Horrible, uncomfortable saddles...

[Yaquina143]

I'm curious...

I restored the seat on my 1942 Columbia military bike myself (see photo) and all of the cushioning underneath the new leather covering is original. Now that I have ridden the bike a few times I can honestly say that it is the most uncomfortable seat I have ever experienced.

Did I do something wrong? Are these seats normally uncomfortable? I'm telling ya, it is very nearly un-ridable right now and I hate to put all of this work into her just to have her sit in the garage.

Are there any manufactures of reproduction seats? Any tricks to making these seats more comfortable?

Thoughts?

 

[MartyW]

Is it the shape of the actual saddle or is it a lack of padding issue? If it is lack of padding you may want to recover with a little more padding.
I checked the two usual sources that I know and did not see any that are even close to that saddle. Here they are though.

http://www.memorylane-classics.com/

http://www.mapleislandsales.com/

I hope that this helps some..........

 

[Yaquina143]

Is it the shape of the actual saddle or is it a lack of padding issue? If it is lack of padding you may want to recover with a little more padding.

I thought about that, but it currently has roughly the same amount of padding as it did originally. I have ridden a lot of bikes, but this seat is amazingly painful to ride on.

I did find this on EBay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Classic-Cruiser-Crash-Rail-LEATHER-Bike-Seat-f-Schwinn_W0QQitemZ220196994080QQihZ012QQcategoryZ22693QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Would this be a correct seat for a 42' Columbia? It looks very similiar.

 

[MartyW]

Would this be a correct seat for a 42' Columbia? It looks very similiar.

That seat is a repop that is close to the same. If it is close enough only you can decide. But in my opinion that is a really high price for that seat, I think that if you look around you will find one cheaper.

I also have a couple of seats that I cant ride for very long because they are just too uncomfortable.

 

[J.E]

If you want to try and recover another one with a little more padding.i've got a core you can have.Justin in Woodburn

 

[AntonyR]

Did you consider the angle? Sometimes just a click or two of the nose up or down can make a big difference in riding comfort. (Or at least bearable..)

 

[Yaquina143]

Well, I just got done recovering the seat. I didn't remove the leather but added a thick layer of wool and then another layer of the same leather as before. I haven't put it on the bike yet but will do it later tonight and give it a try.

One thing is for sure, it couldn't make it more uncomfortable then it already was.

 

[donp]

i have the same problem with a seat i recovered from 1927. i re-used the original foam and materials and covered them in leather. when you sit on it, it's like there is no foam at all. i think it's because the foam needs to be replaced as it has dried out and lost it's ability to support anything.

 

[Classicriders]

Go to your local bike shop and get a Gel cover for your seat. Super comfy black neoprene type of cover with gel padding. Slips right over the seat and has a draw string underneath. When your not riding it, take iit off.

 

[JOEL]

The foam rubber padding used under carpet makes good replacement stuffing for your saddle. Glue it on with some contact cement and bevel the edges to match the seatpan.