How to Choose the Best Bike Seat for Your Needs

Do you want to know a secret that professional cyclists know?  Biking doesn’t have to hurt; it doesn’t have to be uncomfortable.  Sure, climbing hills can be grueling.  Moving over dirt and uneven terrain can be trying.  Your legs may feel like jelly, your heart may be beating so loudly you can hear it.  But you do not have to be sore or numb when you finish your ride, or worse, are halfway into it.  Your choice of bike seat can mean the difference between quitting in pain or enjoying the satisfying feeling of finishing a race or improving on your time or making one more hill. 

Bike saddles may be the single most dreaded piece of exercise equipment.  An improper fit can lead not only to numbness and discomfort but erectile dysfunction in men and loss of genital sensation in women.  Why does this happen?  When you sit, your weight should be distributed on your aptly named sit bones.  If you take a moment to sit on a hard surface, you will feel exactly where these are. On a saddle, your weight should rest on these points.  When you are looking for a new seat, measure the distance between your sit bones and get a seat which offers support in that range. 

Many people think that heavily padded seats offer more comfort than the very narrow models we see the professionals use.  And this is true if you go around the block once or twice.  Any longer, and you will notice the pain and numbness starting.  This is because the seat takes pressure off of the sit bones, which are designed to handle it, and put it on the surrounding tissues, which are not. 

These types of saddles also cause us to sink into them a bit, which also interferes with the proper distribution of weight.  Choose seats that are not only the correct size, but also use padding, such as gel foam, effectively.  Selle Italia’s Max Flite Gel Flow is an example of such a saddle.  It is very narrow, and upon first glance,  most novice cyclers may cringe because it looks too narrow to be comfortable.  But in fact, it supports your weight perfectly, and the strategically placed gel inserts relieve pressure on the perineal region.  When looking for a saddle, make sure that you don’t equate padding with support. 

Whether you are a mountain biker or road racer, you must find a seat that is designed specifically for men or women. Obviously, the anatomy is different, as is the body shape.  Women tend to have wider hips, so they will need a seat that is wider and shorter to accommodate their sit bones.  Traditionally, bicycles have been designed primarily for men, but there is now a much wider selection for women.

Another thing to consider if you are looking for a new saddle because your current one is uncomfortable is to determine what type of riding style you have.  For instance, if you are interested in racing, you will want a seat which is narrow because racers lean forward quite a bit, and narrow seats put the weight on the sit bones.  If you want a bike that you will use to ride up and down the block with your kids and on which you will sit upright, a wide, cushioned seat will be fine.  It may not be the saddle, per se, that is causing discomfort; it could be that it is not in line with your riding needs.

You can find bicycle seats that work for you and help add to your enjoyment of cycling.  If your seat is uncomfortable, look into making changes that will keep you on the trail.

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