Why did bicycles have seats for 90 years, now they have saddles?
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I had in mind the distinction that a saddle was relatively narrow and designed for purposeful riding where less weight is borne there and more weight borne on the pedals due to greater effort, while a seat was bigger and much wider and designed to bear nearly all the torso weight due to casual pedaling and little weight on the pedals. But clearly the usage is and has been all over the place. Language is an odd thing.
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Well, "seat" and "sweet" rhyme, and the songwriter probably couldn't fit in a reference to cattle.
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So I propose a compromise between "seat" and "saddle":
Let's call them seattles.
Let's call them seattles.
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I had in mind the distinction that a saddle was relatively narrow and designed for purposeful riding where less weight is borne there and more weight borne on the pedals due to greater effort, while a seat was bigger and much wider and designed to bear nearly all the torso weight due to casual pedaling and little weight on the pedals. But clearly the usage is and has been all over the place. Language is an odd thing.
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Check out the copy on this page, where the words are used so interchangeably, that it's actually funny:
https://selleanatomica.com/collectio...xoCf9cQAvD_BwE
"Comfortable Road Bike Seat for Long Distance
Fit should be one of the top features of any saddle, which is why our long-distance comfortable road bike seats are so popular. Each comfortable bike saddle that we offer features leather with no break-in period and a patented slot that moves underneath you as you ride your bike. The adjustability feature on each long-distance seat heightens the users experience, whether it be for a lengthy ride or a small commute. Purchase any one of our Selle Anatomica saddles to enjoy comfortable ride after comfortable ride."
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Your original premise was that calling it a "saddle" is a new thing, which has been disproven multiple times in this thread. As noted by smd4, your Worthpoint screen shots are pretty worthless for attempting to prove your point.
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OP actually made two completely different arguments. Contrast post #1 with post #56. Neither version of his argument can make hat or tail out of the fact that Schwinn consistently called them "saddles" throughout the 20th century.
I have never in my life ever heard anyone "correct" someone for calling it a "bike seat". This is a troll thread, but finding those old "saddle" ads was fun, so I can't complain.
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OP actually made two completely different arguments. Contrast post #1 with post #56. Neither version of his argument can make hat or tail out of the fact that Schwinn consistently called them "saddles" throughout the 20th century.
I have never in my life ever heard anyone "correct" someone for calling it a "bike seat". This is a troll thread, but finding those old "saddle" ads was fun, so I can't complain.
I have never in my life ever heard anyone "correct" someone for calling it a "bike seat". This is a troll thread, but finding those old "saddle" ads was fun, so I can't complain.
That said, until this thread, I never really paid attention to the "correctness" or either term in relation to that part of a bicycle.
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I know a lot of people who consistently refer to it as a "seat", but the words are otherwise used interchangeably as far as I can tell.
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Q. Why did bicycles have seats for 90 years, now they have saddles?
A. The Lord works in strange ways.
I was a landlord and worked in all sorts of ways. Strange and otherwise.
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