(Comfortable) Seat advice needed

tc1992
tc1992 Posts: 62
edited April 2014 in Road beginners
Hello

At the moment I have a Giant Cyprus Hybrid. It has a fairly thick padded seat, and i imagine is about as comfortable as you can get. I still get a bit sore after a couple of hours, even with padded shorts, but's it's not unbearble or anything.

I want to get a road bike now, and I am a bit worried about the seats. They all look very thin. so if i am just getting by on my thick Cyprus seat I am worried that going to a thiner seat could start to cause problems. Now I am hoping that there is more to it than thickness of the seat of course. So any advice in this area would be welcome. Are looks deceptive with these thin seats?

The other thing that my Cyprus has that i like, is a bit of suspension on the seat shaft, which works well, but i've never seen that on a road bike, or hardly ever seen it at all on other bikes.

Comments

  • ai_1
    ai_1 Posts: 3,060
    Generally heavily padded saddles feel nice and plush for short rides but get incredibly uncomfortable for longer rides. The fact that there's lots of padding prevents you from concentrating the loads on your sit bones and puts pressure on your soft tissue causing discomfort and numbness. A well fitting hard saddle is actually much more comfortable for longer rides (like 30mins plus) although most non-cyclists assume the opposite would be true. Very little padding is necessary on the saddle. Good shorts with padding will provide the comfort you need while positioning the padding to soft tissue problems.
    Choosing a saddle can be tricky. Many (most?) people have no trouble getting on with a wide range of saddles while others, myself included, have difficulties with a lot of saddle shapes and need to spend some time hunting down a shape that works well for their anatomy!

    However - I think it's fair to say that a highly padded saddle like you get on many leisure bikes is never the most comfortable solution for long rides. Road bikes have thin hard saddles because they're actually the most comfortable for road riding - it's not just a fashion thing!
  • kajjal
    kajjal Posts: 3,380
    If you look on the web there are articles about how to measure yourself for a saddle and what the different types give you. My Road bikes saddle was too narrow and very painful. Changed for one of the right width and all is fine now.
  • bianchimoon
    bianchimoon Posts: 3,942
    Shops that sell Bontrager seats will measure you and give you correct size seat plus the seat has a 30 day no quibble money back guarantee if not comfortable, reasonable prices as well, i got the Affinity R for £30, other shops may have similar offers you worth asking at your LBS
    All lies and jest..still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest....
  • tc1992
    tc1992 Posts: 62
    thanks for the replies, they are reasuring. The thin saddles look like they would be a nightmare, but i was thinking, before i made this post, they are designed for people who spend a long time on bikes, so they must work.

    oxoman - i should really invest in some decent padded shorts, rather than £5 ones on ebay from China.

    Ai-i - interesting what you are saying, and i hope it's true.

    Kaiajal - yes, will look for them and do some research

    bianchimoon - ok, will look it the Bontragers
  • team47b
    team47b Posts: 6,425
    Because of the upright position on a hybrid you 'sit' on the saddle, different position on a road bike, you 'perch' on the saddle, it's about balance and core strength supporting your weight not the seat taking your weight.
    my isetta is a 300cc bike
  • tc1992
    tc1992 Posts: 62
    team47b wrote:
    Because of the upright position on a hybrid you 'sit' on the saddle, different position on a road bike, you 'perch' on the saddle, it's about balance and core strength supporting your weight not the seat taking your weight.


    So from your answer it sounds like my core will get more exercise, which is something i was curious about regarding cycling
  • Mikey23
    Mikey23 Posts: 5,306
    The stronger your core, the more efficient will be your cycling. Whizzy legs are fine but like anything, cycling is a whole body experience
  • ai_1
    ai_1 Posts: 3,060
    tc1992 wrote:
    team47b wrote:
    Because of the upright position on a hybrid you 'sit' on the saddle, different position on a road bike, you 'perch' on the saddle, it's about balance and core strength supporting your weight not the seat taking your weight.


    So from your answer it sounds like my core will get more exercise, which is something i was curious about regarding cycling
    I disagree that the seat is not taking your weight. Your body is cantilevered forward so it does require good core strength unless you take your upper body weight on the handles. In reality you still take the majority of your weight on the saddle and only a little on your hands. Your position on the saddle is different but it still takes your weight. However, you may find that as you get strong on the bike your legs start to take a noticeable amount of your weight. This is most noticeable when you crank the power up in a big gear.

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