Soft vs Hard seat

[DuTo!t]

Hi guys, My girlfriend has 2 seats for her road bike, a very soft one and a hard one, she says the soft one hurts her a bit, but havnt tried the hard one. ive heard my some people that a soft one hurts you more than a hard one, as there are more movement? is this so? and what kind of seats do you guys prefer?

[Cyclenatic]

hard ones are much nicer for me, don't looks like you get what you pay for... dont know how a cheep hard one would feel like

[Caerus]

I ride with a hard seat on my full sus, and a soft seat on my hardtail, the hardseat feels more comfy because it is the right width, this is something that should be checked out to be checked out by your girlfriend. It could also be down to the saddle shape, what is she riding with?

[BMXER]

Seat shape and fitment is more important than "hard or soft". I to ride a softer saddle on my hardtail and a firm saddle on my road bike and fs BUT all the seats I use have take a few months to select.

Edited April 8, 2012 by BMXER

[WR 1.0]

Definately fit first, then decide on hard or soft. This will also depend on your definition of soft. Spongy or more compliant than the hard saddle. For me, Gobi on the mtb and hard Alliante on my road bike. Also have one of those 120g Selle Italia saddles for when I need the extra 20g weight saving :-)

[Tankman]

Its called a Saddle ... now that we got that out of the way

 

If a saddle is too soft it will cause more friction and your sitbones will move around in the saddle. This will be more uncomfortable than a hard saddle where you are moving around on top of the saddle not in it!

 

If she has just started cycling, sitting on the saddle is pretty much going to be uncomfortable no matter what you do, you have to become used to sitting on the saddle, that might take a while.

 

When trying a new saddle it should take around 4 weeks of testing before you will know if it works for you or not. Setup is important to get it correct but don't fiddle with the setup every 5min's, do a long 2 to 3hour ride and then decide if it needs to be fine tuned. Then do another long ride before changing the setup again.

 

Saddles is a personal thing, what works for one will not necessary work for the next.

 

If you find a saddle that works for you ... stick with it!

[The_Break]

Hi guys, My girlfriend has 2 seats for her road bike, a very soft one and a hard one, she says the soft one hurts her a bit, but havnt tried the hard one. ive heard my some people that a soft one hurts you more than a hard one, as there are more movement? is this so? and what kind of seats do you guys prefer?

You should ideally sit on the little sitting bones of your bum. If you want to be comfortable then those are the only two spots that should make contact with your saddle as after some time these little spots become feelingless like your elbow do (try pinching your elbows, no feeling as they have become feelingless from leaning on your elbows your whole life there deadening the nerves in this area).

 

No knowing this, think of a soft saddle, they are incorrectly designed with the concept of spreading the weight over a larger area thereby reducing the pressure your bum and other parts feel. However, as your rightly say, there is movement and even worse blockage of veins all leading to pain. The softer the saddle the more you sink into it and the more of your bum that touches and can experience this pain, but not enough that it will deaden the nerves in the whole area.

 

Using a really hard saddle solves this problem as is fitted correclty it only touches the sitting bones and because you cannot sink into the saddle padding it does not allow for touching anywhere else.

 

So yes, most seasoned cyclist ride harder saddles not only because they are lighter, but because with time you realize they are more comfortable.

 

Fit the one she has, angle the nose ever so slightly down, make sure she sits back on the saddle (move it forward if you need to) and feels that she is sitting on her sitting bones. Will probably be better experience for her. Good Luck!

[Sandro]

First check bike setup and saddle figment as mentioned above. From my experience a harder saddle, once you get used to it, is way better. The less contact, the less friction and less chance you'll be walking like John Wayne the next day.

[jmaccelari]

A properly fitting hard saddle...

[Desi]

First thing to check is that she is using a ladies, not a man's saddle - they are different shapes, and it makes a big difference. Ladies' saddles are generally speaking wider and shorter, to fit our pelvis and 'bum bones'.

[nolipoli]

I have been riding for years, and still battle with any ride over 2 hours. I have tried hard and soft, cheap and expensive, and narrow, medium and wider saddles.

I guess the reason why all these different saddles exist is because everyone's rear end is just a little different.

 

Try to find a bike shop that will let you try demo saddles, and then try every one they have.

[Let's Ride]

Specialized bum fit.

 

Measure her sit bones and buy accordingly.

 

Get this done at a specialized dealer.