The Cruiser Bike...PATH to better police and politics...



Reid2

Member
Jan 6, 2011
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Would like to forget about other things,
http://www.cyclingforums.com/forum/thread/485791/people-verses/210
and maybe, if you all don't object,
make a little "review" but also talk about saddle philosophy...and get =your= minds' worth's too.

Saddles are like horses: you have to ride them in order to become broken in.

I liked the OEM leather-look cruiser saddle on my Trek Lime Lite.

But, when the bike was stolen last May, during that time, the saddle nose got broken.
Note the =type= of "suspension" of the stock Bontrager saddle?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_saddle#Suspension

I got a thousand miles of service from the saddle above. I liked it just fine,
The smooth, leather-like finish was easy on my inner legs.
This saddle was broken by some sort of mechanical injury, pretty clearly.

So, a couple of weeks ago, dismayed by the ruined saddle,
found a forgotten Selle Ergogel, a general purpose cruiser saddle, lycra clad.
I put it on the trek and liked it fine, but wished for a narrower nose, as the lycra is "grippy",
and tended to chafe this guy's crotch, a bit. Still, it was a comfortable saddle for an older
guy like me with an unpadded rear end, riding in blue jeans, four to eight miles per day.

This Selle, used for the interim period, is a nice saddle; would please most folks. Nice looking?
Oh, well, though it was comfortable, I found the springs to be of too high a "rate" for my ca. 145lbs
(am losing weight of late), and I am fully on the saddle, crank-forward stance, and I sit on it like a chair seat.
The springs were not "active", not much, but were not really needed, as the seatpost is a well-liked ThudBuster..

Here's a picture of my oddly-set-up Trek Lime Lite, for perspective,
with the Selle saddle,

The (temporary emplacement) of the Selle offered a bit of practical-use perspective.
It is virtually identical to the stock Bontrager cruiser saddle, in width, length,
but note the bulkier look of the Selle, due to the under-spring suspension,
 
The seat cover is a sewn composite of lycra and imitation leather, three tones.

I think it looks rich for $24, and it looks like a real-guy's saddle, all business and not a mile wide.

However, it is =super-cushy=, perhaps much more than I need, but...time will tell. First ride?
It is less "fitting" to my bum than the Selle. Perhaps its gel-foam will break in a little with use,
like the Bontrager did ease up with some use. Or I will get used to it. The Selle, by comparison,
felt perfect from the first ride (but the "grippy" lycra on its relatively wide nose, annoyed a bit).

Pictures, and a little video

(sorry for the shakes, I can't hold a camera steady any more since...personal problems happened)

Sunlite gel men's saddle (I'll put the model number and source info into this thread soon, am tired right now)








Compare, the Selle Royale against the Sunlite



_______________________________________________

First follow-up report, two days later, put here so I don't raise this thead,

=The first four mile ride on the Sunlite saddle began to give me that old-time numbing of the posterior.

A simple tilt adjustment, lowering the rump-end of the saddle, using the Thud Buster's two tilt-screws,

now the saddle is fine. It will not pain me, and it is narrower than the OEM saddle and the Selle ergogel cruiser saddle,
and has a longer horn. It seems to be a nearly ideal shape for a me, and also for bigger guys, who want to try real comfort.

The Thud Buster, used for years now, is not truly needed, but is a fine adjunct to a "suspension" seat like this:

you get, you see, three or more stages of vibration and shock filtering, all "tuned" to different resonance points,

the Thud Buster, the foamy-gel of this seat, and the "Michelin Man"-like rubber-elastomers of this Sunlite.

I think it is a masculine looking saddle. If anyone wants my slightly-used Brooks B-73, bought a few years ago new,

well, I love Brooks, but my butt, it don't.

Road bikers generally need a different class of saddle, you all know the type;
a road biker is not sitting hard on that saddle, if he is biking vigorously.

But, if we choose more of a "dutch style", lean-back, sitting our full body weight on the saddle,
a cushy seat is usually best, I find, and we cruise at 12 to 15 mph, and enjoy the views, and look and feel happy.
 
Hello UK! I happen to be employing a Thudbuster LT too!

that looks remarkably similar to the saddle i have on my bike..... if anyone in the UK is after a saddle like this then have a look on Edinburgh Bicycles website and its called the "Revolution Contact Saddle Ultra" for about £26, its got really squidgy memory foam inside and has the suspension looking things just like ampdavolts example. That seat combined with a Cane Creek Thudbuster LT makes my bike as comfortable as a full suspension (imo) im very happy with this setup. Thanks Ampdavolts

wildthingberry 7 hours ago


Two forms of shock and vibe dampening,

it's like, as you know, like riding in the stern of a dinghy over gently rolling waters.


I love the new "Cloud 9" gel suspension seat. A couple hundred miles on it, and
after setting the level of the seat, it's grand, and like a cloud, indeed for ten mile rides, no pains a'tall.


And, they make this sort of seat in several styles: wider for women,
and sans the rubber elastomers, and narrower yet, for fit young guys.

I saw one of these, without the "suspension" on a sweet yellow BMX bike the other day.
It looked very handsome and "guy-like".

Who wants a hard saddle for a bike that runs only a few miles at a trip?


How many "filters" do we have here, myself and the gent in the UK?

=two?
=three?
=four?

In electronics, we use "pass filters", which attenuate "vibrations" of the electrical sort,
not totally, but progressively. So if the first filter is tuned to, say 100Hz, and attenuates by a factor of "ten",

then, a second filter in series with the first, identical, would further reduce the electrical noise by a factor of ten,

or to 1/100th of the original "jitter" level.

It is the same in mechanical arts. Multi-stage filtering, tuned to various, widely-spaced resonnant points,
makes for the most complete absorbtion.

=gel seat cover, gel foam, elastomer bumpers, thudbuster, your tush, the tires, and...how many filters is that, then?


Bear in mind, roadies, that in an "upright style bike", like I champion for the Dutch, the fun of riding is to see and be seen,
and you are sitting, very fully, on that saddle. It must be a seat. You must not fear bumps. In this set up, "crank forward",
which I most enjoy, the seat must be the shock absorber for all but the most horrible bumps, for it is not so easy to shift weight to the legs.

I have so much weight biased to the rear of my cruiser bike (on purpose), that when a bump is coming, I just jerk back on the bars, lean back,
and float the front tire over the bump. The seat and the thudbuster take care of the rest of the shock.

Upright riding is a joy, and relaxing, and you can go to the store, and look like a regular person! Fun,

2011 version,

Let's look at this video for a bit, and think?

The Dutch have road bikes and wide-open country roads.
It is a country as flat as a board.
Holland features people-dense cities, lots of stop-and-go.
The Dutch have more bike than humans.
The Dutch have figured out city biking pretty well, over the course of 120 years.
The Dutch young people look great in street clothes, going places on bikes, in all weather.

Look at the pretty girls, too?

Look how velvet-smooth they have made their pavements, for bicyclists?

=Do you have velvet smooth roadways in your town?

=I will make a little video soon, showing the condition of our most-prime bicycle path
in Coconut Grove, and demonstrate why it is not suitable for road bikers, well, for several reasons:

it is rutted by tree roots, dirty with greasy leaf litter, and its width is cut about in half in places,
by overhanging, untrimmed foliage, and there are thorns, loose sandy patches, and lots of clueless,
self-absorbed walkers and joggers (they have right of way), and so, that bike path, is not so much fun
for even a cruiser bike, but, it is shady, so I ride it every day.

Such a path cannot be negotiated by a road bike like we see on the streets here in Miami;
it would be suicide for the bike, and butt-abuse for the rider.


Our town, like most, runs at a deficit. I ask my Commissioner, my old personal friend, Marc "David" Sarnoff,
to get with me and let's make a public, weekend project, to dress-up the Main Highway bike path,

work to be done by volunteers, like me. "Adopt a Swath". Hedge clippers, rake, broom, little trash piles along that path on Saturday,
to be picked up on Monday by the City. So many people use and love that path, if we have a bit of LEADERSHIP, am sure we can
make some good from the BUMPY, tire-flattening ride there at present (I get a flat tire from that path every week, thorns and glass).

Marc? Are you free to lead?


Reid
305 999 7522

"Dear" Marc? I just phoned a message to see this thread.

My heart is not good lately, I fainted again the other day, falling and cracking my head and a rib.

I will make a little demo video showing the the beautiful (but dirty) Main Highway path, ASAP.

Marc? Do you know who I represent? (((the people of our world)))


Reidy
 
Oh, Sunday volunteer work is fine too, for those of us who hold DAVID as a leadership example.

((for Bet Chabad))



reid(avid)y
 
Proposed notice to be tacked, temporarily (taped-up) to points all along
the Main Highway/Douglas Road bike path,

"Temporary Notice
this banner will be gone in a short time.

FRIENDS, will you "adopt a swath"?
and help improve and keep clean this path for all?

If you like this section, sign your phone number,
if you like, and plan on meeting some neighbors
next Saturday and Sunday?

Would you like to adopt a swath?
You will meet more than leaf litter,
you will meet your soul mates,
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 205)]and all will have a great time.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 205)]ADOPT A SWATH"[/COLOR]
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 205)]__________________________________[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 205)]Marc? Am sure that many local lawn care firms would be happy to help, too.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 205)]Many of them use leaf blowers and would love a bit of slack from the City, in allowances for trash pickup of lawn litter.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 205)]Likewise, our local The Home Depot sells lots of garden tools, blowers, and such. Bags, too. Am sure THD would love [/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 205)]to be a community leader, if you will so-allow. Can you lead first, though, Marc, old pal?[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 205)]Reid[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 205)]305 999 7522[/COLOR]


Hi Marc, it's an old video. The Stadium deal-o-rama finally went through.

http://www.cyclingforums.com/forum/thread/485791/people-verses/225#post_4006972

Marc?

It's your old pal, Reid....