Narb

So I am 5'10" 190 lbs, i got a bike to lose some weight. I went to Target and got the comfortable cruiser type seat from shwinn. I have a cannondale quick 4, when i put the seat all the way back i can still feel my thighs hitting the seat because the seats so wide. Should I just get a narrower seat and add a seat post suspension? What is everyones favirote seat and seat post combination? I dont want to spend alot of a seat post suspension btw.

FrenchFit 

It's something you decide over years of trial and error. Don't be in a hurry, get some riding chops before you spend real money. Eventually, you may end up on a leather Brooks, but why spend $160+ if you're not sure. If you can't tolerate the saddle, get something cheap or used until you know what you want. Or...you can take the trip to bizarro land, like my SMP and Thudbuster below....

jforman

You might just want a thinner seat (at least in the front, looking from the top of the seat.) I have a SMP seat and found that it was quite ok. As FrenchFit mentioned you might have to kiss a lot of frogs before you get a prince. Please don't cosider any suspension seatposts until you decide on the seat that you feel you will enjoy.

Jaywalk3r

First, it's not a seat, it's a saddle. The difference is not just semantic. Seats support your weight. Saddles support only part of your weight, with a significant portion still supported by your feet.

Bike saddles tend to be uncomfortable for one or both of two reasons: Incorrect width and too much padding.

When riding a bike, there are six points of contact with the bike, right hand, left hand, right foot, left foot, right sit bone, and left sit bone. Correct saddle width will allow each of the sit bones to contact the saddle at points where the saddle designers intended.

If there's too much padding, when bearing much of your weight, the padding will get squished and displaced, putting pressure on parts of your body where such pressure is undesirable, causing discomfort.

Many people, myself included, find tensioned leather saddles to be the most comfortable. They have no padding, and work on a principle similar to a hammock (once broken in).

For more information

GlennR

Then why does to attach to a seat post and a seat tube?



I bet this qualifies as a seat.

Narb

Thanks for all the advice.. I ended up ordering this seat, I mean saddle: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000C...SV9MN3LHS&th=1

Jaywalk3r

Perhaps the same reason some cyclists clip into their clipless pedals?

MRT2

Saddles are personal. Butts come in all shapes and sizes and what works for one, won't necessarily work for another. Beyond that, you also have the issue of chafing from cotton shorts and underwear. Avoid cotton when riding and stick with either bike shorts or compression shorts made out of technical fabric.

I have enjoyed success with two saddles over the years. The first was a saddle with springs in the back that I used for over 10 years. That saddle broke a few years ago, but it is OK because I had broken in a Brooks B17 standard, which is now my go to saddle.

My wife uses a Serfas similar to that Planet Bike saddle and finds it comfortable, though when I used it, I found it just OK, not great. the Litmus test of saddle comfort is the degree to which the saddle makes it presence known, which is not a good thing. Too wide and you chafe your thighs. Too soft and you get saddle sores. Too narrow and you feel like the saddle is giving you a wedgie when you ride.

I am not much for split saddles. Other then liking Brooks, my preference is for saddles that are a little wider then narrow road saddles, but not as wide as a cruiser saddle. Minimal padding, and a flat, or flattish shape with a narrow nose. That is my preference. Yours might be different.

One more thing. Forget about seatpost suspension.

dcwldct

The very sight of that makes my butt hurt.

GlennR

I bet it weighs more than my bike.