Wonderfull saddle comfort

[Bill Reynolds]

Hello, I am a life long cyclist and motorcyclist and have had my share of accidents. In 1975 a person in a Austin Maxi smashed into my Yamaha and bashed up my right leg/hip and the 'landing' messed up my left hip. Ever since my right 'sit bone' has given me trouble. I purchased two made to measure frames in a effort to get pain free cycling but it was the saddle area that gave me the most problems. Recently I purchased a extra wide ten and a half inch saddle off the internet. My wife made me a special saddle cover and under it I placed a lightly inflated neck pillow (like you use on a plane)...now I sit on a bubble of air like on my special motorcycle air saddle cover. After decades of uncomfortable cycling I have arrived at a happy bum!

[reohn2]

Unconventional maybe,but if it works for you that's all that matters

[Stewart H]

Neat idea with the neck cushion, on my motorcycle I have a sheepskin and a puttnams stadium cushion, 500 mile days are possible, on my hybrid/mtb I am trying a selle royal that I have recovered with some leather from an old sofa not too pretty but comfortable
fettling is a large part of it for me

[[XAP]Bob]

I like the air cushion idea, likely to be better than gel...

[Bill Reynolds]

Bob, With Gel... after a while you find your really sitting on the hard, awful plastic base most saddles have now! The gel becomes compressed and you find yourself sitting on 'solid' gel...which is no comfort at all. My system gets you onto a bubble of air that wont let you end up on the hard base of the saddle....need I say more?

[Ayesha]

Are you the Bill Reynolds who's father ran a pub in Droitwich?

[[XAP]Bob]

Bob, With Gel... after a while you find your really sitting on the hard, awful plastic base most saddles have now! The gel becomes compressed and you find yourself sitting on 'solid' gel...which is no comfort at all. My system gets you onto a bubble of air that wont let you end up on the hard base of the saddle....need I say more?

Absolutely, dunlop had a good idea with these air cushions - we don't ride gel tyres (however good their fairy repellent qualities might be)

[Audax67]

Sounds like a great idea. I wonder if one might cobble together something similar with an inner tube, a bit like a rope-soled sandal. My SMP could do with a softener.

Incidentally, when you buy a Selle Anatomica Titanico there's a little slip in the box saying "Welcome to the Happy Bottom Riding Club".

[Stewart H]

The key thing with the inflatable bits is that there hardly needs to be any air, my prototype was an Aldi camping inflatable cushion wrapped in duct tape to maintain its motorbike seat shape, by the time I had let out enough air it looked almost flat, the putnams cushion has linked compartments (they are made for wheelchair users) and again does not need a lot of puff at all for the cushion effect to work, I reckon a contraption made of cycle inner tube constrained in a stout cover might just make us rich !

[Bill Reynolds]

My inflatable neck cushion has VERY little air in but when doubled up to sit on the saddle there is enough air to make a decent cushion....this is achieved by trial and error. I test the saddle by riding along the Bristol Road from where I live to Bristol Street in Birmingham.....about seven miles. After the last trip I found I needed extra cushioning material on my wife's home-made cycle saddle cover as the long legged cycle shorts of mine got sweaty sitting on a rubber air bubble....which is what the neck cushion really is. (The question above about a pub in Droitwich is the strangest question I have ever been asked...."no, I am not!") ...Out on testing again soon, seeing if the extra padding is doing its job?! By the way, the saddle I am using was described by the Ebay seller as the..."Big buttocked Saddle", ...it really is, but is great for its intended purpose.

[georgew]

I seem to remember that Campag made a saddle which allowed the rider to inflate to the desired amount of air....must have been back in the eighties I think.

[Tortoise]

I seem to remember that Campag made a saddle which allowed the rider to inflate to the desired amount of air....must have been back in the eighties I think.

Yup, it got rave reviews and I bought one. Absolutely useless. The leather covering was as hard and rigid as a new Brooks; the bladder has a Presta valve and you can't tell the difference when riding it between completely empty and inflated. A typical Campag example of hype over proper engineering and another marketing con trick. They didn't sell, except to muppets like me, and were withdrawn quite quickly I think. I still have mine - it might be worth a bob or two to collectors by now.

[Bill Reynolds]

How strange that such a saddle is mentioned....Prior to making my own comfy saddle I ordered a Velo Tour Air saddle via Amazon. I gave it a good test. I pumped up the air bladder which sat on a opening of the usual rock hard base plate of the saddle. Where the bladder was, there was a mesh of thick plastic webbing (unyielding!) that I presume was supposed to sag when the bladder was pumped up? The saddle was comfortable for the first few miles but the bladder hardness soon made itself known! I then deflated the bladder in stages but the bladder was still hard on my bum. I wondered if the designer was a cyclist or a car driver....

[Bill Reynolds]

Hello Suffers of Pain, Today I went out on my Dahon Vitesse folding cycle to check out some more adjustments on my DEEP Comfort Saddle. The added layers of cloth on the saddle cover stopped the previous sweaty feeling and the added ties to the saddle cover mean the the saddle cover remains in place along with the air bladder sitting under it. I am surprised there is not a separate sub section on 'Bikes and Bits' just for saddles as this subject keeps coming up regularly....and affects a lot of people!

[Stewart H]

They just say Brookes and have done with it I am currently using a "big ass" sprung job that came on one of my skip bikes, quite nice but not ridden far on it yet. I have also tried a selle royale sporty one that I recovered with leather from an old sofa, experimentation is all part of the fun.