Bicycle saddle

Various bicycle saddles

Spring-loaded bend leather saddle by Laurin & Klement (1890), exhibited in the Škoda Muzeum

Founded a new class of bicycle saddles around 1986: Selle Concor was the first plastic saddle with a leather cover

The bicycle saddle is the part of the bicycle that gives the rider support and enables him to sit in different positions while cycling . The shape depends on the intended use of the bike and on the physical characteristics of the rider. Bicycle saddle technology has changed significantly in recent years. In the early days of the bicycle, there were saddle models made entirely of wood or even metal. However, these were replaced early on by leather saddles, which were borrowed from the horse saddle. Plastic has been used increasingly since the early 1990s. The first saddle with a mixed construction was the Selle Concor 1986, it had a plastic shell with a leather cover. Today, plastic saddles with padding and synthetic leather cover (PVC) are the most common design. The world market leader in bicycle saddles has been the Italian company Selle Royal since around 2000 .

Ergonomic functions of the saddle

A bicycle saddle consists of a rear main seat and the so-called saddle nose.
Most of the body weight rests on the main seat, and this is where the buttocks are also fixed, which almost excludes the involvement of the muscles above the pelvis (cycling involves the pelvic and leg muscles rather one-sided).
The elongated extension between the legs is called the saddle nose. Noseless saddles are also experimentally available, but the saddle nose has the function of preventing the driver from slipping sideways when lying on the side (when cornering). The saddle nose also facilitates hands-free driving, with the inside of the thighs deflecting the handlebars minimally through tilting impulses. Accordingly, the saddle nose is assigned a permanent stabilization of straight driving. In the most general way, the saddle nose is used to provide the rider with a laterally correcting point of attack on the bicycle frame via the inner thighs.

Saddle shapes and their areas of application

The shape of the saddle must take into account the physical characteristics of the cyclist in order to enable long-term comfortable sitting on the bike. Every saddle design has advantages, but also disadvantages. The mere shape of a saddle says nothing about its comfort.

It is differentiated for different areas of application in different widths, lengths, inclinations and upholstery.

Wide touring saddle
Slim racing bike saddle

In the past, a distinction was usually made between men's and women's saddles in order to take into account the fact that women generally have a wider pelvis than men. In women's saddles, which were always wider than men's saddles, the saddle nose was also significantly shorter, without this being anatomically explainable. Recent findings show that this distinction is not particularly useful, since the body structure is person-specific, but not gender-specific. This realization was promoted by the fact that the former cyclist Täve Schur won his second world title after swapping a bike with a side saddle. That is why people are increasingly switching to so-called unisex saddles.

A saddle cannot be too big or too small. As a result, many manufacturers of branded bicycle saddles today offer the same model with different saddle widths. In order to determine the saddle that is optimally suitable for the user, the saddle must not only be matched to the anatomy of the individual cyclist with the ischial tuberosity, but also to the area of application for which the bicycle is to be used. For this purpose, depending on the area of application, a certain factor for the corresponding area of use is added to the measurement result of the sit bone distance. The different postures cause a different inclination of the pelvis and therefore different contact points between the rider's pelvic area and the saddle. In general, the saddle should be narrower, the more bent the predominant posture is while cycling. The field of application of the bicycle often results from its frame construction.

Short haul, city trips

As a rule, only low speeds are achieved when using the bicycle, and the time spent on the bicycle and thus the saddle is relatively short. When it comes to the shape of a bicycle for this purpose, one often speaks of a city or Dutch bike . In general, the cyclist has an upright sitting posture. This means that the cyclist's pelvis is not tilted and that the sit bones rest on the saddle in the places naturally intended for sitting. At the same time, this upright posture puts a considerable strain on the spine. The unevenness of the floor is only insufficiently cushioned in this sitting posture, as the back muscles are not tense and therefore not active. The impacts are thus transmitted to the spine and the intervertebral discs with almost no reduction. Therefore, for this purpose, the saddle should be quite wide and relatively soft in order to achieve a large contact area with the sit bones. Since the pubic runners have little contact with the surface of the saddle, the risk of restricted or interrupted supply lines for blood and nerves is not particularly high. However, if this type of saddle, which is intended for short distances, is used for other bicycle applications, the softness, which is so pleasant for short distances, causes problems in the area of the back, in particular the spine, on longer journeys.

Cycling, triathlon, sport and racing cycling

For longer and faster cycling, a more forward leaning posture is aerodynamically and ergonomically advantageous. This shifts the focus of the body weight further onto the handlebars and tilts the pelvis . The contact point is completely or partially shifted from the ischial tuberosities to the pubic runners.
Saddles for sporty use are narrower and harder than the padded and spring-loaded saddles for occasional bicycles in order to offer a rigid resistance to the weight and movement forces of the buttocks. The low weight of the saddle is also advantageous here for ambitious cycling.

Off-road driving, downhill

The bicycle, known as a mountain bike (MTB) for driving in open terrain, has to be adapted to the conditions that the terrain demands when driving off-road compared to driving on roads or paths due to the vastly different conditions. Due to the permanent unevenness of the ground, the rider often does not sit on the saddle, but rather keeps his balance on the MTB standing or in a crouching position with the help of the quite high pace, while balancing with the thighs on the sides of the saddle keeps his balance. The demands on the saddle result from the durability of the saddle with regard to bumps and blows (safety from breakage during the ride) and due to the length of time that the mountain biker spends on the bike.

MTB / sport bike saddle

Children and youth saddles

A children's saddle is structurally similar to a saddle for adults. However, since it is geared towards the height of children and young people, it is smaller. It is a seat accessory of the children's bicycle for a child who is already cycling independently. So this should not be confused with a so-called child seat , in which the child is transported on an adult's bike. Not all manufacturers offer children's saddles. The reason for this lies mainly in the child's incomplete growth. As a result, the time that the child can use a saddle is very limited. For this reason, a quick saddle change is necessary (comparable to new shoes with growing feet). In addition, children are usually rarely on the bike or on the saddle. For this reason, children and young people can usually find saddles with hard-wearing seat covers; however, these saddles are rather simply equipped with the other saddle features.

Exotic

Acrobatics, art

In addition to the classic design, there are saddles with their own requirements for special bicycle models.

Artistic bike
unicycle
A curiosity from the 1960s / 1970s: the banana saddle of a bonanza wheel
Tightened saddle on a Pedersen bicycle

While a normal bicycle has a handlebar as a control means, a unicycle only offers the saddle and the pedals to keep the balance. The saddle nose is an important aid to the cyclist; Bicycle saddles without a saddle nose are therefore ruled out for unicycles. The sitting position is naturally upright on the unicycle. Since this device is usually only used on a surface that has hardly any bumps ( asphalt , tartan ), the requirements for the saddle are similar to those for city or Dutch bikes. The banana saddle with its special shape has been popular for use on a unicycle since the 1970s until today, as it promotes good balance control thanks to its above-average length and curvature.

In dirt biking , the rider tries artistic jumps over objects or changes of direction in the air when touching massive parts, mostly walls. In dirt biking, the material is exposed to extremely heavy loads, and the requirements for the saddle are similar to those in mountain biking. For this bicycle acrobatics, the saddle is more of a control element than a seat when jumping. For this reason, the saddles on bicycles intended for dirt biking are often mounted with the saddle nose positioned extremely steeply upwards. This allows the cyclist to use the saddle nose as a handle when jumping to change direction of the bike when jumping in the air. As a result, exceptionally resilient materials must be used for the saddles that are intended for this area of application; on the other hand, only low demands are made on seating comfort.

Recumbent

Bucket seats for recumbent bikes

A completely different shape of the saddle is necessary for a so-called recumbent bike . Since the rider is in an exceptionally strong supine position on the bike, he needs a continuous seat and lounger construction that extends from the buttocks to the shoulders. However, this construction is generally not referred to as a "saddle", but rather as a mesh or shell seat. Since the legs and the crank are about shoulder height, there are hardly any problems in the perineum and pelvic area with the sensitive blood and nerve tracts with this type of bicycle.

Saddle alignment and saddle height

In general, a saddle should be aligned horizontally. The easiest way to do this is to use a spirit level . This guarantees that the saddle properties can have an optimal effect on the pelvic region and that the best possible pressure distribution is achieved to enable ergonomic and back-friendly cycling. When the saddle is tilted backwards, the seating comfort increases subjectively, but at the same time the pressure on the soft tissues of the pelvis increases significantly and the risk of damage to blood and nerve tracts in the genital area increases sharply. This is all the more important the longer you sit on the saddle. Studies have shown that the load can be viewed as critical after just three minutes. If the saddle is tilted forwards - i.e. with the saddle nose down - the strain that the hands and the handlebars have to absorb from the rider's body weight increases. The pressure on the soft tissues of the pelvis decreases, while at the same time the risk of slipping forward from the seat of the saddle onto the saddle nose and creating a new, undesirable and painful pressure in the perineum and genital area increases. The alignment of the saddle nose within the horizontal is also of decisive importance for the driver's comfort. If the saddle nose is not exactly on the tax rate aligned to the saddle nose caused to the inner thighs friction surfaces, which can be very painful with prolonged exposure.

In order not to cause any leverage on the saddle struts with an increased risk of breakage, the saddle must be adjusted as centrally as possible on the saddle clamp. An off-center mounting of the saddle is called a saddle offset. For safety reasons, deviations of more than 3.0 cm should not be exceeded. If larger deviations are necessary in order to achieve an ergonomic posture on the bike, either a different saddle must be selected or the entire bike geometry must be checked by a specialist in relation to the cyclist concerned (frame size, handlebar distance, etc.).

Saddle stay with marking

In order to facilitate the central assembly of the saddle, several manufacturers have printed corresponding scales on the saddle struts. The saddle is aligned using the saddle clamp. In order to find the optimal seating position for the cyclist, it may be necessary to change the fine adjustment of the saddle several times. A few millimeters are often decisive for well-being or pain on the saddle. The saddle height depends on the height of the rider. The height of the saddle is ergonomically optimal when the driver has still slightly bent his leg when the pedal is in the lowest position. The saddle height is adjusted via the seat post (saddle candle).

Dimensions

The saddle mass is heavily dependent on the materials used, which in turn are mainly based on the intended use of the saddle or the bicycle. It varies between approx. 185 and 1200 grams. Older saddles can have an even higher mass. Very light saddles are required for bike races in order to keep the effort of the racing driver as low as possible.

Saddles are only permitted up to a certain body mass. This maximum limit, which is set by the manufacturer, is between 100 and 130 kg depending on the model and has legal liability relevance. If the saddle is used by a person with a greater mass than permitted, the manufacturer is no longer liable for any material damage or accidents within the scope of product liability .

Medical aspects

From a medical point of view, an unsuitable adjustment of the bicycle is the main reason for problems with the blood circulation and supply of the nerve cells in the perineum and pelvic area when cycling. Wrong saddles are often propagated, but are only very rarely the cause. Such reports have been roaming the Internet for a number of years, but they are advertising measures by alternative saddle manufacturers. Alleged erectile dysfunction caused by cycling could never be proven, as well as alleged lack of fertility in cyclists.

All athletes who spend a long time in the saddle (racing bikes), as well as touring cyclists who ride extremely long, prefer hard saddles in the conventional design and mostly made of hide leather. On racing bikes, for one-day races or short stage rides, a titanium saddle with a plastic upper part is often used for reasons of weight.

Although the saddle, as one of the contact points between cyclist and bicycle, has a direct influence on the pelvic area of the cyclist, from a medical point of view this zone is only part of the entire musculoskeletal system, the entire body posture and the human anatomy and can therefore be seen and examined as a unit. Therefore, further medical aspects can be assigned to the act of “ cycling ”, although these are also partly influenced by the construction of the saddle.

Saddle with central groove and slot to relieve the perineum

In order to counter the problem of pressure load in the perineum area , there are also different approaches from the various manufacturers. In addition to a shortening of the saddle nose, there are also saddle variants that have an elongated recess or even a complete, elongated hole at the transition from the saddle nose to the seat.

Such models are called "hole saddles". Medical examinations have shown, however, that with these variants it depends to a large extent on the current sitting position of the driver whether the desired effect of pressure relief is achieved or not. In the worst case, the pressure on these models can even increase significantly compared to a conventional saddle. Some perforated saddles also have constructions that are designed to cool and ventilate the buttocks through the opening in the saddle. The effect of such constructions is controversial.

Well-known manufacturers

BBB from Australia
Brooks is known for leather saddles. The formerly independent English manufacturer was bought up in 2003 by the Italian company Selle Royal (see below).
Kore Bicycle Components , USA
Lepper , based in the Netherlands , only produces leather saddles.
Prologo , Italy
RTI based in Germany, the trade name is Terry .
Selle San Marco , founded in 1935, is a large Italian manufacturer focusing on sporty models.
Season Bikes , UK
Selle Royal , based in Italy, is the global market leader , founded in 1956. Many finished bikes are factory-fitted with a saddle from this manufacturer. The focus is on saddles with gel inserts , he also offers children's saddles.
Selle Italia , a large Italian manufacturer focusing on sporty models, also produces saddles for other bicycle and component brands such as Specialized and Ritchey.
SQ-Lab , Germany was the first manufacturer to produce the so-called step saddle; Manufacturer of niche products.
Velo Enterprises based in Taiwan , the trade name is Velo with various additions. Many prefabricated bicycles are equipped with saddles from this manufacturer at the factory, and also offers children's saddles and inflatable saddles.
WTB (Wilderness Trail Bikes), USA
Wittkop Sattel, based in Germany, also manufactures children's saddles.
XLC , Germany; Accessory brand of the Winora Staiger group also offers children's saddles.

Saddle accessories

Bicycle saddle with saddlebag

Rain protection covers for bicycle saddles are not only offered by saddle manufacturers in a wide variety of materials and in different price ranges. They all consist of waterproof material - for example neoprene - and are more or less tear-resistant. You can find them in bicycle shops as well as in department stores and sometimes even in discount stores.

With older saddle models, a so-called saddle bag made of plastic or textile fibers was common, which could hold small tools for bicycle repairs in the event of a breakdown. As modern saddles usually lack eyelets for attaching saddlebags, these useful accessories are rarely found. Often it is only possible with manual skill to attach a saddle bag to a modern saddle. However, modern solutions with clickable pockets are more common.

Sometimes, for optical reasons, an otherwise non-functional fabric, plastic or fur cover is pulled over the seat cover of the saddle with the help of a circumferential rubber. This additional cover is called a saddlecloth. There are countless types of saddlecloths. With a little skill you can sew a saddlecloth inexpensively yourself.

Printed saddle covers are also used by companies as advertising space free of charge as "throws" on parked bicycles.