OPs "bike" is an air assault style stationary bike.Originally Posted by revchuck38
I am not sure any typical bicycle saddle recommendations will work for this sort of device.
Edit: Oops came to the thread after a coupe hours of it being up and I see this has been addressed.
@Sanch you need to continue to mess with your saddle positioning and I bet you will be able to find a position where the numbness does not occur. Lower the nose, make sure the saddle is not too high, nor too far back.
My only Brooks saddle is a Professional. My sitbones barely fit within the edges as shown by the indentations. My Specialized saddles are 155s.
To set your seat height, pedal as fast as you can with as little resistance as possible (back pedal on a bicycle, not sure if that will work on your exercise bike). Then adjust the seat up and down until you find the smoothest spot. You should not be bouncing around - ideally your upper body would be perfectly stationary so all your energy is going to the pedals.
Generally this happens when your leg is just shy of full extension when at the longest part of the pedal stroke.
Bike seats are a tough thing to recommend to other folks because what one person my find comfortable might be a torture device to someone else. Everyone is a little different.
That said there is a ton of good YouTube videos on bike fit. As others have mentioned, start by making sure that your seat is level. Then make sure your seat is not too high as that will transfer weight from you legs to your rear end. If your seat height is dialed in, you'll find that changes in shoes or even bike shorts can throw of how you feel on a bike.
Stationary exercise bikes like your Air Assault Bike typically have a pretty wide and well padded seat intended for folks who aren't used to sitting on a bike saddle for hours on end. As strange as it sounds, that can sometimes cause problems as well. I've had numbness issues with overly padded seats in spin classes (and even overly thick bike shorts). I'm theorizing it's just the way i'm built, and that there I don't have the room down there to fit a bunch of extra padding. Thus, it ends up pressing on nerves or impacting blood flow some how. I've zeroed in on bib shorts with a relative thin chamios and a bike saddle that is very flat in cross section with a bit of a perineal groove - not a full relief cut out. I can ride for hours and hours with out issue on my bike - not the same with a lot of exercise bikes.
Hop that helps.
Another good rule of thumb for seat height adjustments is to put the center of your heel over the axle of the pedal. At the bottom of the pedal stroke your leg should be fully extended. Then, when you place the ball of you foot back over the pedal your knee will generally have the correct amount of bend. It's a super effective and easy explanation for new riders.
It's padded/leather cover. It's just what came on my Trek 1200 road bike when I bought it in 2005. I have no real complaints about it, but like I said, the cover is starting to crack, which is causing it to abrade my shorts, and I figure it doesn't make sense to *not* spend $80-100 on a new saddle to preserve $100+ shorts.
oh god you're still riding the factory seat? you're going to LOVE the replacement then.
I have a 2003 Trek 1000, not sure what saddle that's on it but I'll go look later. It's not a Terry, but a more "racing" oriented saddle for it's purpose.
I’ve been mostly riding an indoor Peloton but now that it’s cooling I can start getting back on the Giant mountain bike. I always ride with Pearl Izumi or Sponeed padded shorts. Both are on Amazon. I just bought another pair of PI shorts for $50 on Amazon. Matt Wilpers is the Power Zone head coach on Peleton. He’s always recommending people wear padded shorts for rides. I usually use Chamois Butter to stop chafing.
It’s been mentioned already but make sure you’re sitting your sit bones properly on the seat. It sounds like you’re rididing too far forward. Matt Wilpers has online bicycle fitting service for Peloton’s. Another option might be a mobile bike service. I use a company called Velo Zoom in AZ. They have large vans with a bike service shop in the cargo area. They mostly do bike services for me but IIRC they’ll do bike fittings as well.
Just a dog chauffeur that used to hold the dumb end of the leash.
Frankly, looking back, I wish I'd spent the extra money on the 1500 - IIRC there was a significant upgrade in components there, from Tiagra front/105 rear up to 105 front/Ultrega rear or something along those lines. At the time, though, funds were fairly tight, and the 1200 seemed expensive enough as it was!
I didn't like the 1200, 1500 or any of the Specialized (Aliez? spelling?) or Cannondate offerings; apparently I don't like carbon forks.
Definitely one of the reasons why I recommend people go to actual bike shops... I test rode a half dozen bikes before picking the one I got.
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