A new seat!

[Another Bill C.]

I'm almost 70 and really overweight. The padding isn't in the right places, though, and a regular bike seat presses on parts that used to be well tucked away. I tried a cut-away and that was only slightly better. After my typical 20-mile ride, all those parts and bones are feeling a little too well ridden.

I ride an old Bridgestone road bike and I'm usually leaning forward anyway so I ordered a seat without a horn. It's one of those new ergonomically designed ones.

I could buy a mountain bike but I'm really slow going up hills and the road bike lets me make up time on the levels and downgrades. Also, it rolls a lot easier than any of my friends' mountain bikes. I find that, at the bottom of a downhill run, they have to start pedaling long before I do. A recumbent might be easier but I do a lot of night riding on city streets and I feel more visible on the higher bike.

I'll post the results of this $50 experiment as soon as I get to try it out.

[mike_c]

1. Bill, you might want to look into a Brooks leather saddle....

I ride the B-17 model and it is far and away the most comfortable bike seat I've ever ridden. It's totally minimalist leather-- no padding at all, so there is a break in period, but even out of the box my Brooks was more comfortable than the $80 Italian thing it replaced. Now it's like a glove. Once broken in, it has no use for padding because it simply molds itself to your butt-- it gives where you need give and supports where it's comfortable. They make various sprung models as well, but the basic leather saddle just can't be outdone, IMO. I'm 50 and also not as trim as I used to be! Anyway, over the years I got to the point where saddle pain limited my rides, but my Brooks changed that.

[loveable liberal]

2. try a gel cover. about 3/4 inch thick and made from a similar ...

material as a breast implant. very, very soft. yet dont lose much torque.