Thoughts wanted.

Hamster

Active Member
Does anyone use an air cushion or gel seat pad for long distance rides. Just wondered what peoples thoughts on them were.
 

RickSkye

Active Member
Forum Supporter
I had an airhawk on my transalp, it was very good.
I got a cheaper alternative for at and it was crap.
 

RickSkye

Active Member
Forum Supporter
Funny you saying that, I have been looking at reindeer skins for the same purpose
They have firmer outer hairs but there is a thick layer below that.
 

Philwhiskeydrinker

Well-Known Member
I had an airhawk on the Alp for a while; it initially feels a bit wibbly wobbly and you feel slightly detatched to what the bike is doing but you do get used to it, it does noticeably increase seat time before 'numb bum' sets in.

My biggest issues with it were;
if you forget to remove it each night (camping etc) you end up sitting on a soggy nappy for the next day if it rains overnight.
But the main issue for me - it gave me a bad lower back, it seems my slightly splayed leg riding position, funnelled the air (ooer missus) through the vented seat pad which chilled my bum the chill then travelled into my lower spine which was horrible, fine in warmer climates no good for me in typical uk weather.

Invariably you still end up with a numb bum after long days, overall, too many downsides for me & not a patch on a good comfy stock seat (in my experience it's; XCountry, Vstrom, CB500X for the best stock seats )

Phil

Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk
 

RickSkye

Active Member
Forum Supporter
Phil, I am sure you did but I found minimal inflation was the best so you don t float around and did several long days with no problem. Dartmoor back home for instance.
 

Philwhiskeydrinker

Well-Known Member
Phil, I am sure you did but I found minimal inflation was the best so you don t float around and did several long days with no problem. Dartmoor back home for instance.
Yes, minimal inflation, wasn't it you that had a goretex cover made? That would prevent my main issues with them.

Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk
 

nick949

Well-Known Member
for proper long distances, beads are the only answer.
IMG_20220421_061437.jpg
 

Lord Vader

Well-Known Member
Been using a Airhawk for years for long distance rides. I love them.
I only use it to get to the destination and than take it of
On the motorway the "Wibbly wobbly" is okay,so no issues there. But like Jay,I only put it on if I do more than 300 mile hits.
I mean for what you pay I don't think you can go to wrong.
 

austin

Well-Known Member
I had an airhawk. Didn’t like it and barely used it. Also tried sheepskins and a reindeer skin. Better imho than an airhawk. But do wear out quite quickly - flatten basically and useless in the wet. Also tried a beaded seat cover bought in the USA. Works very well but very very airy so only use when it’s proper hot but looks, well, a lot like a beaded seat cover in a cheap mini cab. Happy to sell them if you want to give them a go.

there’s also those close-fitting cool covers or whatever they are called. Supposed to be good esp in hot weather - which is when bike saddles are at their most uncomfortable.

Currently I just wear a pair of long merino wool cycling style shorts (unpadded) from Knox (Jesse I think they are called). They do very well at stopping sweaty legs from sticking to sticky Goretex which imho is the cause of most discomfort.

But the real solution is ride more, loads more, day after day and after 2-3 weeks you literally can ride all day in comfort.
 
Last edited:

micksylver

Member
Forum Supporter
Bought a gel seat for the Transalp, years ago, gave upwards of an hour extra before numb bum onset.
Still have a Pan that came with comfort seat, that gives another hour or two of pre numbness!
Have ridden the DRZ400 for about 3 hours round the peaks (stock seat) in relative comfort. Recently rode down to Hampshire, 5 hours +, with an air seat of sorts (2 pop bottles with pressurised air in a canvas cover) and am forced to admit that after 4 hours it was decidedly uncomfortable - although not being able to move around on the seat much due to luggage probably didn't help!

Never tried an airhawk, sheepskin, etc.
 

Lowflyer

Well-Known Member
I have the Airhawk, found it ok, just a pain in the ass ( pardon my pun ) if I wanted to hoick up a track on the spur of the moment type thing. ;)
I bought a cool seat. you know, one of those string vest things. Found it very comfortable on long rides both in rain and heat. Also doesn't affect going off road at all as it stretches right up the seat onto the tank.
But be careful and buy the real deal, not any of thon chinese ones, I have heard some horror stories with the cheapos.

Hope this helps young man
 

boboneleg

Well-Known Member
Forum Supporter
I have a 15 year old Corbin seat on my latest DR650 , I will never give it away beacause as seats go it's pretty damned good. For long journeys on the Honda I use a sheep , it does a decent job.

IMG_1469.JPEG
 

-XP-

Well-Known Member
Forum Supporter
I had an Airhawk and it was good but not the be-all and end-all; same problems as mentioned above.

Austin has hit the nail on the head with ride, ride and ride more!

When preparing for the very first TLD (John O'Groats to Lands End), Derek and myself would do huge rides each weekend of 300+ miles all over the Lakes District. This taught us a valuable lesson, and that lesson was that you cannot just jump on a bike and do almost 1000 miles in a day if you're not bike fit.

The best preparation for long rides is to simply do long rides regularly, nothing beats it. :thumbsup:
 
Top