If you’ve ridden a bike for more than a few years, and if you live in an area where you can’t ride a bike year-round, your bike saddle may not be as comfortable in the spring as you remember it the previous fall. . save it for the winter. That goes even if you ride a stationary bike in the winter. Stationary bike saddles tend to be larger and more padded than those of a traditional bicycle. Also, most people don’t ride stationary bikes as long as they ride traditional bikes, there are no bumps, gravel, or potholes to hit on a stationary bike, so a saddle that is acceptable on a stationary bike probably won’t be so comfortable on a traditional bike.

Notice that until now I have always called it a saddle, not a seat and believe it or not, there is a reason for that. As a kid and before I started transforming from someone who enjoyed riding a bike to an actual cyclist, I used the terms seat and saddle interchangeably. After reading various articles on the subject, most recently by the late Sheldon Brown, I have come to appreciate the difference between a seat and a saddle.

Sheldon explained it like this: A seat is something you sit on, and it’s designed to support all of your weight, just like a chair would. Recumbent bikes use upright seats and traditional bikes have saddles. Saddles are designed to support some of the rider’s weight, but not all of it. The legs, as well as the arms and hands, also support part of the rider’s weight. As you can see, the bicycle saddle is found on traditional upright bikes. Bicycle seats are found on recumbent bikes.

I don’t own or use a recumbent bike at this time, so this article will mainly be about the traditional two-wheeled upright bike. It also doesn’t really cover saddles for BMX bikes, since BMX riders spend most of their riding time out of the saddle, the saddle is more of a showpiece for them, except when they’re on stage waiting for the race.

The average recreational cyclist will ride their bike until it’s cold outside, then store it for the winter and ride it again when the weather warms up in the spring. The cyclist has done a few kilometers on his bike from last year and the saddle is no longer as comfortable as it was in autumn. The rider then goes to the nearest bike shop or searches the internet for a new saddle. The purchase is done and after a few dozen miles the new saddle feels better so they keep it and retire the old one. This scenario can continue every year, not because there is something wrong with the old saddle, but because the rider needs to get used to riding again. In most cases, gradually getting back into riding by doing short rides at first and then adding miles each time you ride is the best way to find out if you really have a new saddle or if you just need to get more used to riding.

If after trying for a while you still feel like a new saddle is what you need, here are some things to think about.

The width of the saddle is crucial for your comfort. Your sit bones, or ischial tuberosities, are designed to support the weight of your body when you are sitting. If the weight is carried between the sit bones instead of on them, it will feel uncomfortable. If the saddle is too narrow, the soft tissues will support the weight of the body. If the saddle is too wide, you may notice inner thigh chafing, especially when it’s hotter outside and you perspire more.

The material that the saddle is made of makes a certain difference in comfort. I personally prefer leather saddle for my bike, but it doesn’t really have to be fine Italian leather, just normal stretch, vinyl is too slippery and lycra isn’t as durable as leather or vinyl. The heavily padded seats are comfortable for short trips, but tend to quickly become uncomfortable as the trips get longer.

Many times the cause of the pain is not the saddle itself, but rather the fit of the saddle and whether or not the bike fits the rider. Before you throw away a perfectly good saddle and spend 100.00 or more on a fancy new saddle, make sure your bike actually fits and is well adjusted.

You may need help with the installation of the bike or the correct adjustment of the saddle. Any good bike shop should be able to help with this. You can also do a google search for bike fit and find many variations of fit from a rider to a bike.