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Gel Bike Seat
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Finally getting settled in life, the townhouse needing little in the way of repairs and the maintenance men taking care of the outside, I was free to pursue my hobbies. My favorite thing was to get on a bicycle, pedaling to unknown neighborhoods looking for likely subjects for my trusty camera. There was just one hitch, I didn't have a bicycle. Not that I couldn't afford one, but the ones I could afford were poorly made consisting of rubbery-feeling gears, intermittent anemic brakes and uncomfortable seats. What I wanted was a fast hybrid bike with eighteen precisely engaging gears and brakes that would slow my one hundred eighty pounds down a steep hill without smoking. Of course there are custom bikes assembled from top-of-the-line European components that cost thousands of dollars. I'm not talking about those. Just a decent quality bike that would last ten years with TLC and a little luck.
Bikes at this level of quality cost from four to five hundred
dollars - an amount not even in my wildest moment could I rationalize. Occasionally on my trips to the local dumpsters, someone would discard an old bike for pick- up. These relics of twenty years ago were the rusted remains of now-college-age spoiled children who left them out in the rain one too many times. They never adjusted the brakes or gears and probably only rode them one year before relegating them to the garage rafters. Mostly sporting ten speeds and riding on skinny bump-sensitive tires, these cheap Japanese imports flooded the market in the seventies. I would walk them home, flat tires thumping on the pavement, trailing spider webs and loose brake cables.
In a week, I would have them straightened, polished to a show room gloss and working as well as they did when new. A flyer in the local super market would result in a call from a beleaguered father of four pre-teens looking for the cheap alternative bike. His kids would ruin them in a few months anyway, so these out-or-date but looking-like-new bikes fit the bill perfectly. In one month I recycled four ten-speeds for one hundred dollars. A trip to Sears garnered me a heavy looking cruiser bike with fat tires, only six speed gears and handlebars that swept back for upright pedaling.
The quality, or lack of it, was a trade off for the low price of seventy nine dollars.For five years, I enjoyed the Sears bike, putting up with the rubbery feeling gears and the constant adjustments to the brakes. It, of course still looked like new with the constant polishing and attention, but I was unhappy with the performance. Then one day I visited the dumpster behind a large bicycle shop. There were parts of bikes all over the ground, run over bikes, bikes with no wheels, rusted hulks of bikes and bikes with no parts at all. But there on the top of the heap was a beautiful jade green Diamond Back hybrid bike. The front wheel was pretzel shaped, but the rest was in pretty good shape. I examined the gears and was surprised to see Shimano gears of the eighteen speed variety. Evidentially a trade in for a newer model, this discard was just what I wanted.
Back home in the cellar, I found an almost identical wheel for the front end and proceeded to restore the Diamond Back to its former glory. I had been saving an expensive lightweight solid aluminum rear carrier that fit perfectly. Twenty hours of intense labor and two coats of gloss lacquer later I tenderly carried the result of my efforts upstairs. The sun sparkled off polished spokes as I wheeled it to the road. Settling on my new gel-soft seat, I took off slowly, the gears snicking like a Swiss watch into the higher gears.
Compared to my Sears clunker, this bike wanted to go. It floated above the road on its ball bearings, a secret hidden motor seeming to propel it without effort. Back at my front step, I braked firmly to a fast stop, without the usual vibration and squeak of complaint. I was now in bicycle heaven and it didn't cost me a dime.
Retired portrait photographer. Hobbies include graphic arts, photography, singing and fixing things.
5 Tips For Buying the Perfect Bicycle
Bicycle riding is a great way to spend time with the family and to get exercise. Why doesn't everyone ride a bicycle nowadays? For one, they are intimidated when it comes time to buy a bicycle. Here are five helpful tips for choosing the perfect bike for you.
Once you learn how to choose a bike, buying subsequent bikes is a piece of cake. You can't just see a bike that is shiny and new and say that it is for you. Most important of all is the fact that the shiny bike will stay in the garage until it tarnishes if you don't like how it handles.
1. Where will you be riding your bike? This question gets the ball rolling. There are bike shops, fitness stores and department stores carrying bikes but just a few main types of bikes: mountain bikes, hybrid bikes, cruising bikes and road bikes. How often you will ride and the route that you choose determines the best type of bicycle for you.
2. How tall are you? This factor is important because a short person doesn't want to have a bike that will cause them to hit the crossbar every time they try to stop the bike. Ouch! A bike that is the wrong size for you can mean cramped legs and sore knees or stretched muscles. For the answer to this question, you'll actually have to sit on a bike or at least stand next to one.
3. Ride a bike. Don't let the first bike you ride be the one you purchase from the store. Ask a friend for their bike to "test drive" in advance.
4. Buy the best bike you can the first time. In a recession especially, people have the tendency to stay on the cheap side. Listen; there are some things that don't pair well with "cheap." A bike and a car fall into that category. You will be riding this bike alone or with a carrier for your child. You want to know that you can depend on your bike to keep you safe while you ride. You don't have to spend 300 bucks but get the features you need for the best price.
5. Visit a bike shop for advice. When you want to know something you go to the experts. Those who sell bikes for a living know about bikes. Go here first to get sized for a bike, learn the type of bike you need and find out all the nuances of bike riding. You might decide not to buy a bike from a specialty shop because of the price but you will now be armed with the knowledge to choose a bike from another store without being taken for a ride.
Choosing a Bicycle Seat
Bike riding can be fun but that fun will become irrelevant if you are uncomfortable. The one part of the bicycle that riders complain about most is the seat. If the butt is not feeling good, nothing else matters.
When you buy a bicycle, the seat is not missing. You will get a seat but it won't necessarily be the seat that is best for you. Don't be afraid to replace it. In fact, if you don't replace it, your bottom will pay the price.
1. Take a look at your bottom. This is not a joke. Most bicycle seats are small and quite firm as a standard. Competitive cyclists like these seats because there is less movement as you pedal. Constant rubbing can cause chafing which is not good for long rides or any ride at all. If you are fuller in the rear, a wider or softer seat may be in order.
2. Examine the seat shape. Most seats have the same basic shape but there are subtle differences that are important. Seats that slope down on the sides do not support larger bottoms. It is hard on the tail bone and your lower back. Some seats look more like butterfly wings and provide more support by sloping up slightly. Seats with a center channel helps to keep you stationary on your bike without a lot of movement from side to side.
3. Consider a gel seat. Maybe a bigger seat is not the answer especially if speed is your choice. A larger seat makes it harder to pedal faster. Seats are narrow in front for that reason. If the seat fits your bottom and the shape is fine, adding a gel seat can keep your bottom cushioned on longer rides for greater comfort. Gel seats are a great way to stay comfortable when taking a spinning class as well or bouncing up and down on a mountain bike.
4. Learn to adjust your seat. Sometimes the problem is the height of the seat. A seat that is too high means you are straining to reach the pedals. This downward pressure puts more pressure on your bottom on that seat. Can you imagine how much that would hurt? Adjust your bicycle seat so that you can touch the pedals and still maintain a ninety degree angle with your body as you pedal. If the seat is still too hard or it hurts, then look at other possible solutions.
5. What are your riding needs? If you are just riding on occasional outings, a wider seat is acceptable. You aren't trying to pick up speed or win a race. A narrower seat helps with maintaining speed in competition. A small hard seat can put bumps and bruises on your butt if you are riding over uneven terrain.
A properly fitted bicycle seat is important for all riders. Shop well now to avoid lots of pain later.
There is more to bike riding than just riding. That's the easy part. Choose your bike wisely to get the best for your money.
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How can I stop my A*s from hurting so much on a bike??
I've already gotten one of those gel seats for big asses....what next????
You guys have been great! Thank you everyone for the answers and help - how do I pick just one best answer??
You can go to the nearest Specialized brand bike dealer and sit on the Assometer. It will then tell you what your measures are.
You can also try the following:
WTB Speed V
WTB Speed She
Sportourer
Terry Butterfly
Mountain bike saddle
But, how do you know?
Handlebar height is strictly relative to saddle width.
Higher handlebars facilitate using a more comfortable saddle.
This can be accomplished without loss of areodynamic performance as long as the riser stem is also able to maintain optimized reach--with the end result being a more comfortable posture. My favorite for the road bike is Profile Designs H2O and for the mountain bike, is Nashbar ATB adjustable.
Adjust your handlebars up for good fit first before doing more saddle shopping.
That "changes the rules" a bit and opens more options for comfort.
I like the Sportourer because of its medium size, slight padding, and gently sloping sides. In fact, gently sloping sides is extremely important in the larger saddles.
The very finest fit I've seen has been on Diamondback's road bike hybrid Edgewood/Winwood (flat handlebars, 700c wheels) and is called Avenir. This is not available seperately, but viewing one and going on a test drive can give you a good idea of how a touring saddle should feel. Not that $350 is too big of a price for a super comfy saddle that comes with a free bike. Oh, I don't want to make fun of that bike. It is a speedy one, despite its funny looks.
You might also need to report to the bike store to have your bike adjusted for fit. It sounds like you're suffering from some sort of reach issue that is affecting your posture into leaning down onto the horn of the saddle or causing a lot of sliding and posting.
Touring size saddle with gently sloping sides:
http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=list&Category=469&Brand=583&type=T
Mountain/Road saddles:
http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=SA1531
http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=SA2207
Don't miss going to the bike store to get professionally fitted.
EDIT: The action of gel is to remove pressure from your "sit bones," which it shouldn't do and then squish into your soft tissues, which it shouldn't do either. Marine foam (a type of foam that encapsulates gel so that it won't travel) is a non-squishy type of gel, and the non-squishy works well.
Avoid the squishy, jello-like stuff that promises relief, but delivers pain instead.
It seems that gentle curves are the way to go. I like to look underneath the saddle to see if the backplate is curved at the "edges" or flat, and avoid the flat because that makes sharp edges no matter how much padding there is on top.
See the bike store for more details.
Product recall: Cribs from Pottery Barn Kids
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Thousands of drop-side cribs from popular retailer Pottery Barn Kids are being recalled over safety concerns.
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