Which forum section ?

_chris_

Hi all, I have what is called a mountain bike, and I use it for flat trails, mainly for cardio, I suppose it would average out at about 70% trails, and 30% on roads. It's a straight bar. So, am I in the right forum section for this question please?

After riding for about 10km the saddle would be really uncomfortable - which saddles, from personal experience only, do you recommend?

Also, I have suspension at the front, but none on the back, and am looking at these seat posts that have some suspension or saddles that have springs, any thoughts on these and the best way of getting a little suspension at the back?

steve_sordy

Does the saddle fit your sit bone width? I know from personal and painful experience that sit bone width is both not widely known about and grossly underestimated.
See the WTB fit right system introduced by Rachel Atherton.

https://www.wtb.com/pages/fit-right-system

Personally, I prefer the more direct method of sitting on a piece of corrugated cardboard and measuring directly. To fit my 130mm sit bone width, I use a WTB Rocket saddle, 150mm wide at the shoulder, with thick padding.

I would start there and see how you get on. i really would not recommend a tyre with springs in it. They are heavy and the ones I have seen are too wide for off road use.

Are you wearing padded undershorts or padded shorts. I wear padded undershorts so that I can wear with them different overshorts or trousers. I wear these ones by Endura.

https://www.merlincycles.com/endura-padded-liner-ii-shorts-243299.html?utm_source=PHG&source=PHG&utm_medium=Affiliates&utm_campaign=genieshopping

If those two changes don't do the trick, then you need a suspension seat post. Note that I didn't say a dropper seat post. The latter drops and raises the saddle at your command and in my view is an essential when going off road. The former is a seat post that itself has suspension and will compress and extend under you as the terrain varies. To my taste, they feel unusual and take a little bit of getting used to. But they really do take the sting out of rough roads. As with many things for bikes the price, quality and weight vary enormously. But as someone in the industry once said "low price, low weight and high quality - pick two!"

Just Google "suspension seat posts for bicycles" and pick one. Ensure that you know your seat post diameter and the length available for it to go into your seat tube. Check that you fit into their declared rider weight range.

But why pay for a suspension seat post when there is a cheaper alternative available? I'm talking about tyre pressures. See this guide to finding your ideal tyre pressure. Read the words and watch the video. When I first saw this in 2011, it was transformative!

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/Tech-Tuesday-tire-pressure-2011.html