More depends on the bikes frame and handlebar geometry than you think. Sure the seat matters, but 95% of cheaper bikes are never intended to be ridden more than 5 miles, and the buyers are lucky to even go that far. The bike may have an upright riding geometry that feels great, but not for more than 10 miles or so. Good full suspension, can make even the crappiest seats tolerable for at least 15 miles. Having some body weight on the bars does help, as in a racing bike. My ol body doesn't fold that far anymore, with all the fat I carry being right on my bellybutton. So riding more upright, my ass takes the pounding more now. A racer actually puts very little ass pressure on the saddle. Pedaling that hard, the butt is kinda floating there on the seat. 80% of the riders weight is on the pedals and the bars.
Gellies and memory foam is not the answer. But it is the answer to marketing the stupid piece o crap seat.
For the rider, they count on again, you never ride more that 5 miles. Not knocking that particular seat, but I've seen some with a 2 pound blob of gelly that really sucked. Too much cush can be really bad with the chafing issue.
Adjustments matter a ton. Have you even tried changing the angle of the seat? pointing the nose just one click up, or one down from where you have it? The difference can be amazing. What you need will depend on the frame geometery. Same thing for seat height, play with moving it up 1/4 inch at a time, or back down.
Pants matter a lot. Lycra tights are nicer than you think. Buy em big enough, and you can wear em pretty comfy under regular pants when it's cold. But what I've taken to doing, is buying biker shorts in any size at the thrift store. Then I take the ass pad, called a chamois, and hand sew it into a pair of cargo shorts that fit me good. Now I have some regular shorts, with plenty of pockets for the cell phone, wallet, keys, ipod etc etc. And they are good for a 70 mile day in the saddle. When it cools off some, I can wear a pair of sweats under the shorts. I always ride with a chamois in the pants on longer weekend rides, or harder rides like the dirt trails.
For my daily commute, I used to wear the shorts for the ride home. 15 miles there and 15 back. Now I've developed some leather balls, and tolerate 30 miles in regular pants. But at first, wearing the biker shorts for the ride home was a lifesaver. Other tricks help too. I wouldn't dream of a 50 mile day without a dab of vaseline at the start. It's not the lubrication, it's the protecting the skin from the acid in your sweat on a loooooong day. The same trick got me through a lot of 12 hour days framing houses in 100F temps. You'd see a guy walking funny in the afternoon, and the crew would start singing the the Johnny Cash song ring of fire to razz the guy.
Now on the the last thing that matters, the actual seat. Here is what I look for. For a good full suspension bike, I use a seat pretty close to a racing saddle. Pretty narrow, some padding, but not too much. I do tend to favor the seats with a notch down the middle. Not that your balls are there, but some venting is nice.
Other bikes with no rear suspension, it depends on the proposed ride length. Some may have very wide beach cruiser seats for 5 mile spins to the vegetables at the flea market. Others have narrower seats, but not racing saddle narrow. A bit more foam perhaps, but again, not a huge squishy pillow. But what I really look for in all these seats for hardtails is a good set of springs built into the saddle. Not plastic deals that look like springs. Not metal springs that in fact don't function at all. I look for nice coils that actually work. Not pounding your ass so hard really does help on longer rides.
As for the old school brooks leather seats, I sometimes wonder why the racers gave em up, till you weigh one. Once broken in, that can take a year, nothing else will ever fit your ass as good. When you wear one out, and have to start breaking in a new one, you cry. But again, best for a racing bars bike, and pedaling hard. Back when I ran the brooks seats I rarely ever pedaled light enough to have my butt touch the saddle.
. Anyone else have this seat? Any other recommendations?
