Innovators rethink bike seat design to combat cycling saddle pain
Innovators rethink bike seat design to combat cycling saddle pain
www.abc.net.au
Could a new bike seat prevent saddle pain? These innovators think so
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ergonomic and custom models can range from $200 to more than $1,000. That's more than my entire bike lol
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They're more expensive, but recumbents do already solve this problem.
Would still like to try an alternative to saddles on regular bikes though.
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I'm itching to try them but I suspect that lying down would come with it's own set of problems.
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With recumbent two-wheelers, there's a small bit of awkwardness maintaining balance as you go from a stop to a start. Other than that, the only real issue is that you can't stand up when you're riding up hills. All you can do is drop the gear and keep pedaling.
Personally I think it's well worth the issues they solve, trikes especially. They're much more comfortable. The trikes are much more resilient to bursts of wind, and the stability makes them much better for winter riding.
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It doesn't, at least not ergonomically. Recumbents are as comfortable as they look. I once did 80km on one, having not got on a bike for months, and felt not the slightest aches or discomfort at the end. A complete revelation.
The issues with recumbents are elsewhere: low visibility for motor traffic, difficulty of balance at very low speeds. There's also a small risk of knee inflammation if you inadvertently pedal too hard, since the force you can put into pedalling is not limited to body weight like on an upright bike.
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Yet again.
I got a used bike for myself and the kids. The first thing I did was to get comfortable seats. I don't understand why anyone would buy a bike with a tiny hard seat.
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This changes a lot with distance. I prefer a medium to small one which is not to soft, as on longer rides they tend to be worse for me. There are terrible small and hard ones as well but a good one can be super nice.
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I got laughed at a little for how thick this saddle is, but I've ridden from San Francisco to Los Angeles on this thing and absolutely love it:
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I solve this by not going far on the bike, but a wide seat slightly tilted down is working well for me on the electric bike. On an endurance racing bike I don't understand how anyone can stand the seats for that long, most bike seats seem almost intentionally designed to be uncomfortable.
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A well fitting road bike saddle is designed to have you sitting on your seat bones, rather than your soft tissue, often with a cutout in the middle to relieve pressure from the genital area. This is much more comfortable on long rides. The padding is minimal, since you are expected to wear padded shorts to minimise friction. Some people also use chamois cream to further reduce chafing, although I personally don't find this to be all that necessary and only really use it on longer rides, if at all. This setup is much more comfortable if you're going to spend long hours in the saddle, especially if you do it regularly and your butt is used to it.
Like with most bike parts, saddles come in all different shapes and sizes and different types make sense for different types of riding.
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- Right saddle width and shape
- Correct bike fit
- Adaptation of blood vessels underneath the seat bones
The company SQlab has a nice explainer here, if you’re interested. The softer the saddle, the worse it gets on long rides.
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Adaptation of blood vessels underneath the seat bones
that's not a thing. Blood vessels to do adapt.
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Hardened (pun intended) cyclists will tell you that this is normal, because sit bones blah blah etc, but I think you're right. The real reason seasoned cyclists have no issue with washboard saddles is that they use them every day and their butts have become conditioned (read: numb) to them. The simplest explanation is usually the best.
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A good fitting saddle + high quality padded biking shorts will go a long way to mitigate this issue.
The pros all get bike fits for even better results
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On an endurance racing bike I don’t understand how anyone can stand the seats for that long
Because they know how to setup and ride a bike. It's a saddle, not a seat. When spinning the crank, they put almost no pressure on the saddle and they ride with half the body supported by their core, not planted on a seat.
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Amazing. As a sufferer of this problem I can't believe I never thought of this idea myself.
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huh? i have never heard anyone complain about this unless they're using a sports saddle, which.. yeah no shit? get a normal saddle.
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Clearly you have no idea what it is like to have each cheek independently supported. I bet you could even use this saddle to collect the extra energy generated by your cheeks. This cheek energy could then be wirelessly transmitted back to powerbanks. Our entire society could be powered purely by the massive cheek energy of billions of bikers.
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I went into the article not having any clue that “saddle pain” is a euphemism.
Ohno
My nips have been rubbed raw on long runs, I couldn’t imagine my lips 🫠
Pro cyclists use padded chamois, and creme embrocations. Tour de France is 2200 miles and no one needed different saddles.
Are these also euphemisms?
Do women wear underpants when riding? I know guys don't but were less vulnerable to that kind of...abrasion. Surely a pair of low friction underwear would combat that...abrasion.
Guys don't wear underwear when cycling? Why?