totalnewbie

I have read somewhere (maybe on this forum) a couple years ago that a lot of people don't want recommend gels on saddles, some reasons that have to do with not having good support. Though I understand some manufacturers (selle italia, for example, do make some saddles with gel) On the other hand, I notice Santini (which I believe to be a quality bib manufacturer) have their high end chamois being made with a gel layer. So is there any quantifiable pros/cons having gels between your sit bone and the bike, one way or the other? I understand this may be highly subjective (or pure marketing ploy by said manufacturer) but I am genuinely curious. Gel? Or not gel?

geehue

Too much padding of any kind (gel or foam or fabric) will transfer the support from your sit bones to the soft tissue between them -- that spreads the support over a larger area of your bum, but it also means that you are sitting on (and squishing) nerves and blood vessels -- possibly leading to numbness and reduced blood flow to your bits.

TobinH

Quantifiable? Like, some sort of bum gel measuring scheme?

I'm not sure about that, but every gel saddle I've ever encountered has become very uncomfortable after an hour or so. In my experience, the best saddles are firm and have a shape that suits.

totalnewbie

I think I can understand what you said. with gel, load is spread over a larger area but tissues that should not be supporting any load is taking a share as well. Is that what you imply? If so, how is sitting in an office chair different?

redfooj

on an office chair you are sitting with your entire ass and hamstrings and upright - not on a small area surroudning your taint

geehue

The type of sitting on an office chair is different. On a bicycle seat you are typically leaning forward and your legs are underneath rather than in front of your hips. Your actual bum is off the saddle (watch people on bicycles from behind and you can see their whole bum -- don't stare too much, though). On a bicycle seat you are sitting on a fairly small area -- your support will either be from your sit bones or the soft tissue in between your sit bones.

In a regular chair, you are sitting on the fleshy part of your bum -- which doesn't have a lot of nerves/blood vessels. It can handle it (although it may do nasty things to your lower back). In a regular chair, you can also lean back, which takes some of the weight off your posterior and allows the back of the chair to support you; you can also put some of the weight on your upper legs.

To get this kind of position in a bicycle, you'd need to have your legs mostly in front of your hips rather than below them (like you would in a recumbent).

Wheever

Some gel is great. For instance The Selle Italia Gel saddles. But this gel is very firm and built in different layers and firmnesses at different parts of the saddle. These are NOT soft saddles.