Any suggestions for a comfortable e-bike seat?

[Ykick]

Once you find a seat that works best for the bike and rider position the next learning point appears to be durability. Particularly those of us who tend to lift their now heavier “eBicycle” with the seat.

Some seats/saddles simply don’t like/survive that constant, repetitive up/down forceful movement. Brooks seem to tolerate it over the long haul but my experience with Cloud9 and other cheaper plastic saddles has often met with material fatigue failures.

Of course, just never lift your eBike using the saddle - will avoid such trouble.

 

[alpharalpha]

Much depends on how you ride. The seat favored by somebody who pedals hard using the seat to lean sideways on will never be the seat for somebody who sits on the seat the whole ride. For the hard pedaler, a brooks spring seat might be the ideal.

But as that video shows, don't ride on the rivet, unless you are truly just standing the pedals, as a racer does. No way his entire weight is on that nose of the saddle, even if it appears to be so.

Wide and comfy for sitting, but if too wide, then you will chafe your thighs on a 50 mile ride. This won't matter if your ride is short. Right now my longtail cruiser still has the wide spring seat on it, and it's nice. But by mile 20, it's rubbing hard on my thighs. Perfect for the usual ride, 9 miles to the grocery and back.

My favorite style seat is a spring seat, about half way between a wide cruiser seat, and a skinny seat. good springs on the seat, not those faux springs on the bell seat. No gel, I hate a seat with a huge jelly squirming around under me all day. Just some stiff foam cushion.

Get your seat at the right angle. Don't crush those nerves and arteries they spoke of in the vid, because your saddle is tipped up when your ass compresses the springs on a spring seat.

Do you have any brand suggestions of that kind of spring seat between a wide cruiser and a skinny seat...and some stiff foam cushion?

 

[ebent]

Rather than refit your bike, if comfort is the goal, get a recumbent. Don't test ride one if your money is tight because you might use the rent money to get one. I'm on my second trike but they make a variety of 2 wheelers also. My hatred of bike seats got me looking at and owning recumbents. Good luck

 

[tomjasz]

How do you ride with the respiro as it states it's for an upright position, but I have another selle royal seat on an old road bike and it's ok leaning forward. I read some reviews that people said they eventually sank thru the gel and hit that plastic ventilation, what do you think? How far do you ride and do you lean forward any? If the royal gel on the respiro is anything like the one I have it'd be fine.

My sig lists the bikes. All full upright, crank forward, cruisers. I like the combination of a harder gel and faux springs in the form of urethane bushings. Great material so far, and that's nearly a year of riding now. This is one of those seriously personal preference things in my experience. About as right or wrong as briefs or boxers. Strictly preference. There a huge difference in quality of synthetics just as there is in leather. Cheap seats IMO are similar to cheap suspension seat posts. Short lived. The Respiro doesn't squirm.

 

[LockH]

Finally found a use for one of those discarded cushion/pillows I have. `Been biking so much have been "suffering" a bit from dreaded Sore Butt Syndrome. (Recumbent trike w/big "comfy" seat and back rest.)

 

[ebent]

I use an Obusforme ortho seat cushion. http://www.buyobus.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1854 This is my second one. I think I'll need a third. The first one went with the old trike I sold. I'm electrifying one now. I bought one for the new build and now am sitting on it as I type. By the time the trike is up and going I'll need another one. One for the trike and one for the office. It is beneficial for my lower back.

 

[alpharalpha]

Rather than refit your bike, if comfort is the goal, get a recumbent. Don't test ride one if your money is tight because you might use the rent money to get one. I'm on my second trike but they make a variety of 2 wheelers also. My hatred of bike seats got me looking at and owning recumbents. Good luck

I'd love to switch over to a recumbent but this area's just not safe enough for one. I first rode a friend's linear with the under the seat steering and loved it but he ended up trading it in because it was dangerous with both the traffic that didn't see him and the turds that feel they have to yell something negative out. I definitely can't do a trike as I ride a lot of windy narrow back roads where cars have to wait to pass me and there's no side to the roads, in some places the black top just chunks away at the end, so I have to be somewhat over the bars for maximum control. I don't worry about the bouncing effect riding as I stay on the road and it's not very bumpy; it's the comfort of finding a seat that's firm enough to support my sit bones, not make me slide forward but not go numb either. Something like this maybe: http://www.amazon.com/Selle-Royal-Classic-Journey-Relaxed/dp/B002VG3FLC/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

[TheBeastie]

Get an LT version of a thudbuster, I got this one directly from Amazon, good deal, 27.2mm is the most common seat post size.
http://www.amazon.com/Cane-Creek-Thudbuster-Travel-Seatpost/dp/B000T3BYH6/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1432729413&sr=1-1&keywords=thud+buster
Or get the one cal3 suggested and use it has an addition to your comfy seat.

 

[TheThirdMan]

I had to replace the torture device that came attached to my Giant Talon 4, and the bike shop had this: http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B001T4Z876

I don't regret a penny. I ride 12 miles to and from work with that in comfort. I am 6' and 200 lbs and sit on that seat for most of the ride.

 

[Supertux1]

I use split seats like the Serfas RX in combination with the Thudbuster suspension seatpost. Both the bikes in my sig have it. I love it. Casually offroad and drop curbs sitting all nice and proper like.
You have to be tall for the thudbuster though because it has a minimum height above the frame. (5'10-6'+)

 

[alpharalpha]

Lots of good choices here. I like the selle royal respiro and the serfas rx and even entertaining the idea of the comfort 9 but do you think this saddle would be comfortable for sitting on a hybrid? http://www.amazon.com/Selle-SMP-TRK-Man-Saddle/dp/B001K12JHK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8 I can get it a bit cheaper than Amazon, or do you think this is more a road biker's saddle?

 

[LockH]

Also `been considering heated/cooling seats, back rest etc. (On pendulum-swinging rider seat w/armrests & more drink holders w/folding table re laptop, etc.)

 

[tomjasz]

Lots of good choices here. I like the selle royal respiro and the serfas rx and even entertaining the idea of the comfort 9 but do you think this saddle would be comfortable for sitting on a hybrid? http://www.amazon.com/Selle-SMP-TRK-Man-Saddle/dp/B001K12JHK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8 I can get it a bit cheaper than Amazon, or do you think this is more a road biker's saddle?

That one hurts looking at it...