What is the most comfortable seat for my bike?

    By Jeff Deutsch

This is something of a personal decision. Some people think that hard seats are more comfortable because it puts the pressure on your sit bones. With a mushy seat, the rider sinks in and some of the pressure is put on more sensitive areas. Many recreational riders disagree. They like seats with lots of padding, gel stuff, springs, or a shock in the seatpost.

Hmmm... Let's consider the five 's's -- sit, shape, suspension, shorts and set-up. I just made this up, but it sounds good.

1) Sit - Advanced riders usually like less padding. Recreational riders like more padding. Gel (sometimes called HFS -- hydrodynamic
flotation system) is considered a premium padding. I've got a pair of HFS shorts and found it no better than any other type of padding. You can buy seats with regular padding or gel padding. You can also buy gel seat covers that add padding to any seat.

2) Shape - Some folks think wider seats are more comfortable.  I've never tried any, but I worry about the seat interfering with leg motion. You can buy "ultrawide" seats from Nashbar, Performance or most retailers. Then you have special shapes with various comfort claims. I've got a Terry Liberator (Mens) on my road bike. It has a hole in the middle for my sensitive parts. My mountain bike has a Specialized Minkow Wedge. It splits in the back. I'm very happy with both of these seats, but I went through lots of trial and error before everything was comfortable. The Minkow seat is great on my mountain bike, but it sucks on my road bike.

3) Suspension - Some seats have springs. You can also buy a seatpost with a shock absorber. That either comes with a seat or can be purchased separately. If the bike itself has a suspension then you probably don't need additional suspension in the seatpost.  Otherwise I think it is a good idea, even on a road bike.

4) Shorts - A good pair of bike shorts makes a huge difference. This is probably the single most important factor in seat comfort. Any name brand pair of 6 or 8 panel shorts should be fine. It isn't just the padding in the shorts. The flat seams and slippery fabric really help to avoid discomfort.

5) Set-up - Any seat has to be correctly aligned for the rider. Knees should be just short of maximum extension when the pedal is down (foot flat, hips steady). Then there is front-to-back adjustment and angle adjustment. The key here is to make small changes. Just one millimeter at a time, then ride for a few miles. Some riders actually like the seat angled back (with the nose up). It puts more weight on the sit bones. Others like it flat or angled down to get the nose of the seat out of more sensitive regions.