AaronBarbarian

Looking for a budget wider seat. Thinking about just grabbing this Schwinn (comfort bike seat quilted cruiser) on Amazon for 50 dollars Canadian. Has anyone ever used this? Is it garbage? Just got a Miele road bike but those road bike seats aren’t cutting it for me. Feels bruised between the cheeks now . If anyone has any suggestions for a classic brown leather looking seat that is wider, I’m open to suggestions. No idea what is good or not. But looking for a budget seat for now just to get me going. Thanks

veganbikes

First off what have you done to adjust your saddle to work for you? Is the height correct, the fore and aft positioning correct, the tilt? How long have you ridden on it properly adjusted? Those are the first steps. If you have completed all the adjustments and are sure they are right for you and have ridden the saddle adjusted for a decent period of time ideally wearing bibs or shorts with a decent chamois as intended and the saddle still isn't right move on to the second steps.

That would be figuring out what you don't like about the saddle! A good saddle should support your sit bones (ischial tuberosity) too narrow or wide they won't get proper support. Is the saddle too padded or too softly padded? Too much padding means you have to compress all of that padding before you get the support you need creating pressure points which cause pain. Talk to your local shop tell them why you don't like your current saddle and be descriptive don't just say it hurts my bum because that means nothing tell them it is too narrow or too wide or the shape doesn't fit my body shape and go into detail as much as you can give.

That leads to the third step of actually measuring your sit bones width and some shops will have the equipment to do so but there are other ways of doing it that you can find online. That will help you find a saddle in the width you need. Next comes actually trying saddles.

Keep in mind position on the bike will also effect what saddle you might need, a road bike is typically a more athletic position so you are putting more weight on your ischial tuberosity but a beach cruiser will have you more on your full bottom. If you are looking to ride longer distances on say a road bike you want a saddle deigned around that it might need some width and a little padding is fine but you can be surprised by some not padded saddles as well. My butt personally likes the Brooks Cambium C17 it has ZERO padding (and no I don't have a toned butt) but it has some flex in the shell thanks to the rubber so it is quite comfortable over long miles. Obviously it may not work for you saddles are highly personal.

In terms of a random Schwinn cruiser saddle probably not the one you want for anything unless maybe a cheap Schwinn cruiser or similar type bike. You can find lower costs saddles to try but that one is one I wouldn't really recommend for anyone. Go through the above steps find the right saddle, it may take a little time and a few saddles but you will be happy in the end assuming you adjust everything for you or better yet see a fitter who can actually put your saddle in the optimal position and potentially recommend a different saddle should that one not work out.

Basically don't throw money at a problem when you don't know what it is!

AaronBarbarian

I will try the adjustment! Yes it’s a road bike, but for the time being (probably the season atleast). I will have it set up a bit differently. I was going to put more of a cruiser handle bar and get more upright and pulled back a bit. So I would be a bit more upright.

Do you suggest I do the handle bar swap before picking a seat?

Right now it has one of those Selle Italia Genuine Gel TriMatic seats from the 90s. It kind of goes right in between my bones, and I’m sore on the inside of the bones almost. So I figured just get a wide seat

Leisesturm

You have to know it doesn't work that way. Around here 'road bike' has only one meaning: drop bar road racer replica. Miele makes lots of different kinds of bikes. If yours has drop bars, NO you are not going to put a quilted Schwinn cruiser saddle on it. I simply will not allow it! And, flat bars? Cruiser bars? Why did you not simply buy a Cruiser? Why desecrate a fine C&V example of Italiante bicycle craftsmanship? I suggest a bike swap rather than a handlebar swap.

Fredo76

Selle SMP TRK - medium, or wide

alcjphil

Miele bikes are not Italian. Neither are Marinonis or Limongis

veganbikes

I would ride the bike as you want to set it up before swapping saddles. However I might ride it as is first and adjust it first and then decide to make changes. That will make things better for you so you know your base starting point and what you like and don't like.

Leisesturm

Which is why I used the (my) term: 'Italianate'.

macstuff 

Selle Royal Scientia line.
I have an R3 on one of my bikes and its like riding the bus. Great seat. NOT saddle, seat.
Butt.... many times you must ride on a saddle/seat until your butt stops paining from the new angle angles before you can get an idea whether the saddle/seat is for you.
I usually give them 100 miles.

AaronBarbarian

I ended up just getting something cheap for now. I ended up with an on sale Selle Royal Ondina. Classified as a 90 degree comfort seat. But with where I am right now physically. It sits on my bones about where you should have a road bike seat sit (wide load I guess ). I start riding tomorrow so we’ll see how it is after a full day on the road! I find it hard to imagine having a seat thinner than this. Would be literally inside of my sit bones

Smaug1

The problem with wider saddles on road bikes is that the wider part tends to chafe the back of the thighs of the rider when he is pedaling.
The reason road bike saddles are so narrow at the back is because the rider's weight on a road bike is a lot more forward-biased, so not as much support is needed there.
For me, the solution was the Selle Anatomica X-2. It's a leather road bike saddle with a perenneal cutout to relieve prostate pressure.
The trick is getting a road bike saddle that's the right width for the rider's sit bones, but no wider.
That, and wear padded shorts or leggings for rides longer than a few miles.

I hope we're wrong and that that saddle works out for you swimmingly.

AaronBarbarian

Yeah I have to test it out for awhile. But I’m probably close to 3x times the size of almost every person I’ve seen on a road bike . So it really isn’t that wide for my butt. But still have to test it out. Definitely better than the last seat at least.
I have it tilted forward pretty aggressively in my opinion. Maybe 15-20 degrees pointed downward in the front. Feels pretty good like that with the road bike bars. We’ll see how it goes! Going to ride all day Thursday or Friday and really find out.

AaronBarbarian

That is a really cool looking saddle though. We’ll see! Wouldn’t be for a while until I can afford something nice like that.

XxHaimBondxX

Recently I "discovered" Brooks saddles, got me a classic look, color of honey. Very comfortable out of the box and it conforms to your body over time if you use their Brooks cream.

RH Clark

How tall are you and what do you weigh? Are you needing a bigger saddle because you are exceeding the weight limits on your current bike? I'm not against fat people on bikes. I used to be one. It is a bit more challenging choosing equipment however and absolutely should be a consideration for safety and comfort.

BTinNYC 

For the starters in my family, I use the Origin8 Sport Uno-S saddle. It fits the bill for new riders breaking in their butts, looks decent, and < $40.

RB1-luvr

I have that Origin 8 Sport Uno-S saddle on a touring bike, and it's very good. All of my other bikes have thinner firmer padding, and yet I enjoy it. It feels odd/different for the first mile and then it disappears.

Leisesturm

Even if you are a larger rider, your sitbones don't move any further apart. You don't buy a saddle based on how wide you are, you buy it based on how wide your sitbones are. Or not. I may have measured my sitbones once in a fit of something but I certainly don't remember what I got and it doesn't really inform anything re: saddle selection. I buy a wide or medium wide (145mm+).

Your plan to go out "all day Thursday", flies in the face of 'best practice'. The average person would almost certainly be looking at a very painful experience even with the most perfect fit imaginable. And 15* nose down also gores another sacred cow in the fitment ideology. Are you sure that you are more comfortable that way? But what I really wanted to say is, in general you seem to worry about a too narrow saddle. Where is your saddle positioned on the rails? It should not be further back than centered over the rails unless you really know that you are an exception. Like you are 6'2" or something. In fact, an average 5'10" male 'might' do well to have some saddles as far forward on the rails as they will go. Try it before you knock it.

AaronBarbarian

Thanks for the input.

I will be bring tools to adjust. My little test ride felt comfortable with that angle. But we’ll see after a bit.

Yeah going all day is a lot. But it’s also what I came to do. My first part of the ride will be to the store to find some padded shorts that fit properly. I used to bicycle literally all day all week. And trying to get back to that for a bit until I lose some weight. So things on the bike will definitely change through out the journey. I look up every suggestion given to me here for future reference.

The seat I had on it is/was 100 percent way too narrow. It was more or less in my hole is the best way to describe it. Literally inside of my bones. I ended up actually bruised in the inside of my crack from a short ride. Butt felt fine sitting on hard surfaces etc. but was bruised and sore on the actual inside of the bones. Tried to go for a ride because it felt fine on chairs and flat surfaces. Couldn’t even come close to sitting on that narrow seat. So I might have wide sit bones in general. Even when I was biking a lot years ago I had that problem. Ended up with a big seat on a hybrid road bike. I did get chapped a bit. But it was a lot more bearable. This seat I just got is actually thinner than that one years ago I ended up with. And tapers off a lot. So it might be a lot better for the seat burn.

Going to try it out for a while and see what happens. All I know if for sure the seat that was one there was way too thin. And this one doesn’t feel wide at all under me. I’ll keep adjusting as I go and see where I end up.

AaronBarbarian

And I think it’s about centred to forward on the rails atm. I still have to give it a good test and adjust as I go. So I’ll update after a few days or riding and adjusting

RH Clark

At a certain point it doesn't matter where your sit bones are because nobody can find them including you, and you will have to sit more upright because you can't do anything else. All that matters. At that point all you really want is the most surface area and a fairly stiff platform to support the weight.

Trakhak

Bike Forums has a Clydesdale and Athena subforum, for big and tall riders. Most people there have gone through exactly what you're describing. You should consider posting a thread there.

Or ask the moderators to move this thread there. (To contact them, click on the red circle/button at bottom left in any of your posts in this thread.)

Riding all day without working up to it is not a good idea. Maximum half an hour would be better, especially if you want to avoid the kind of pain that would make you give up on cycling before you get started.

Saddle nose at a significant downward angle is usually a sign that the saddle is too high.

Wide saddles go with an upright riding position. Narrower saddles go with a roughly 45-degree back angle.

Again, consult with the people in the Clydesdales and Athenas subforum. I'm neither a Clydesdale nor an Athena, but I often read threads there for the pleasure of the company. They're a friendly and welcoming bunch.

RH Clark

My first bike ride in 40 years, I was 6'2 360lbs and on a $60 pawn shop steel frame Giant Rincon way too small for me. It had a rigid fork, and the front derailleur didn't work at all. I stopped and moved it by hand if I needed to. I didn't ride out of sight my first ride at age 50 before having to get off and walk, but I kept on. Just make sure what you are riding is sturdy enough to be safe and go as far as you can every day. Ride every day, if possible, even if it's a couple miles. Rest well, have a good diet and you will get fit and able to go farther over time. It doesn't take 10 rides though or even 50 to make a drastic change. It takes hundreds. By my second-year riding just by cycling every day and good diet, I lost 180 lbs. I rode 360 days my second year averaging just 100 miles a week. that's not much if you do short rides every day and a bit more on the weekends.

Road Fan

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if you are feeling pain and bruising between your cheeks, you are probably sitting too far forward on the saddle. Saddles are designed to support your weight at the bones called Ischial tuberosities, or sit bones. That’s why the saddles have wider platforms at the back. Your weight is supposed to be on the wide portion of the saddle, and supported by the sit bones. If you are feeling your weight supported by the bone and tissue between the cheeks or bones toward the front of your underbody, your body “wants” to be in a position which too far forward for the seat.

I would first try to slide the saddle forward so the wide part of the saddle can be under your sit bones. It may take several tries to find the best spot, given saddle tilt and height (see below). The saddle should be set level, so you don’t tend to slide down forward (nose too low) or slide down backward (nose too high). As you extend your leg down to the pedal when it’s at bottom, your foot should sit gently with the arch on the pedal, not the toe or forefoot. If you sit straight up on the saddle you should be in balance on the saddle, not sliding out forward or backward, or having to push or pull on the bars to stay in place on the saddle sit bone support areas. This should help a lot with the problem you are having. Also it should work well with a range of saddles.

But one of the important points is that how the saddle is positioned can be as important as selecting the saddle. And, any new saddle will need to positioned along these lines. At least, that’s what I do. I can’t just bolt on a saddle and go, at least not very far!

AaronBarbarian

Got to get out a bit today. Not the full day I wanted because it’s very thick smoke all the sudden and I didn't want to expose myself too long.

Rode for about 40 minutes. Definitely way better on the butt than the road bike seat. It was actually under my sitbones. Experimented shifting my weight different places. The best weight shift; was if I were to put more weight on either side on my butt. I’m sure someone here knows what that means. The nosedown didn’t feel weird. But it may be because of my weight and the springs. Might have levelled it off a bit. Felt the most comfortable upright when I leaned back with no hands. Not the seat so much, it felt pretty similar, but just the position and the way the weight on my spine felt. I might change the bars to more upright for the season or until I drop some weight. My arms were feeling it more than anything, leaning forward holding myself up. Plus I have an elbow injury I’m waiting for a doctor on.

All in all the seat felt not bad. Not the best ever but bearable in comparison. The last seat I only rode about 10 minutes and was in pain for a couple weeks almost.

Can’t wait to get a real day in and really test it out!