The saddle lineup for our comfort experiment included these eight saddles. The V-seat is in the middle and ranked pretty high although the shape doesn't let on to how comfortable it is.

How to make your Bicycle more comfortable.

This story is about achieving a more comfortable ride on our bikes. Bicycle comfort (or lack of comfort) is a big issue for many people. We have great e-bikes, but like many e-bikes, they were (are) not as comfortable as they could be. I don’t want to pretend that we are perfectly comfortable, but rather that we are more comfortable. The subject of bicycle comfort, especially regarding your bike saddle, is very personal. What I find comfortable and what you find comfortable are probably two different things.

Fit determines bicycle comfort.

If your bicycle doesn’t fit you, you will not be comfortable on your bike. I have much to say about how bicycle fit determines comfort on your bike. Here is a link to the section of my e-bike ebook about bicycle fit. Your e-bike needs to fit you. 

Make small changes

Achieving bicycle comfort is tricky. Changing one thing, like your seat position, can affect your comfort in both your hands and other locations on your body. To avoid changing the location of your problem, fix one thing, make your changes small, and then perform test rides to find out if the change was a good one.

Posture and body contact points determine bicycle comfort.

Other than your feet on the pedals (discussed later), your hands and bottom are the points of contact on your e-bike. Your body posture and the body parts that contact your e-bike determine your bicycle comfort. Too much pressure on a body part will make it uncomfortable. Removing weight from one place puts the weight somewhere else. Balancing and spreading the body contact points over a larger area is the best way to achieve bicycle comfort.

Sometimes, you can eliminate seat pain by adjusting your handlebar position. Adjusting your seating position and posture and using more effective components tailored to your body can improve bicycle comfort.

Posture influences bicycle comfort decisions.

The following drawing illustrates two different body positions on a bicycle. The more athletic position has a forward tilt that puts more weight on the hands, and the upright position puts less weight on the hands and more on the seat. The further you rotate your body angle towards an upright posture, the higher your natural hand position will be.

Bicycle stick figures
Bicycle stick figures show a more athletic posture and a more upright posture.

Bicycle comfort for your hands, arms, shoulders, and neck

Your hands should comfortably fit on the handlebars. Usually, this contact point is your handlebar grips. The word “grips” can be misleading because gripping the grips can lead to extra stress. When riding, you want to avoid unnecessary stress.

Your hand position in contact with the grips should be natural and not excessively flat (knuckles up). It should be evident that palms up won’t work. The ideal hand position will be palms down in a natural. The heel of your hands should be slightly lower than your knuckles. The meaty part of your hands should touch the grips rather than the thumb joints.

ergonomic handle bar grips
The ergonomic handlebar grip (right hand) puts a larger grip zone where the heel of the hand is supported but is narrower where the thumb wraps around the grip.

Your fingers should lie in a natural curve around the grip. The wrist should not be flexed up, nor should they be extended downward at the joint. The fingers, metacarpal bones, and wrists should naturally align with the forearm. In a natural position, the thumb joint will align behind the knuckles without too much ulnar deviation at the wrist (tip of the thumb in front of the knuckles). Having the opposite — radial deviation (thumb toward the body’s center line) is never best.

Three different bicycle handle bar shapes
Here are three different bicycle handlebar shapes. The top two are relaxed but more athletic than the bottom handlebar shape. Mountain bikes generally have even less sweep in the handlebars.

Vibration control for the hands

For many people, for their hands, forward lean and weight on the hands coupled with road vibration create a primary discomfort when riding a bicycle; on most bikes, the air in the tires, frame, fork flex, and front shock absorber can deal with small vibrations. The combination of these flexible bike parts creates bicycle comfort.

Big shock absorbers are overkill for vibration control but are very important for cyclists who jump their bikes. The last thing you want to happen when landing a jump is for your hands to be knocked off the handlebars.

If your wheels don’t leave the ground, you have multiple options to deal with vibrations to achieve bicycle comfort. If your wheels leave the ground (jumping), the answer is a shock-absorbing front fork. Traditionally, vibration control was performed with a slightly flexible fork and handlebars. You can also use a dedicated spring-loaded suspension stem to deal with road vibrations. Stiff parts transmit vibrations, and flexible parts soak up vibrations. As with many things, the balance between stiff and flexible will help you be comfortable on your e-bike.

Redshift suspension stem showing travel and elastomers to tune the suspension.
A Redshift suspension stem shows the range of travel and elastomers to tune the suspension.

The bike fit may be wrong if your hands go numb during the ride. Perhaps it is a result of not having strong core muscles. Don’t ignore saddle height as a possible cause of hand problems. Lowering the saddle by a centimeter will transfer more weight to your bottom and off your hands. Sometimes, all it takes is riding with suitable gloves to achieve comfort.

These padded bicycle gloves include areas that are filled with gel cushioning.

Numbness in your hands is nearly always a result of the bicycle seat position putting too much weight on them. The seat may be too high, or the handlebar position may be too low. Padded gloves can often help, as can a larger-diameter grip. Bike fitters usually recommend that road riders frequently change their hand positions.

Bicycle comfort for your wrists, arms, shoulders, and neck

Your wrists and forearms should align with your hands, with only slight and natural differences between them. Your elbows should be slightly bent and not straight to your shoulders. If your elbows are not bent, it indicates that your handlebars are too far away from your seat. You should be able to lock your elbows, but even though it is possible, you should not lock your elbow joints. This will allow the elbows to absorb the vibrations transferred to your shoulders.

Your handlebar width should be the same or slightly wider than your shoulder width. Traditional road bike handlebars had multiple positions for your hands so that you could move your hands to new locations as you rode. E-bikes rarely have different locations for your hands, and the other positions are often cluttered with devices on the handlebars. Choose your handlebars wisely to achieve bicycle comfort.

Adequate handlebar width is essential for your breathing. Bicycling is an athletic sport, even on an e-bike. Make sure you can breathe well during your effort.

Bicycle comfort for your back, neck, and shoulders

The more forward your posture is, the more it stresses the muscles in your neck. If your neck is sore, it indicates your body posture is too far forward. (Remember, I am not defining comfort for bicycle racers; nearly all these things apply to racers.)

A hunched posture is often caused the seat being too close to the handlebars.
A hunched posture is often caused by the seat being too close to the handlebars. I will provide more information later when discussing the seat position.

The distance between the saddle and handlebars determines bicycle fit in an athletic posture. If the bicycle fit is good for your body, the back is generally straight, including the neck. If the distance between the handlebars and saddle is too short, it will cause a sway in the lower back. If the distance is too long, you reach for the handlebars, have a hunch-back posture, and raise your shoulders.

Bicycle comfort for your bottom

Don’t ignore the above discussion about fit and hand position and think your only problem is your bike seat. Bicycle comfort is a balance of weight between your hands and your bottom. A change in hand position can influence and even correct saddle pain issues.

Sit bones and saddle width.

Everyone knows that sit bones are not uniform. You may not know that the contact point between your bicycle saddle and sit bones changes with posture. Sit bones can be measured accurately to determine the correct saddle width. The problem with measuring the sit bones is that different people sit with varying postures on the bike. You may not be sitting on your sit bones, depending on your posture. Instead, your weight might be carried on your body’s soft, fleshy parts. If you have irritation between your legs or numbness, you are not sitting correctly on your sit bones.

Comfort Bicycle Saddle Shape
A wide saddle is usually associated with an upright posture. This saddle shape will be more comfortable if you have an upright posture. As the pelvis tilts forward, this saddle shape will be less comfortable than a narrow saddle.

Sit bones

The sit bones are at the bottom of the pelvis, and the different locations on the sit bones have different names. The overall term for sit bones is the ischium. Forward of the ischium is the pubic bone. Above the ischium is the ilium (hip bone). The ischium has two different locations along the bone called the posterior apex (backside) and anterior apex (front side).

Pubic bone and forward apex of the sit bones.

The ischial ramus is forward of the anterior (front) apex. As you tilt your posture forward while riding your bike, the point of contact on the bike seat moves forward from the anterior apex onto the ischial ramus. Attached to the front of the sit bone is the pubic bone. While bicycle racers often tilt their pelvis to sit on the ischial ramus and even the pubic bones, they were not designed to be used this way.

If your sit bones are “standard,” a standard-width saddle should fit you… It isn’t that easy. The problem is that, unlike the tip of your finger, these bones are not points but longer bones that are part of your pelvis. Sit bones narrow towards the front (anterior), and the more you lean forward into an athletic posture, the more you will apply more weight to the front part of your sit bones and less weight to the back part of your sit bones.

The seat supplied with our e-bikes was high quality. I wish that we had a little more comfort in this area.
This comfortable seat (for an athletic posture) came on our e-bikes. Even though it was comfortable for an athletic posture, our posture on the e-bike is more upright, and this seat style didn’t match the bicycle style.

Bicycle comfort on your sit bones

The ischial tuberosity (ischia is pronounced “ISS-kee-uh”) is the sit bone at the bottom of your pelvis and bears weight when you sit on a bicycle seat. The weight should not be supported by the soft tissues rather than the sit bones. One problem with selecting a bicycle seat is that cycling is an active exercise that involves moving the legs at the hip joint while sitting. Less force can be applied to the pedals if the saddle inhibits leg movement. Thus, saddle selection must be narrow enough to allow leg movement and wide enough to distribute weight on the sit bones.

You will be happiest if you sit on the sit bones, not the fleshy part between them. Even though it is common among racers to sit on the forward apex or ischial ramus of the sit bones, it is not the most comfortable location.

The ischial tuberosity is a bone at the bottom of your pelvis that bears weight when you sit.
This drawing shows the sit bone in a natural seated position. As you can see, if you rotate the pelvis toward the front, the point of contact (anterior apex) of the sit bone is smaller than if you rotate the pelvis toward the back. The other thing evident in the drawing is that the sit bones narrow toward the front and broader towards the back.

Notice that as you rock your pelvis forward, it tilts forward and transfers the load (that’s you) to a small contact point (anterior apex) than if you were to rock the pelvis backward. There is also a posterior apex, but a cyclist’s posterior apex is usually not in contact with the saddle unless the seat is closer to the pedals than normal.

Body posture and pelvis tilt

As the rider leans forward, the pelvis tilts forward. Spine tilt puts more weight on the hands. The pelvis tilt changes the point of contact with the bicycle saddle and decreases the area of the sit bones in contact with the saddle. (I am trying to make you aware of the effect; I am not trying to tell you to change your posture or even seat position if you are already comfortable.)

Pelvis tilt changes the point of contact with the saddle and the area of contact with the saddle. The more upright the posture, the more contact area with the saddle on the flat part of your sit bones, and the more distributed the load will be on the aft part of the sit bones. All of this assumes that you do not compensate for your pelvis tilt with the joints in your lower back.

The above drawings of the skeletons at different angles show the spine in a neutral position. Cyclists, however, may tilt the pelvis forward or backward in the lower joints, artificially tilting the pelvis without tilting the spine.

Saddle “tilt” should “match” pelvis tilt.

Rules associated with bicycle racing state that the seat should be generally flat from front to back. Since you are not a bicycle racer, there is no reason that you cannot adopt a saddle tilt that will best match your pelvis tilt. A slight tilt can make a massive difference in bicycle comfort. Tilting the saddle forward will put more weight on your hands.

As the spine and pelvis tilt forward, more pressure is put on the soft tissues in front of the sit bones. Saddle design can help minimize the pressure on this area, and I will discuss this shortly. Another thing you can identify from the above drawing is that as the spine is tilted forward, this argues for a slightly lower nose on the saddle. In all cases, the nose of the saddle should not be higher than the aft part of the saddle due to the contact area. This argues for saddle designs with a nose lower than the heel. This works as long as you are not sliding forward in your saddle.

You may also notice that my drawn lines have a slight arch. The curve of the line represents the body shape from the sit bones forward towards the pubic arch.

Your saddle design should allow for forward tilt without the sensation of sliding off the front of the saddle. The surface of the saddle should not be a slippery material. Reject saddles that appear polished or are covered with a stretchy, slick material.

Measuring sit bone width

The easy way to measure the width of your sit bones is to sit on a piece of aluminum foil or cardboard on a soft surface such as a carpet on stairs or a chair. The impressions left on the aluminum foil should identify the maximum width of the sit bones. Sitting on the aluminum foil in a posture similar to your bicycling posture will be best. Lean slightly forward to get a position identical to the one you use on a bicycle. This will measure the point of contact on the anterior apex.

View of the sit bones looking up at the pelvis.
This computer drawing is looking up, with the top representing the spine. I have drawn some black lines on the sit bones associated with an upright posture. As you rotate your body forward into a more athletic posture, the contact point on your saddle will narrow and shift forward.

Measuring will not be exact and challenging to transfer to bicycle saddle selection because bicycle saddles don’t usually identify sit bone width. Many large people have narrow sit-bone widths, and smaller people have wider ones. Measuring will be complex because sit bones are not a single point, making it difficult to clearly define what is being measured from/to on each side. 

My measurement at the anterior (front) apex was shockingly narrow and did not accurately reflect the accurate measurement of the sit bones at the posterior apex. The anterior apex was only 90mm, and the posterior apex (not touching the saddle) was much broader. Still, even though I usually ride in a more athletic posture and have a “narrow” sit-bone width, it doesn’t mean I like a very narrow racing saddle design.

Measuring saddle width

Once you measure your sit bone width, the next step is to measure your saddle width. However, you need to make this measurement at the location where you think the sit bones will contact the saddle. This is not a measurement of the overall width of the saddle at the widest point.

Measuring saddle width.
I am measuring saddle width. The front apex of your sit bones will contact the saddle at about the centimeter side of the ruler. Always pay attention to the sweep shape from the broadest part of the saddle to the nose section.

The easiest way is to lay a ruler across the saddle slightly forward (about three centimeters) of the aft part and ensure the saddle will support your sit bone width. If the saddle is too narrow, you will sit on the fleshy body parts and may even have the saddle push the nerves into the inside edge of the sit-bones.

Ideal saddle width

Posture also pertains to the power you can deliver to the pedals. Posture and seat height are also related, and incorrect posture can lead to discomfort. When riding an e-bike, however, power to the pedals can be somewhat sacrificed instead of using your motor to supplement the force you put into the pedals.

Once you measure your sit bone width, the best thing you can do is use your impression sheet as a guide. You can even place the impression sheet on your saddle to see if you are riding a saddle that corresponds with your sit bone width.

The ideal saddle width pertains to your sit bones, posture, and saddle height. Starting with posture, most riders choose an upright posture with a broader saddle and a shorter nose than riders with a more athletic posture.

Rockbro seat designs
Rockbro seat designs. I have had all three Rockbro seats on my e-bike at different times. They are very similar in construction and soft, maybe too soft for my body weight. The wider the saddle, the more suitable it is for upright posture. Of the three, I liked the MTB seat the best for my riding posture. Pay attention not only to the saddle width but also to the sweep angle. On comfort seat designs, the sweep is almost always well forward of the more narrow designs.

Saddle too narrow

If a rider selects a saddle too narrow, the point of contact moves to the inside of the sit-bones. This position will be uncomfortable for nearly all riders because the contact point will be inside the sit bones, and soft tissue will support the weight almost entirely.

Saddle too wide

If your saddle is too broad, you will probably scoot forward to the more narrow section, which effectively changes the distance to the handlebars. Assuming you are not slipping forward but moving forward, a saddle that is too wide will encourage you to position your bottom so that your sit bones are correctly positioned. Saddles that are too wide inhibit your ability to pedal efficiently. If you slide too far forward, you risk running out of the nose of the saddle or sitting on an unpadded part of the saddle.

To see relative width I often stacked the saddles on top of each other. Tami liked the one on the top. Neither saddle was my preference.

Saddle lower and higher than the desired height

A lower seat height doesn’t allow for full leg extension and lowers the effectiveness of your pedal stroke. Decreasing your saddle beyond the ideal position decreases the force you can put into the pedals. A lower-than-full leg extension places more of your weight on the back part of your saddle and creates a more upright posture. Compared to the ideal saddle height, a lower-than-normal saddle argues for a wider saddle than other riders may consider comfortable.

If a lower saddle height robs the legs of power, a higher saddle height causes hip rocking, resulting in injury when sustained for long periods. If your saddle height is ideal or too high, you will almost always choose more narrow saddles because your pelvis will be rotated forward, and the point of contact with the saddle with your sit bones will be more limited.

Your weight also matters.

Like everything else, riders’ bodies change with age and time. Regarding bicycle comfort, a larger person has more weight contacting the saddle and often has a more challenging time being comfortable on a bicycle.

Saddle position

If saddle width and tilt are not enough, there is also the factor of saddle position forward and aft on the seat rails. Tradition says that you adjust the saddle so that your knee cap, with the pedals at a ninety-degree angle, will be above the ball of your foot as it sits on the peddle. At best, this measurement is a starting point.

These two saddles show how the bottom saddle has a much shorter nose.
These two saddles show that the bottom saddle has a much shorter nose. Bringing your old saddle to the store is a good idea when shopping for a new saddle with a similar shape. This way, you can avoid saddles different from your more “comfortable” saddle.

Sometimes, you can slide the saddle forward, putting your bottom closer to the handlebars, and achieve small but meaningful changes in your relationship with the handlebars. A better plan would be to get a bike that fits you better or change the bicycle stem.

Seat too far forward or too far aft

If the seat is too far forward, it tends to put more weight on the hands, leading to hand pain and hunched shoulders.

Reaching the handlebars feels uncomfortable. You will tend to drag your forward on the seat bottom closer to the handlebars. If your bike is too big or the saddle is too far from the handlebars, you will be uncomfortable lifting your hand off them. If your handlebars are too far from your seat, you will probably also complain about neck pain.

Saddle Tilt

A nose-high saddle can result in lower back pain, while a nose-low saddle can cause you to slide forward and shift weight towards your hands. Like everything else, you must find your best saddle position and experiment with the different adjustments.

I used a level on each saddle when installing it to make sure the sit-bones were slightly higher than the saddle nose.

Position your saddle tilt so that the nose is slightly below the seat bones, and then add minor adjustments to increase the nose’s low position. If you lower the nose too far, you risk increasing the stress on your hands.

Ideal saddle cushion

Typically, bicycle saddles are constructed in two layers. The bottom part of the saddle is the frame, and the upper part is the cushion. The ideal saddle cushion spreads the rider’s weight over a larger frame area, not allowing the rider to feel the frame below the cushion.

Saddles that are too hard or too soft

This is the most common complaint, but you need to find out why the saddle appears to be too hard. The saddle may not be too hard, or it may be incorrectly designed for the rider. The cushion section of the saddle is typically made of foam or gel or a combination of foam and gel. Both are designed to spread the rider’s weight without the rider feeling the frame under the saddle. Hard saddles do not adequately spread the rider’s weight related to the seat bones and are usually uncomfortable for most riders.

Sometimes too soft is a problem. I think this subjective test is right at the limit of being too soft.
Sometimes, too soft is a problem. This saddle is at the limit of being too soft. The cushion material is memory foam, so the cushion “remembers” the previous pressure and does not spring back immediately.

You want a saddle that is soft enough to cradle your sit bones but firm enough not to allow you to cave through the cushion to the seat frame. Super soft saddles do not accomplish this primary goal of supporting the rider above the saddle’s frame. Rider weight also plays a role in softness, and a larger rider may need a slightly harder saddle than a less weighty person.

The daisy shapes carved into the frame of this saddle are allow for the sit-bones to cave into the saddle frame. The blue part is a gel material.
The daisy shapes carved into the frame of this saddle allow the sit bones to cave into the saddle frame. The blue part is gel material.

Some saddle designs use cuts in the saddle frame to allow for more movement than would generally be achieved with a rigid frame. Saddle designs have even evolved so that the flex is built into the frame on some saddles, reducing the need for a cushion.

Even if the saddle isn’t so soft that you compress the cushion to the point of contacting the frame, a saddle that is too soft becomes uncomfortable due to compression of the soft body tissues. This can restrict blood flow and compress the pudendal nerve, which runs through the perineum area. This compression can lead to numbness and even pudendal neuralgia (sharp pain), sometimes called “cyclist’s syndrome.”

Saddle Padding

Saddle padding is usually a combination of foam, memory foam, gel, and occasionally silicone.

Memory foam is popular and allows the rider to sink into the saddle. The idea is that it contours to the sit bones very well, making it comfortable. You can think of it as compressed into a shape, and this shape is perfectly contoured to your body. Once compressed, memory foam does not allow for any rebound-absorbing shocks. When saddle padding is only made of memory foam, you can feel the frame under the saddle after a moderately long ride.

Normal (non-memory) foam does not retain its compressed shape. It absorbs road vibrations and quickly rebounds back to its original shape. Even if a saddle is advertised as memory foam, unless it retains the shape of your thumbprint, at least for a while, it is not entirely memory foam.

Gel is a saddle padding found on many higher-end saddles, sometimes combined with foam. Gel conforms easily to your body and rebounds quickly back to its original shape. Depending on the gel, sometimes it breaks down under the load and seems to crack, limiting the padding’s life span.

Silicone is a padding material that can be molded into complex shapes. Depending on the design, its varying stiffness levels have a rebounding effect. Depending on the chemistry of the silicone, it can last a long time, and lifespan is not directly related to initial stiffness.

Padded Seat covers

I didn’t try any saddle covers during this exploration, but I have used them in the past to try to make the saddles a little more comfortable. Unless they have changed dramatically, all have failed quickly and tend to move around on the saddle, going off to one side or the other. I haven’t found a good seat cover.

Ischial tuberosity bursitis

Bursitis refers to an inflamed fluid sac next to the Ischial tuberosity. The bursa forms when an insufficiently padded surface places too much stress on a location (seat bones). If you cannot get comfortable on your bicycle seat, this could be your problem. To prevent bursitis, spread the load on your bike seat to spread the weight over a larger area. Of course, this isn’t a medical diagnosis nor a medical prevention. Pain in this area caused by bursitis, tendonitis, or tendinopathy is challenging to diagnose because the bursa and tendon are close together. Although the pain’s cause may differ, the initial treatment (rest and ice) for these conditions is the same.

On this saddle notice the width and the sweep position. The saddle was soft but I found it uncomfortable due to the lack of nose and position of the sweep from narrow to wide.
Notice the width and sweep position on this saddle. The saddle was soft, but I found it uncomfortable due to the lack of a nose and the position of the sweep from narrow to wide.

Perineum relief

The perineum is the body area that contacts the saddle between the legs forward of the sit bones. Nearly all saddles remove or sculpt this area to reduce saddle contact with this area of the body.

Athletic Shape Bicycle Saddle
An athletic-shaped bicycle saddle with a slightly sculpted area is intended to reduce body contact at the perineum. Some saddles have eliminated the area of the saddle to eliminate body contact with the perineum and the saddle.

Saddle nose width

Until now, I have been discussing saddle width and how it affects your sit bones. Most saddles, however, have a nose that can be narrow or wide, and saddle nose width is mainly involved with soft tissue. This, too, can create pain and numbness but is typically associated with perineum contact.

No-nose bicycle seats may be better than bicycle saddles.

If the bicycle saddle nose causes pain, then if it could be removed, would that result in a more comfortable ride for a rider on a comfort-style bike with an upright posture? That is the idea behind the VSEAT, and we (Tami and me) have spent lots of bicycle time using our VSEATs. Even though we are not entirely “comfortable” with our results testing the VSEAT, this idea has merit. Here is a link to the VSEAT. VSEAT noseless bicycle seat.

Vseat noseless bike seat on Tami's bike.
VSEAT the noseless bike seat on Tami’s bike. Overall, the VSEAT is remarkably different than bicycle saddles in some good ways. You won’t get soft tissue saddle pain with a VSEAT because the VSEAT doesn’t touch the body’s soft tissue areas.

Other noseless bicycle seats and minimum nose saddles provide some benefits similar to the VSEAT, but we haven’t tested them. Most of them seem oddly designed. I’m not too fond of some of the short-nosed saddles I have tried because the sweep of the leg pocket is too abrupt. I would have to sit on these other bike saddles with my seat in a lower-than-ideal position for leg power.

V-seat noseless bike seat
A VSEAT noseless bike seat is dramatically different from a standard bicycle saddle. The nose of the seat is bent down, meaning it is not between your legs at all. It takes a little time to get used to it, but overall, it is better than saddles with an uncomfortable nose. More people should try it.

Controlling seat vibration and shock absorption

A suspension seatpost is only for comfort. Unlike a rear suspension, it isn’t for landing jumps or keeping your rear wheel on the ground. Instead, it allows the seat to move up and down, absorbing some of the bumps rather than your rear end. Here is a link to the section of my e-bike e-book discussing e-bike suspension. Everything you need to know about suspension

Springs on your saddle

Spring under the saddle is the traditional vibration absorber for your bottom. This technique has been used for at least 120 years, and it works, assuming that the springs are soft enough to be compressed by the rider’s weight. Lightweight riders may never feel any benefit from these springs. Likewise, if the rider is too heavy for the springs, the rider will bottom out the springs before the full impact is absorbed. One of the problems with springs under the saddle is that they compress from side to side as the rider’s weight is shifted during pedaling. This causes the pelvis to tilt and soaks up some of the rider’s effort.

Bicycle saddle with suspension springs.
Bicycle saddles with suspension springs: This saddle design has been available for about 120 years in one form or another. I don’t like them because you can feel one spring compress without the other spring compressing, allowing your hips to rock.

Elastomeric absorbers under the saddle

Elastomers under the saddle are similar to springs and accomplish the same thing, but they have only recently become available. In my experience, they find it hard to tell if they are doing anything. I don’t feel the pelvis rocking that I do with springs under the seat.

Bicycle saddle frame rails and elastomeric support springs.
Bicycle saddle frame rails and elastomeric support springs.

Shock-absorbing seat post

A shock-absorbing seat post is an excellent way to control road vibrations on the saddle. Unlike a pair of springs, this allows only vertical movement without the potential for the previously discussed pelvis rocking.

Photo from Redshift showing the Shockstop seat post in both the uncompressed and compressed position.
A photo from Redshift shows the shockstop seat post in both the uncompressed and compressed positions. As you can see from this photo, when the seatpost is compressed, it moves both down and toward the back of the bike. When this seatpost compresses, it feels very natural. Other shock-absorbing seat posts only compress into the seat post without shifting aft, and the ones I tried feel strange and wiggle from side to side while you pedaling.

If your bike has no rear suspension, the Redshift Shockstop seat post is a good substitute and can add extra comfort in the right area. Here is a link to the Redshift Shockstop seat post: Redshift

Bicycle comfort for your knees and feet.

Bicycle racers choose cycling shoes carefully, and generally, these shoes are very stiff. One common issue is having a narrow shoe width that will cause pain after the ride. Recreational riders, especially mountain bike riders who jump on their bikes, are moving the center of the pedal rotation more towards the foot’s arch.

Avoid stretching the calf and Achilles tendon, especially when riding uphill.

Foot position also has a lot to do with knee stress; some knee stress can be relieved by positioning the center of the pedal a little after the ball of the foot.

Shorter crank arms can reduce knee stress.

Notes about different saddles we have tried

Serfas

Serfas has an extensive line of mid-priced saddles. We only tried two saddles from Serfas; neither was their current product offering. Here is a link to Serfas Tailbone Saddles, which is currently being offered. Serfas Tailbones

Serfas traditional shape

Tailbones Unisex Saddle is a more traditional saddle with a deep padding design that is too soft for me. After long rides in the saddle, I feel the frame below the padding. This is also the saddle with the daisy-shaped cut-outs in the saddle frame. Even though I think the saddle is too soft, I like the traditional shape.

Serfas Tailbones athletic shape bicycle saddle.
Serfas Tailbones athletic shape bicycle saddle with a very shallow perineum relief channel. The combination of materials is effective, provides support in a traditional shape, and is intended for an athletic posture.
Serfas Tailbones athletic shape bicycle saddle is a cloth top with vinyl sides
Serfas Tailbones is an athletic-shaped bicycle saddle with a lycra top and vinyl sides. It is a traditional mountain bike shape with foam and gel cushioning. This saddle assumes the rider is sitting on the bike with an athletic rather than upright posture.
The daisy shapes carved into the frame of this saddle are allow for the sit-bones to cave into the saddle frame. The blue part is a gel material.
The daisy shapes carved into the frame of this saddle are allow for the sit-bones to cave into the saddle frame. The blue part is a gel material.
The daisy shapes carved into the frame of this saddle allow the sit bones to cave into it. The blue part is gel material. Despite the daisy shapes, I could feel the saddle frame after a long ride.

The Serfas Tailbones saddle that seems most similar to this saddle is the Serfas TBM-10L Tailbones Memory Foam Lycra Waterproof Saddle.

Tailbones Comfort shape saddle

Tailbones Comfort Vinyl Saddle is a wide comfort version of a gel-padded saddle with a waterproof vinyl cover. It is nearly 9 inches wide and has a very shallow perineum relief channel that seems too far towards the aft of the saddle between the sit bones. The underside of the saddle frame is cut out to allow for more movement of the gel pad. The Serfas Tailbones Comfort Saddle assumes the rider is sitting in an upright posture. Unfortunately, it is no longer available.

Serfas Tailbones comfort bicycle saddle designed for an upright body posture.
Serfas Tailbones comfort bicycle saddle is designed for upright body posture. Its vinyl cover protects the saddle from water intrusion, and it is cushioned with foam and gel.
Serfas Tailbones comfort bicycle saddle has cut outs in the frame to allow the seat-bones to not contact the seat frame.
Serfas Tailbones comfort bicycle saddles have cutouts in the frame to prevent the seat bones from contacting the seat frame. Also notable are the elastomeric springs at the aft point of the frame rails.

The Serfas Tailbones saddle that seems most similar to this saddle is the SEFAS TBM-20L Tailbones Memory Foam Lycra Waterproof Saddle.

Selle Royal

Selle Royal makes an extensive line of premium bicycle saddles. Many of them include Royalgel, their answer to comfort padding inside the saddle. All the Selle Royal saddles we tried have a cover material that absorbs less heat from sitting in the sun. Overall, we are generally happy with the Selle Royal saddles we have experimented with.

Selle Royal understands that saddle width changes and needs to change with rider posture. The “Relaxed” line of saddles all assume an upright rider posture. All the Selle Royal saddles we tried were made for upright body postures. Here is a link to the Selle Royal bicycle saddles website. Selle Royal Bike Saddles

Selle Royal Resprio Relaxed Saddle

Selle Royal Resprio Relaxed Saddle is a full-figured comfort saddle with lots of padding focused on the sit bones. The perineum relief is exaggerated, and it has elastomeric springs under the saddle to help absorb road vibrations. Of all the saddles we tried, it had the most dramatic cushioned shape, and it was Tami’s number one choice. As for me, I couldn’t wait to get off it.

I was not too fond of the Selle Royal Resprio Relaxed Saddle because I sit in a more athletic posture. I hope to try this saddle’s Selle Royal Resprio Moderate version someday. I found the Selle Royal relaxed saddles all made me slide forward, and thus, the nose of each saddle was too short for me.

The Selle Royal Respiro Saddle designed for an upright posture and plenty of design features.
The Selle Royal Respiro Relaxed Saddle is designed for upright posture and has many design features. It has bulbous-shaped sit bone pads with an open perineum relief channel and gradual shape changes. Because of the perineum relief channel, it is tied for the number one choice for Tami with the V-seat. I would have liked it much better if the saddle was not as wide. I thought the shape and extra wide shape restricted my leg movement too much.
The Selle Royal Respiro Saddle mounted on Tami's bike.
The Selle Royal Respiro Relaxed Saddle is mounted on Tami’s bike. The silver area in the middle between the sit bone pads is a mesh that allows for airflow between the legs, perhaps allowing some cooling effect.

Here is a link to the website. Selle Royal Resprio Relaxed Saddle

Selle Royal Lookin Evo Relaxed

The Selle Royal Evo is a wide saddle with a typical shape and elastomeric shock absorbers at the back side of the frame rails.

The Selle Royal Lookin Evo Saddle is a waterproof saddle designed for an upright posture on relaxed style bikes.
The Selle Royal Lookin Evo Relaxed Saddle is a waterproof saddle designed for upright posture on relaxed-style bikes. Its shape is less angular than the similarly designed Selle Royal On, and due to the lack of sharper corners, I found it more comfortable than the Selle Royal On Relaxed saddle.
The Selle Royal Lookin Evo installed on my bike.
The Selle Royal Lookin Evo Relaxed is installed on my bike. It is less angular than the similarly designed Selle Royal On, and the sweep from the wide part of the saddle to the nose is more gradual.

Here is a link to the website. Selle Royal Lookin Evo Relaxed Saddle

Selle Royal On

Unlike the Selle Royal Lookin Evo, the Selle Royal On Relaxed does not have elastomeric shock absorbers on the back side of the frame rails.

The Selle Royal On saddle is slightly smaller than the other Selle Royal saddles we tried Unlike the Lookin Evo it does not have the same elastomeric cushions under the saddle.
The Selle Royal On Relaxed saddle is slightly smaller than the other Selle Royal saddles we tried. The most significant difference is that the “On” saddle has a pronounced scoop shape similar to a horse saddle. Selle Royal says the scoop design provides comfort when the rider sits on the saddle’s back part. I think the scoop design has merit on a more narrow saddle that doesn’t encourage me to sit forward on the saddle.
This is the Selle Royal On saddle. It is intended for e-bikes and an upright posture.
This is the Selle Royal On Relaxed saddle. It is intended for e-bikes and an upright posture. The bill at the back of the saddle seems to be designed to support the pronounced scoop shape. The Selle Royal On does not have a perineum relief channel. I did not prefer the sharpness of the corners in the sweep section from the wider part to the nose of the saddle.

Here is a link to the website. Selle Royal On Relaxed

RockBros

The Rockbros lineup of value-priced saddles is impressive. All are similar, and each is well constructed. The lineup consists of three very similar saddles, all with similar features. I like the textured vinyl covers with prominent perineum cutouts. Rockbros uses memory foam in all the very soft saddles I tried.

Rockbros Leisure Saddle

The Rockbros Leisure is a well-constructed, memory foam padded saddle with a pronounced perineum cutout. This cutout allows for venting and, perhaps, cooling airflow in this area. This saddle has the deepest foam cushion and is the largest of all the saddles we tried.

Rockbros leisure saddle may be too soft. It has elastomeric supports under the saddle.
Rockbros Leisure saddle may be too soft for my weight. It has elastomeric supports under the saddle. It is a little more than nine inches wide, and since it is wide, the Rockbros sweep between the wide and narrow parts is dramatic. I always felt that I was scooting forward on the saddle, riding on the nose to allow my legs adequate room to pedal. My conclusion is that it is not the right saddle for me. Tami liked it much better.
Rockbros Leisure saddle with large elastomeric shock absorbers and a grab handle as part of the frame rail.
Rockbros Leisure saddle with large elastomeric shock absorbers and a grab handle as part of the frame rail. The frame design is very robust, and as you can see in this photo, it comes with a seat-post adapter.

Here is a link to the Amazon page for this saddle. Rockbros Leisure Saddle

Rockbros MTB Saddle

The Rockbros MTB is narrower than the Rockbros Leisure saddle by nearly two inches. Unlike the Rockbros Leisure saddle, the shape isn’t as dramatic because it is narrower. The elastomeric shock absorbers at the back part of the rails are not included, and the perineum cutout is smaller. I liked this saddle more than the Rockbros Leisure saddle. Tami liked the Rockbros Leisure saddle more than this one.

Rockbros MTB saddle is slightly more narrow than the leisure saddle.
The Rockbros MTB saddle is slightly narrower than the Rockbros Leisure saddle. It has a textured vinyl cover and memory foam padding over a plastic frame. Due to the shape of the sweep from the sitting area to the nose, I liked the Rockbros MTB saddle better than the Leisure saddle because it did not impede my leg movement. Given the wider sitting area, the nose portion of the saddle is too short.

Here is a link to the Amazon page for this saddle. Rockbros MTB Saddle

Rockbros Racing Saddle

Rockbros makes a racing shape of the same memory foam saddles. I liked the shape but didn’t like that they were too soft to support me on a long ride.

Rockbros Racing saddle is a traditional racing shape saddle without added weight.
Rockbros Racing saddle is a traditional racing-shaped saddle without added weight. The saddle design uses memory foam for padding and has additional mounting brackets to adapt it to older-style seat posts.
The Rockbros Racing saddle has a narrow design with memory-foam padding and a large perineum cutout.
The Rockbros Racing saddle has a narrow design, memory foam padding, and a large perineum cutout. It is very soft and could use more padding at the seat bones.

Here is a link to the Amazon page for this saddle. Rockbros Racing Saddle

VSEAT

Of all the bicycle comfort designs we tried, the VSEAT is decidedly different in a good way. There is no nose, allowing for free leg movement, and without a nose, the softer body parts cannot be placed on the seat. The only way to sit on a VSEAT is with your sit bones. The seat design is comfortable but might benefit from a little more padding.

The V-seat nosel ess bicycle seat is a good alternative to traditional bicycle saddles.
The VSEAT noseless bicycle seat is an excellent alternative to traditional bicycle saddles. In this photo, you can see the saddle’s frame and seat post mount. The red V-seat shows the design of the padding cover. The VSEAT should last a long time.

The VSEAT is different enough that it takes a little time to get used to it, but it becomes natural once you do.

The VSEAT’s padding is a rubber-like molded shell used for both padding and the seat cover. Below the exterior shell is a molded shape that allows for different levels of support depending on where your body contacts the seat.

Vseat noseless bike seat on Tami's bike.
VSEAT is the noseless bike seat on Tami’s bike. We each have VSEATs for our bikes and have put many miles on them. At first, they are slightly different because of the lack of saddle nose between your legs, but you get used to this rapidly.

For users of shock-absorbing seat posts, the nose of the VSEAT interferes with the motion of the seat post shock absorber. I have been thinking about how the VSEAT could be modified by removing some of the seat frame structure and allowing for more movement of the seat post.

The VSEAT design requires a slight tilt forward on the seat. Install the VSEAT flat. Then, adjust the seat to drop the front by about 1/4 to 1/2 inch, followed by a test ride. Increase the nose drop on subsequent rides only in small increments. This nose drop will shift more weight to your hands. If you feel that the weight on your hands is too much or that you are slipping forward on the seat, raise the front slightly. This nose drop will provide more comfort to the area where your legs bend while pedaling.

Perhaps some other bicycle seats are endorsed by a urology physician, but I don’t know of any. Here is a link to the VSEAT website: VSEAT noseless bicycle seat.

As you know, our blog income is zero, which allows us to be independent and tell the truth. We do not get income or commissions. No, we don’t make paid endorsements. We don’t make recommendations; instead, we will tell you what we like (or dislike). The links are only provided as a quick reference to help our readers.

FoxRVTravel — E-bikes 2024: How to choose the best electric bicycle: Free e-bike e-book

FoxRVTravel — Your e-bike needs to fit you. 

FoxRVTravel — Everything you need to know about suspension

The e-bike we decided on is the FLX Comfort 2.0.  FLX E-BIKES

Link to our e-bikes FLX Step Through (Comfort) 2.0 mid-drive e-bike

Serfas Tailbones

Serfas TBM-10L Tailbones Memory Foam Lycra Waterproof Saddle

SEFAS TBM-20L Tailbones Memory Foam Lycra Waterproof Saddle

Selle Royal Bike Saddles

Selle Royal Resprio Relaxed Saddle

Selle Royal Lookin Evo Relaxed Saddle

Selle Royal On Relaxed Saddle

Rockbros Leisure Saddle

Rockbros MTB Saddle

Rockbros Racing Saddle

VSEAT noseless bicycle saddle

Redshift Shockstop Suspension Seatpost

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