Anyone found a comfortable saddle that doesn't look odd...!?

Hero Eco

Pedelecer
Jan 10, 2012
186
1
Gloucestershire
Hi all!

Jumped on my mountain bike this morning and rode the 13 miles into work. I must say, it never ceases to amaze me at how bl***y uncomfortable it is for a man to ride...!

Has anyone come across a comfy saddle that doesn't make your bike look, well 'special'?!

Thanks!
Mark
 
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Mike63

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 23, 2008
809
64
Has anyone come across a comfy saddle that doesn't make your bike look, well 'special'
Yea...the original saddle on my UM Sprite :)

I know I never ride more than 25 miles these days but way back when, when I regularily rode 50 miles on a standard mountain bike fitted with a "Bodyfit" saddle, this's never been a problem.

...sorry Mark....think it's down to lack of use :)

.....Mike
 

jazper53

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 20, 2012
890
18
Brighton
Hi all!

Jumped on my mountain bike this morning and rode the 13 miles into work. I must say, it never ceases to amaze me at how bl***y uncomfortable it is for a man to ride...!

Has anyone come across a comfy saddle that doesn't make your bike look, well 'special'?!

Thanks!
Mark
NO, but if you hear of one let us know.
At the moment I don't mind looking "special", as long as I don't get a sore B**.;)
 

jerrysimon

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 27, 2009
3,292
112
Cambridge, UK
About 3-400 miles of slight discomfort then thousands of miles of bliss, well hundreds for me so far, but I am told thousands.





They also look wonderfull. People are always comenting on it when they see it on my Brompton


Looks even better on the white Brompton and as you see worn in now.





Although many comfort saddles are comfortable you will find that for any trips over about 10 miles they often become less so.

Regards

Jerry
 
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GaRRy

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 18, 2012
1,019
3
Tamworth
Although many comfort saddles are comfortable you will find that for any trips over about 10 miles they often become less so.
Yep I have found that big fat comfort sadles are anything but in long run and the thin narrow ones that look uncomfortable are after getting used to far better especially on longer trips.

I think its down to fact that can pedal easier on them and its this action that makes you sore over distance not just the sitting down.
 

neptune

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 30, 2012
1,743
353
Boston lincs
I reckon its a case of different strokes for different folks.I bought a Brooks leather saddle once but gave up on it after a few miles. I dont believe these saddles ever soften up , I think that your posterior just develops callouses as tough as a horses hoof . Someone suggested Neats Foot Oil. I was not sure whether to apply it to the saddle, or soak my underpants in it. I currently use a fairly narrow saddle with a thin layer of gell padding . I have done 30 miles in a day without discomfort .
 

Hugh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2009
290
44
I got a Brooks B17 last year after many years of trying various brands of padded saddle. The best I found was the Fizik Life Rondine (http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fizik/life-rondine-man-ec008713), and I put one on each of my bikes.

The Brooks however was a flight of fancy, which has turned out to be way better than anything else I've used in 50 odd years of cycling. I know they polarise opinion like nothing else and I was quite expecting it to be a bad move. But, I treated it first as recommended by rubbing proofide into the underside daily for a week before using it, and found it comfortable from the start.

It's so good that I swopped it over onto my normal mountain bike for a charity ride, which was painless for the first time ever.

Good luck in the hunt anyway - it may be a lifetime's endeavour!
 

Hero Eco

Pedelecer
Jan 10, 2012
186
1
Gloucestershire
About 3-400 miles of slight discomfort then thousands of miles of bliss, well hundreds for me so far, but I am told thousands.





They also look wonderfull. People are always comenting on it when they see it on my Brompton


Looks even better on the white Brompton and as you see worn in now.





Although many comfort saddles are comfortable you will find that for any trips over about 10 miles they often become less so.

Regards

Jerry
Great, thanks for sharing Jerry!
 

HD462

Pedelecer
Apr 23, 2012
56
0
Teesside, UK
I swapped the racing saddle on my Univega to one of these Avenir Saddles a couple of years ago. More comfortable with a hole in the middle that relieves pressure on your man bits. My wife doesn't like it and wants me to get one of those wide saddles for when she rides it. I'll probably get her one, and another seatpost too, so the saddle can be left on, and it's just a case of swapping the seatposts over to swap between saddles.

I find the saddle on the Fast4ward Peak quite comfortable, and a similar design to the Avenir just without the hole. I'm sure you can lay your hands on one of those Mark. ;)
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,561
30,849
With most saddles it is about the person getting used to it, rather than the other way round and the saddle wearing in. When I was doing high mileages each year, 5000 plus, it didn't really matter what bike or saddle I was using, they were all ok. These days when my annual mileages are quite low, I suffer on any longer ride, no matter what the bike or saddle.

I don't think it's so much our bodies getting hardened, more a matter of the brain eventually ignoring a long term daily pain stimulus, rather like the way it signals out a "floater" in the eye so that we no longer see it, even though it's still there.
 

mike killay

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 17, 2011
3,012
1,629
I am sure that there is something in what Flecc says about the brain ignoring pain signals. The only problem is that it shouldn't. Pain is telling you something.
Ask any Urologist about bike saddles. You won't like what you hear.
To be comfortable, they have to be a lot wider. Problem is that this makes pedalling difficult.
Some of the old moped saddles were quite good.
 

Davanti

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 10, 2012
310
0
Hi all!

... I must say, it never ceases to amaze me at how bl***y uncomfortable it is for a man to ride...!

Thanks!
Mark
If you had been in the Navy, Mark, you would have learned to accept it as part of life's rich pattern ... and moved on!:eek:

Don
 

Davanti

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 10, 2012
310
0
The phenomenon of the body ignoring daily pain signals has a technical name . It is called "Marriage."
Ah! Now I understand why my pain threshold changed when I retired from work ... I was at home most of the time!

Thank God for the bike! Out and about with no room for passengers! ;)
 

shemozzle999

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 28, 2009
2,826
686
A Brooks B67 aged (softer leather) saddle, has a wide berth and springs to absorb the inevitable bumps.

Certainly not sleek in appearance, but I find it most comfortable.

brook b67.jpg
 
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Davanti

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 10, 2012
310
0
...has a wide berth ... to absorb the inevitable bumps.

Certainly not sleek in appearance, but I find it most comfortable.
Just how I used to like my ... oops ... wrong forum :eek:
 

Scimitar

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jul 31, 2010
1,772
40
Ireland
Last year I swapped my original-fit Cure-for-Haemorrhoids for a Velo Far East (anag) sprung saddle and was as pleased as Punch with it, especially after fitting the fat tyre on the rear - the two combined now enable me to float like a butterly, utterly.
I've just bought a Brooks B66 - I'll see how that goes in comparison.
 

johnc461165

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 19, 2011
546
22
WN6
I bought a Bell gell saddle from Asda £13 suits me fine done 40 miles on it and it's been good for me but others may say different. I had my Haemorrhoids early 80s WOW what an experience. :eek::eek::eek:
 
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