soulfullspirit

My new riding partner who has just started bike touring has a mountain bike which she has fitted with one of those huge seats like it must be the biggest seat i have ever seen, Now i know why she likes it as it would be like sitting on a lounge chair.

As she is not very fit and the old behind is still not used to taking the punishment dished out to it she is very reluctant to get rid of it after i said she should get rid of it and get a good quality female specific touring seat. She stated if i find it comfortable why get rid it which got me thinking except for the weight of it why should she? so that is my question to you all is there any long term benefits of getting rid of this seat and her getting used to what is considered a proper touring saddle ?

CCrew

My take on it? If she's riding the bike let her ride what she wants.

danarnold

Exactly. The usual seat used by 'fat ass girls' is called a mattress. Whatever she's using is a big improvement.

martianone

+1, her choice to ride.
My partner had one of those large seats, we called it the "barkalounger"
One day after a ride, she said "I need a new seat- this thing is killing me". It was sacred before that.
Then the trouble started - probably went thru half a dozen seats before deciding on the right one.
My partner now rides more than ever before and is happy doing so.

mr geeker

comfort is key, let her be.

manicmike

photos?

late

Wait.

When she starts complaining suggest a B67.

wolfpack 

guys....she's riding.....let her pick a saddle out and give it a try...you men know that saddles are very personal thing. as a woman, i'll suggest the bontrager inform rl saddle....for me, the less padding a saddle has, the better...

danarnold

blaise_f

+1 for 'sometimes fat ass saddles are okay'.

StephenH

I've ridden a couple of years on a cruiser saddle on a cruiser with no problems. If she's happy, no real reason to change.

I've tried one or two skinny seats that were very uncomfortable. You can make the false assumption that all skinny seats are uncomfortable, which is not the case.

spinnaker

+1000 She is riding. Leave her alone. She might change her mind on a saddle latter she might not. But it is her decision.

You would think someone with a forum name of "soulfulspirit" would be a little more sensitive to others. Yeesh!

Wogster

Generally the reason for a narrow saddle, has to do with chaffing, a wide saddle tends to rub in the wrong places

However that usually doesn't occur until the rider is doing longer distances, say 50km or more, per ride. So leave her be, when she finds the saddle causing chaffing problems, she will find a better one on her own.

rodar y rodar

Total agreement here. My wife likes those saddles too- I tried to tell her that wider wasn`t always more comfortable but she still doesn`t want to give up her ol tractor seats. That`s fine by me- they make the pedaling world go `round.

stevage

afaik, the only real problem with a wide saddle is it interferes with getting into an aero position. leave her alone until that day.

zoltani

First off let me say that that is the best thread title i have read in awhile, i just had to click.

I am not a fat ass girl, and my wife does not have the fattest ass. However, when she first started touring she liked her fat ass girls bike seat with big ass springs. She was cool with it til we did a multi-day tour with 4-5 hours in the saddle each day. After that she was numb in places that are not good to be numb in, and finally she opted for a different saddle.

I agree with the others, let her ride what she wants, and one day she will realize a big cushy saddle might not be best.

antokelly

i bet she grinds big gears as well ,imho she needs a total rethink on rideing a bike.a good brooks lady's saddle will work wonders for her cycling .we all get discomfort in the saddle every now and again ain't no big deal ,SO what's this saddle like have you a photo .

NoReg

Is she comfortable on the big saddle when she is doing the kind of mileage involved in touring? I have had a number of saddles that were fine for short days, but agony after a few hours. While saddles like the brooks that look like they belong at abu graib, are comfortable whatever the distance.

Also, big fat saddles tend to agree with very upright posture which can be unkind on windy days, unkind on hills, etc...

jdom

Aren't those fat ass saddles designed for the rider who only occasionally rides.These occasional riders tend to almost allways have there saddle to low.My concern would be saddle position,if the saddle is at the proper height then it seems to me that there would be chafing along the inner thigh.Maybe take a look at the saddle position.
Then again if everything is in the right place then let her ride what she wants.After all saddles are a very personal choice.