Seat comfort questions?

The seat on my SunSeeker Eco Tad is mesh with a foam pad on the bottom, I've noticed that my "Tailbone" get's sore after 10 miles, I've set the "tilt" to as far back as it can go, tighten the straps on the bottom of the seat and at the seat bend, any other ideas on why it's bothering my tailbone? Thanks for any suggestions. Note: The foam pad was really crushed in there, it seemed too big so I slightly trimmed it to fit inside the seat pouch better, didn't help.

 

The seat pad looks thin and flat. Try adding more padding maybe even thicker on the sides to center and cradle your butt toward the middle. A.D.'s right'; the mesh should be as tight as you can get it. Loose mesh is not only wobbly but robs you of transferred power to the pedals.

 

If you are going to use a mesh seat, A. Tightening the seat bottom so as not to lose pedal power as Dave mentionied B. Getting some memory foam padding. C. Make sure the seat attachment is level D.Check your spinal alignment. Not every person has the same tail bone length and that could be a small part of the isse, which would lead to the necessity of additional cushioning.

 

Thanks All, well I had them "tight", so I decided to loosen them up a for my next ride and see it maybe I just need a bit more "give" in the seat, if that doesn't help I might try taking out the pad and re-tighting the belts. I notice that JoLynn's TT Cruiser seat doesn't have a "pad" but I have to remember she's 80lbs. lighter than I am. My have to find some foam or a GEL pad that won't squish down so easy with my weight, (190 LBS.) The Pad is 1.5 inches thick and seems pretty dense but lol, I'm not foam expert ..

 

You may have to try many different things and maybe a combo of things.
An additional pad something like this one may help.


https://www.thermarest.com/seating/travel-cushion

From their website

Gary

 

Thanks for the example, might also see if I could find a GEL Pad of some kind, again thanks!

 

One thing to keep in mind is that you are going to sweat on it, a GEL pad that is not covered will get sticky.
Also I have had shorts with gel padding when I was riding my up-wrongs and the gel came out leaving no padding what so ever.

Gary

 

Well, loosening the straps did not help, I'm very tempted to take the pad out and really snug the strap under the seat! Also, I read in my owner manual that I can get the seat to lean back more by shorting the seat stay rods, (ie: it's time to get out the hacksaw!!) I'll cut it down one slot hole length and hope for the best!

 

You should replace your foam pad at least every couple of years. (I do mine every year.) They become compressed and will begin to hurt your tush. Also there is different density of foam. I know because my office is right across the street from a foam outlet and I got an education about foam from the owner. I put very high density foam (the kind the airlines put in their seats) under the regular foam where I sit. I just have regular foam on my back. That combination works like a charm. Stopped all butt aches even on century rides!! Good foam isn't cheap, but in my mind well worth it.

One more point, high density foam doesn't do a good job of evaporating sweat. So I put the high density foam on the bottom and then the regular foam on top. That way my tush stays nice and dry too!

 

There are two main types of polyurethane foam: open cell and closed cell. Open cell is mostly in furniture and bedding. It "breathes", you can blow thru it, and it absorbs sweat/water/rain/etc. Closed cell is in life jackets and other waterproof apps; you can't blow thru it. If you have closed cell up against your body you will sweat like crazy under it cuz it doesn't absorb water or let air thru.

As to shortening seat stay rods, probably won't matter for a notch or two. But every bit of more supine (flatter recline angle) will shift weight to the rear and away from the front. Will that affect the bike's handling? Likely not on a trike. Maybe more so on a bike.

 

What's happening is that the 'corner' where the back and seat meet is all mesh, and it's a rounded curve. No place to cradle your tailbone. Instead, it's pushing against your tailbone unnaturally. You may need to somehow split the seatback mesh and the seat base mesh into two pieces. The gap would give your tailbone a break.

 

Well, it's a bit better lately as I've been wearing the "padded bicycle shorts" (summer) but even with them the "pressure comes on after about 15 miles". Don't think I have the "skills" to do cutting and restiching of the seat so I guess I'll just have to learn to live with it.

 

Saw this pad at Wal-Mart locally but it's "larger" over all than the "pocket" the foam square is in" and I'm not sure you can "cut" it?