Yet again.
I got a used bike for myself and the kids. The first thing I did was to get comfortable seats. I don't understand why anyone would buy a bike with a tiny hard seat.
this post was submitted on 23 Oct 2025
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This changes a lot with distance. I prefer a medium to small one which is not to soft, as on longer rides they tend to be worse for me. There are terrible small and hard ones as well but a good one can be super nice.
Amazing. As a sufferer of this problem I can't believe I never thought of this idea myself.
I got laughed at a little for how thick this saddle is, but I've ridden from San Francisco to Los Angeles on this thing and absolutely love it:
I went into the article not having any clue that “saddle pain” is a euphemism.
Progressing from 200 to 400 and finally 600 kilometres, Williams started to experience what she described as "abrasion" of her labia.
Pro cyclists use padded chamois, and creme embrocations. Tour de France is 2200 miles and no one needed different saddles.
padded chamois
creme embrocations
saddles
Are these also euphemisms?
Ohno
My nips have been rubbed raw on long runs, I couldn’t imagine my lips 🫠
Do women wear underpants when riding? I know guys don't but were less vulnerable to that kind of...abrasion. Surely a pair of low friction underwear would combat that...abrasion.
Guys don't wear underwear when cycling? Why?
I don't get it either. I have a good saddle and just wear boxers and cotton shorts. No problems all day long, when I get the chance for weeks at a time.
Cycling shorts have padding in them already; adding underwear is counterproductive.
Underwear is not for padding. I suspected my insistence on wearing both wasn't a "real" cyclists' choice, but this comment is first confirmation I've seen of that.
Your shorts must be nasty.
The reason for not wearing underwear is that it can cause chafing or pressure points where it shifts or creases. Cycling shorts are designed to minimise that by not doing either. There is nothing nasty about cycling shorts if you wash them after each ride. If anything they handle sweat better than cotton underwear would.
That being said, if you feel better wearing underwear, then you should feel free to do so. But there are practical reasons why most people don't and they don't have anything to do with trying to be a "real cyclist".
and your underwear isn't?
Most people wash their stuff when it gets sweaty but if just changing underwear is working for you and the people who are exposed to you then keep on keeping on I suppose.
I guess I figure I wash bicycle shorts not every time, to reduce wear and tear. Underwear costs way less to replace.
And you assumed everyone else does the same?!
I think you owe me an apology.
I usually wear brief style under where and the legs always roll up your leg when you pull up the riding shorts. If you just wore tighty whities it might not happen
They're more expensive, but recumbents do already solve this problem.
Would still like to try an alternative to saddles on regular bikes though.
I'm itching to try them but I suspect that lying down would come with it's own set of problems.
It doesn't, at least not ergonomically. Recumbents are as comfortable as they look. I once did 80km on one, having not got on a bike for months, and felt not the slightest aches or discomfort at the end. A complete revelation.
The issues with recumbents are elsewhere: low visibility for motor traffic, difficulty of balance at very low speeds. There's also a small risk of knee inflammation if you inadvertently pedal too hard, since the force you can put into pedalling is not limited to body weight like on an upright bike.
With recumbent two-wheelers, there's a small bit of awkwardness maintaining balance as you go from a stop to a start. Other than that, the only real issue is that you can't stand up when you're riding up hills. All you can do is drop the gear and keep pedaling.
Personally I think it's well worth the issues they solve, trikes especially. They're much more comfortable. The trikes are much more resilient to bursts of wind, and the stability makes them much better for winter riding.
...the stability makes them much better for winter riding.
I'm curious what you mean by this. I ride (a regular bike) outdoors year round, and other than the clothing and the sense of "Why am I doing this?", there's not really much different. But I'm not riding in snow or other weather, so maybe that's what you are referring to.
Snow, ice, and high winds are mainly what I'm referring to. A big enough gust from the wrong angle can pretty easily throw you off a bike, or send it veering in the wrong direction briefly at least (not to mention the struggle against headwinds).
Snow is one problem, but ice is the worst. I've used everything from studded tires to fat tire bikes, and they all have the same problem: two-wheeled vehicles want to fall down. A recumbent trike on the other hand is much closer to the ground, and stays upright by default. It virtually solves all of the aforementioned problems, while also being much more comfortable to sit on.
ergonomic and custom models can range from $200 to more than $1,000. That's more than my entire bike lol
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 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.
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.
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.
On an endurance racing bike I don’t understand how anyone can stand the seats for that long
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.
- Right saddle width and shape
- Correct bike fit
- Adaptation of blood vessels underneath the seat bones
The company SQlab has a nice explainer here, if you’re interested. The softer the saddle, the worse it gets on long rides.
Adaptation of blood vessels underneath the seat bones
that's not a thing. Blood vessels to do adapt.
huh? i have never heard anyone complain about this unless they're using a sports saddle, which.. yeah no shit? get a normal saddle.
Clearly you have no idea what it is like to have each cheek independently supported. I bet you could even use this saddle to collect the extra energy generated by your cheeks. This cheek energy could then be wirelessly transmitted back to powerbanks. Our entire society could be powered purely by the massive cheek energy of billions of bikers.