Almost every cyclist has cursed his bicycle seat at some point. Sometimes it seems bicycle seats are torture devices, designed by sadists with the distinct purpose of hurting your butt and groin. The height and angle adjustment of a bicycle seat is very important, but if you've tuned your standard, narrow bicycle seat every way possible and are about to give up on cycling altogether, try out one of these wide bicycle seats.
Comfort Bicycle Seats
Comfort bicycle seats are becoming more popular as less serious riders start to enjoy the experience of cycling. If you're not trying to strip your bike down to less than 8 lbs. for your next race, and if like a leisurely ride through the park more than a 50-mile trek along a county road, consider a comfort seat. These are found stock on many hybrid and commuter bikes, and are good for bicycles where the handlebars are higher than the seat.
Bench Contour Seat
Although you might at first mistake it for a standard comfort seat, it was designed with the exact opposite theory in mind. While comfort seats add padding to the places where your body applies the most pressure, building those areas up, the Bench Contour Seat hollow those places out, attempting to perfectly match the contours of your posterior to perfectly distribute the weight. They compare it to the metal seat on a tractor in which a farmer is able to sit on all day long. Once again, this is a seat built for a more upright posture, with high handlebar placement.
RealSeat
The RealSeat is one of a kind and patent protected. Unlike a saddle seat, there is no straight line for pressure from your butt to the seat post. Instead, you sit on a suspended, padded nylon seat. The design is a lot like a camping chair. Though a little strange looking, the seat has fans who've tried and given up on almost every other type of bicycle seat.
Recumbent Bicycle
There are pros and cons to recumbent bicycles, but one thing is for sure: The seats are a lot more comfortable than saddles. The recumbent cyclist lounges in a comfortable chair, with his weight distributed through the back and butt, while the rider of a road bike has his full weight balanced on the small surface area of his hands and sit bones. If you can make the jump to a very different design, the recumbent bike will put an end to your saddle soreness permanently.
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