Seat or Saddle?



Damnit! I insist you stop splitting hares!



It's pointless! And funless! And it offends the PETA loons.

Motorcycles adopted the term, "saddlebags" from the prior form of locomotion...the horse. Only transgender hippies call them "panniers"...and a few 'adventure sport' dilweeds that insist military ammunition cans make great luggage carriers.

The seat on a horse is referred to as a saddle. And it does bear almost all of your weight. If you don't believe me, ride 20 miles and compare how little your feet do not hurt with how much your ass does. Spinal compression is included at no extra charge.

The part of the horsie saddle the ass resides on is...the seat. Hunt seat. Jump seat. Yada yada funless pointless hare splitting! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/duck.gif

Oddly, motorcycles refer to the butt contact area as a seat. This despite the fact that body weight is distributed between the floorboards/foot pegs and handlebars, just as it is on a bicycle. Don't think so? Put 400 miles on a GSXR-1100 and see how your wrists hold up.

All I know is that the saddle with the gayest name this side of Ellen O'Rosie is the Douglas Bootie Luv and it's a damned comfy seat. Or saddle. Or both. Meh...so sayeth my hind end.

That said, I've reverted back to my old fav, the Flite Genuine Gel. If any seat has been the 'universal' standard over the years, the Flite series may be it (apologies to the Concor, peace be upon it!).

Selle San Marco Rolls, anyone?
 
Hi Campybob, interesting ... so a Saddle is really a Seat with straps that go around the girth of a horse ... who woulda thought. Bit like T&Sing really or carrying a machine gun on your shoulder. No fun at all, really, and kinda silly like, ya know, hey :)

Hi ambal, yes I agree, Sheldon Brown should definitely be entered into the cycling hall of fame :)
 
On a bike, a saddle is a seat, and a seat is a saddle. Outside of that, who cares? Sheldon was good, but he wasn't always right.
 
Sheldon was good, but he wasn't always right.

He and Jobst have a lot in common.

Except that Sheldon had a real personality. And readily admitted gross errors.

Bit like T&Sing really or carrying a machine gun on your shoulder.

Exactly! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif
 
Originally Posted by CAMPYBOB .

...and with a username like...sitzmark!

Hehe ... plain as day and it went right over my head. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/ROTF.gif

Not mine, but owner claims 80,000 miles. Hurts just looking at it.
 
sitzmark said:
Not mine, but owner claims 80,000 miles. Hurts just looking at it. [/url] Yup. It looks like it was designed to shut off groinal blood flow or to pinch groinal nerves. It looks really convenient for going back and forth between sitting and standing......:rolleyes:
 
Originally Posted by CAMPYBOB .
The seat on a horse is referred to as a saddle. And it does bear almost all of your weight. If you don't believe me, ride 20 miles and compare how little your feet do not hurt with how much your ass does. Spinal compression is included at no extra charge.
I did see a little humor in the discussion... even if the PETA folks didn't. And... I certainly don't mean to beat this dead horse anymore than needed... but you make a good point with your example.

I have done a little riding... of horse's (as well as bicycles). And although until I read your example I hadn't made the actual comparison. Adjusting and fitting a person to a horse saddle... is much like fitting a person to a bicycle. And just as when cycling.. the cyclist can spend much of his/her time off the saddle... it is the same when riding a horse. With both sports there is a learning curve. Knowing when to rest on your sit bones and when to allow the bike (or the horse) to move beneath you is a learned reaction. Knowing when to use your thighs to help retain balance may be more natural than learned.... but is used with both horse and bike.

Just like cyclist don't walk around with sore butts... nether do people who ride horses. Any idiot can sit his butt on a seat. But using a saddle... is a learned experience.

Please accept my input with the bit of tongue in cheek humor which was intended.
 
Dave, you got it!

Just don't tell Mrs. Campy ver. 3.0 there's such a thing as a carbon fiber saddle tree and that quarter horse bars are now available in hollow titanium!

Heels up on a bike and heels down on a horse!
 
Originally Posted by sitzmark .


Saddle ... :)
Hi Sitzmark, that bike seat should definitely be on a horse with girth straps and stirrups added to it ... amazing how malleable leather can be and that seat should help provide some inner thigh grip to stop the bike or horse from bucking them off :)

Excellent ... so a horse seat is a saddle, with girth straps and stirrups, and a bike seat (motor bike or bicycle) is seat that your sit bones sit on ... agreed :)


Interesting thread with some interesting pics :)
 
Originally Posted by alienator .


How are differentiating saddles from seats? They're two different names for the same thing. There is no well defined answer for what saddle works for a given person. The only way to find the right saddle is to keep trying saddles until you find the one that coddles your peaches just right. The type of bike you ride, the type of riding you do, your position on the bike, your sit bone positions, and your weight are the biggest physical factors in determining what works for you. Those factors however or interpreted through your highly subjective interpretation of sensory feedback (virtually all human senses are influenced by subjective factors).
You should also keep in mind that what looks comfortable may not be comfortable at all. For example, a lot of road cyclists find that big cushy saddles are exceedingly uncomfortable, while saddles with relatively thin, firm foam are comfy. The point is that you cannot really say how a saddle is going to work for you unless you try that saddle or you have already determined what works for you. I wouldn't put very much stock at all in recommendations for specific saddles from other riders.
+1
 
Was thinking about this very question yesterday at work, while assembling Walmart **** (gotta think about SOMETHING!), and all I could come with was:

"you SIT on a SEAT, and STRADDLE a SADDLE."

Maybe I need to get out of my corner work area more....
 
But you also sit on saddle and you can straddle a seat. Seat or saddle: it's what ever you want to call it.
 
Originally Posted by RyanScribner .

I have a saddle on my bike but i took it off because it was [LITERALLY] a pain in my ass. I put a cushioned seat on it. What are the differences and or benefits of saddles or seats?
Saddles come in many sizes and shapes to match your anatomy ie. hip width and "bottom shape" etc, some shops have a fit guide you can sit on to determine proper width most will let you try them. None are painless! Leather saddles will conform to your shape, but not immediately. I've found that chamois shorts, ( work best worn next to the skin), a "must" for rides longer than an hour or two. No matter what type you use some "butt toughening" will be involved.
 
Pat Stowe said:
None are painless!  
A total load of BS. Let everyone know when you've surveyed all riders to back up such a statement.
 
Originally Posted by alienator .


A total load of BS. Let everyone know when you've surveyed all riders to back up such a statement.
There are two kinds of riders; those who have experienced saddle pain at some point of a season or even a ride, and there there are liars.
 
Pat Stowe said:
There are two kinds of riders; those who have experienced saddle pain at some point of a season or even a ride,   and there there are liars.
Then there are the idiots that say, "There are two kinds of riders....." You've got nothing to back up you claim, Barbara. Zero. All you've got is a failing memory and your personal biases and a lack of critical thought.
 
There are two kinds of riders; those who have experienced saddle pain at some point of a season or even a ride, and there there are liars.

+1

My ass ain't gonna lie.
 
Originally Posted by alienator .


Then there are the idiots that say, "There are two kinds of riders....."
You've got nothing to back up you claim, Barbara. Zero. All you've got is a failing memory and your personal biases and a lack of critical thought.
Hmm, the pot calling the pot calling the kettle black...
By the way, have you ever said anything nice in a reply?, or is that beyond you?