Bike Seats Do Not HAVE to Hurt

Bike seats are a special kind of relationship. Hopefully, it’s like seeing an old friend… You settle into each other really quickly and don’t have bad feelings after the encounter.

But, you didn’t start reading this because you love your saddle (yes, that is nerd speak for seat). You are looking for solutions.

What causes a bicycle seat to hurt

Without getting too technical, there are three main reasons (out of hundreds) that a bicycle seat will hurt to ride.

1. Density of the material – A seat that is too soft will have you sink into it and won’t offer support that allows movement. A seat that is too hard will not conform to your body and that means your body will need to conform (yowch!) to the seat.
   • Stay away from really big and squishy saddles, unless you only ride really short distances.
   • Stay away from harder race saddles, unless you immediately feel a sense of even support.
   • NOTE: Many people who are (or feel they are) overweight think that they need a bigger seat for their bigger “seat”. The truth is that seats fit because of a match of sit bone shape to support shape. The saddle needs to fit your body, not the other way around.
2. Wrong application – Many of the seats that our eyes like are the wrong seat for our bike. As a general rule, the wider a seat is the more UPRIGHT the rider should be sitting. This also makes sense thinking about the freedom your thighs will have to move.
   • Wide squishy seats are designed for short rides with an upright rider.
   • Skinny hard seats are made for longer rides with some sort of padded compression shorts.
3. The position of the seat is wrong – Seats that are tilted incorrectly will almost always hurt. And seats that are too high or too low will tend to hurt your butt, too.
   • Most (but not all) seats are most comfortable when they are level.
   • The more common, seat-too-low-because-I-do-not-feel-safe-with-it-high creates extra movement back and forth. Try raising your seat, so your power comes from all of your legs instead of feeling like it is your butt and hamstrings moving the bike.
   • If your seat is nearly the right height, you should get most of the extension out of your legs, but you should not need to “reach” or lock out your knees.

The Ideal Saddle

What makes a seat “the right seat” is simple.

1. You like it – don’t let anyone argue with your butt. If you like the seat, then you do not have to change it.
2. It offers support to your butt and how you ride – Your sit bones have a particular width and shape. The right seat will primarily support your sit bones. There is a stark difference between a seat that “will work okay” and one that you never notice because your body likes sitting on it.
3. It allows movement – the right seat will allow your legs to pedaling naturally.

Things That Do Not Change Comfort

In my experience riding and selling thousands of bikes, here are the things that won’t fix your problem, but you might REALLY REALLY want them to.

1. Women-Specific Seats – to say that all women’s butts are the same is a weird thing. To say they all want shorter and softer seats is also a little off-putting. I’m not saying you won’t love one, I’m saying that just because it is called (marketed as) a seat for women doesn’t automatically create comfort.
2. Gel Covers – this seems like a great idea and I am sure it has worked for some people. But on the whole, gel covers make your muscles hurt more because there is nothing to keep them in place. And gel covers turn gross pretty quickly.
3. Suspension seatposts – these are great for absorbing bumps, but it isn’t the bumps that make a seat not work with your body.
4. Paying a ton more money – seats typically do not get more comfy as you spend more.
   • Titanium and carbon rails are fancy and light, but won’t make your butt happy
   • More expensive means lighter in almost every case.
   • Quality starts about $35 and stops at about $90. This is a good range to consider.

How Do I Choose?

Well, firstly. Do not trust your fingers to know whether your butt will like a seat.

1. It is designed for what you are using it for. See that the shape makes sense for your usage. Are you riding for 3 minutes or 3 hours? Are you sitting upright or leaned over?
2. You can return it if you hate it.
   • Buy it locally, so you can return it easily. Save the packaging and receipt.
   • Many reputable saddle companies also have great 30 to 60 day return policies.
3. Make sure you take the time to set up the seat to be level and close enough on the positioning.
4. Trust yourself