this post was submitted on 23 Oct 2025
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I solve this by not going far on the bike, but a wide seat slightly tilted down is working well for me on the electric bike. On an endurance racing bike I don't understand how anyone can stand the seats for that long, most bike seats seem almost intentionally designed to be uncomfortable.
A well fitting road bike saddle is designed to have you sitting on your seat bones, rather than your soft tissue, often with a cutout in the middle to relieve pressure from the genital area. This is much more comfortable on long rides. The padding is minimal, since you are expected to wear padded shorts to minimise friction. Some people also use chamois cream to further reduce chafing, although I personally don't find this to be all that necessary and only really use it on longer rides, if at all. This setup is much more comfortable if you're going to spend long hours in the saddle, especially if you do it regularly and your butt is used to it.
Like with most bike parts, saddles come in all different shapes and sizes and different types make sense for different types of riding.
A good fitting saddle + high quality padded biking shorts will go a long way to mitigate this issue.
The pros all get bike fits for even better results
Hardened (pun intended) cyclists will tell you that this is normal, because sit bones blah blah etc, but I think you're right. The real reason seasoned cyclists have no issue with washboard saddles is that they use them every day and their butts have become conditioned (read: numb) to them. The simplest explanation is usually the best.
or the fastest way to an incorrect answer.
Fair. So I will fall back on a better source: my butt. A few years ago I rented an expensive razor-saddled racing bike for a few days. The gluteal agony of those few days I remember better than the actual cycling. Never again.
The thing is if you would've stuck with that setup for a month or 2 (assuming a not overweight person, and the saddle being correctly sized/ the whole bike fit being correctish ) the agony would have most likely subsided. And it likely wouldn't have existed if you had built up/ trained yourself to it in smaller steps. Starting with rides as short as 15min.
It's almost like saying running 10km is impossible after your first run in years. Or hitting the bullseye in dart is impossible after your first game. The saddle requires training. The position and movements on the bike require training. Because if not trained your body will be sore, if you overdo it.
Yeah, sure, that was my point. The most uncomfortable shoes are usually fine once you've worn them in. But the non-washboard saddle on my e-bike was not uncomfortable to start with. It didn't hurt after the first 3 hours and it doesn't hurt 1500km later.
Unlike uncomfortable shoes the saddles have a point, not chafing/ allowing for the pedalling movement while also supporting part of the riders weight.
Wide/cushiony saddles prioritize comfort of the latter point over the former. They will support more of the riders weight more comfortably, while neglecting the comfort of the movements of the rider. So on shorter and easier rides the cushion saddle is fine, the longer you go the more such a saddle will cause discomfort.
If your saddle works for you by God keep using it, im just trying to explain why other people use different ones.
Fair enough. But as you concede, this is all pretty subjective, which is why I objected to the "razor saddles are actually better for you" talking point which always comes from (coincidentally washboard-habituated) serious cyclists. I too am a serious cyclist, I've ridden all kinds of saddles, from razor washboards to recumbents. And as it happens, the most comfortable yet (recumbent aside), on which I've ridden 1500 km this year, including a bunch of 80 km stages, was what you dismiss as a "cushion saddle" that "will cause discomfort". It just doesn't. So this is all just anecdote.
The company SQlab has a nice explainer here, if you’re interested. The softer the saddle, the worse it gets on long rides.
that's not a thing. Blood vessels to do adapt.
Because they know how to setup and ride a bike. It's a saddle, not a seat. When spinning the crank, they put almost no pressure on the saddle and they ride with half the body supported by their core, not planted on a seat.