretty amazing lack of compassion. We should all be cognizant that time keeps moving and there may come a day when we might lose all self respect and only hope for a little compassion.

John

Leisesturm

Not a lack of compassion at all. Just being obvious. It is silly to have inhibitions about personal matters in anonymity. Or would you rather get incorrect advice due to the fact that you withheld pertinent information from an o.p.? They either give us all the facts as they know them, or they save us the time wasted in speculation and preserve their dignity by talking only with qualified medical experts. If it really is the case that we can't possibly have an answer for them then we have no business being asked for one! You have a problem with that? Come on. You know I'm right. Lets not turn this into a thread locking derailment. Peace. Out.

70sSanO

I’m not derailing the thread. The facts are the OP asked for a noiseless saddle for his 7 year old grandson.

Like a lot of threads, a lot of people are quick to offer what’s wrong with the request than provide an answer.

John

Leisesturm

And your earlier answer is helpful? How, exactly? There is no helping when you don't know exactly what the problem is. And we do not. We only know what the o.p. wants. What if what they want may be harmful to their charge? You would be ok with that? Pointing out what is wrong with a problem request is not IMO a bad thing.