Tractor Seats and Saddles

I am sure you hear it also. That seat is tiny. I have a big butt, so I need a big seat/tractor seat/ gel seat. How do you ride on that seat? Your butt must be tough.  

Yes, we all know the mechanics of why our saddles (not seats) are designed as they are and why it works. Most non-cyclists do not.  I understand that.  I do not understand the frequent ‘new and revolutionary’ bike seats that continue to ‘hit the market’.  How do those that obviously ‘do not ride a bike’ continue to jump in the bike industry and market a new seat. I have seen so many of them. Tractor seats, hammock seats, seats with backs, platform seats, seats with nothing between your legs. 

The marketing folks all have grand (and absolute) things to say. They are going change the world. This is revolutionary. Then, you never see that seat again.  

Maybe that designer should have actually ridden a bike. More than around the block . 

Sure, cyclists are in a rut, just like others. Then again, cyclists will try anything to be faster, more comfortable etc.  If those ‘new’ seats worked – they would have taken over.  

All of them share a common belief that the seat (we call it a saddle for a reason) should be more like the office chair, stool, bench, hammock, or couch. Both in shape and usually in fluff. Not so. 

As cyclists we understand (first hand) the impact on soft tissue, rubbing etc.  

First, I want to talk about why it is important to have a nose to the saddle. Most that ride just accept the nose without much thought. You want to understand it?  Take your saddle (and seatpost) off your bike. Then ride a downhill curvy and rough trail/road.  

I did that once. My seatpost snapped under my seat and fell off on the uphill of a mountain ascent in North Carolina. It was a time when your seatpost binder was quick release.  I pushed my remaining post into my frame to keep from impaling myself and put my seat (with seatpost head still attached) in my back pocket. I kept on climbing. No sense in ruining a good ride over a lack of a seat. After all, Cindy Whitehead (Buccowich) won the 1986 Sierra 7500 without a seat. The 7500 stands for the elevation gain.  

The climbing was ‘different’. I am a seated climber. This was steep and rocky enough that seated would be better, but I made it to the top. I took a break and thought the difficult part was over. I was wrong. Yeah, I was also young. Coming down my bike felt totally out of control. Bouncing everywhere underneath me. It was a fully rigid bike. I knew that steering and stability was impacted by our inner thighs on the saddle nose but until then, I did not realize just how much. Wow.  

Try is someday. Well, maybe not. It can be unsafe. Anyway, the saddle nose is important. Even short nose saddles of current vintage still have noses. To the non-cyclists, it seems silly to have a nose of a saddle (seat as they would say) sticking between your legs. OK. I hear you. As a non-cyclist you do not ride bikes, so trust me on this. No, not trying to sound elitist. I agree that if you ride short distances at mellow pace, then the saddles/seats of which I speak might be quite effective. The less time you use any product the greater the chance of it being ‘good enough’. The more time you spend with a product or tool, the more you appreciate the design of it. 

Non-cyclists. Many have strong opinions about a sport in which they do not engage. But that is the way of the world. Arm chair quarterbacks are not limited to the couch in front of a football game anymore. Social media and a belief that an individual is always correct has amplified that thought process and the concomitant spewing of opinion.

In cycling, the saddle is not a resting location. Well, it can be but that is not its primary purpose.  It is the control center – literally – of the bike.  

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