In my years of experience in bike riding, I have seen and heard complaints about discomfort and other physical health issues after a bike ride. Whether it’s a hurting butt, backache, numbness, and other body pains, all the bikers are pointing their fingers at the bike seat. Yes, the original bike seat attached to your new bike has always been the main suspect for being uncomfortable and inconvenient, leading to many physical issues during and after the bike ride.
In fairness to the bike manufacturers, I have seen efforts to improve the stock seat of every bike and make it more comfortable for the biker. Also, other factors can bring discomfort and inconvenience to a biker when hitting on the road. This brings me to this vital point: it is the responsibility of the biker to make himself comfortable during the ride and eliminate physical health issues from happening after.
In this article, our team will be discussing different ways to make the bike seat more comfortable. The tips and recommendations we share are based on our biking experience of thousands of miles on various roads. We also gathered several tips and suggestions from our experienced biker friends who are considered experts in the biking industry.
Contents
Different Ways to Improve Bicycle Seat’s Comfort
Improving your bike seat’s comfort can be grouped into three categories: adjustments, add-ons, and replacement. Adjustments are what you will do or adjust to make the bike seat more comfortable for you. Add-ons are those accessories that you will use to eliminate all the discomfort and make the seat more comfortable than ever. If the first two tips still fail to make the bike seat more comfortable, the next best thing is to replace the stock saddle with an appropriate and comfortable bike seat.
Adjusting your Bike Seat the Right Way
Adjusting your bike right from the start to fit your body is essential to maintain the proper alignment and prevent any physical issues and injuries. Doing this will also help in making you comfortable throughout the bike ride. I suggest adjusting your bike seat to the same height as your hip bones are located.
You can also adjust the distance between the seat and the handlebar by placing your elbow at the tip of the bike seat. Then adjust the seat forward so that the space is one forearm apart from the handlebar. Doing this will create enough distance between your hand and the handlebar to fit about three fingers.
Change How You Use the Bike Seat
I have seen many bikers sitting too far in the front area of the bike seat, making their butt position on the thinner part of the saddle. This position will bring discomfort and possibly brings pain to your butt, especially when riding longer distances. The right way is to sit back on the softer part of the seat or take the entire seat with your butt to make it more comfortable and possibly reduce the chances of pain.
Another adjustment that you can make is to change your approach when approaching a hilly road or increasing your bike’s speed. What you do is stand up out of the saddle when you want to increase your speed or approaching a hill to eliminate your chance of putting all your weight into your buttocks. Making this approach will rest your butt a bit, and all the works will be coming from your legs and the core of your body. Also, if you are biking for the whole day, make sure to take a rest every hour to give your seat a break.
Using a Bike Seat Cover or Cushion
Most of the original bike seat is known to be hard and still which makes it annoying and uncomfortable. But one way to reduce the hardness and the stiffness is to use a bike seat cover to address the issue. The seat cover is like a cushion that will be inserted into the bike saddle to make it softer and more comfortable. The best thing about investing in a seat cover is it is more economical when compared to replacing the bike seat entirely.
Wearing Padded Cycling Shorts
For sure, it is essential to wear the proper bike uniforms when hitting on the road. But wearing padded cycling short bring added benefit when it comes to reducing the discomfort of the bike seat. I always believe that using cycling-specific padded shorts can make or break when it comes to being comfortable on the road. This type of short can reduce pressure points and eliminate road vibrations and soreness.
Replacing the Original Bike Seat
If you still feel discomfort after doing all the suggestions given above, the next best thing is to replace the original bike seat and replace it with the more right one for your needs. Although this is not economical, doing this step will eliminate all the stress and anxiety from using the hard stock seat. But to make sure that the replacement was all worth it, you need to do your due diligence when looking for the right saddle for your bike.
There are many types of bike seats available in the market, and you should know what you are looking for. Of course, it will also depend on the bike you own because it will dictate when choosing the type of bike seat. Whether it is a racing saddle, comfort saddle, cruiser saddle, or any other type will depend on the bike you own. Saddles are also group or made according to gender, which means you need to choose wisely before purchasing a particular bike seat.
Conclusion
Learning how to make your bike seat more comfortable is a responsibility that every biker needs to do before every bike ride. The reason behind it is to maximize the experience and prevent any unnecessary injuring during and after the right. I have heard many complaints about having uncomfortable bike seats. But, doing our recommendations will help in reducing, if not eliminating the discomfort and achieve maximum comfort with your bike seat.