Seat padding/upholstery advice

[TamSV]

The seat on my fibreglass seat unit is the high density foam used for race seats.

It's fine for the quick blasts which make up most of my riding these days but for longer runs like the GM I found it, quite literally, a pain in the ****. The pressure is on the area around the sit bones and gets pretty uncomfortable around the 100 miles mark.

Apart from losing a couple of stone in weight, which would probably help, I'm trying to think of something that will make it better but without changing the look of the bike too much.

The firmness of the foam is one issue but I think the shape might be the main problem. It arches over the seat unit from left to right and I think it might be better if it had a flatter profile at the back as I'd then have more of my bum on the seat. It's a bit like sitting on a log at the moment so you get all your weight concentrated on those two pressure points.

I'm thinking I could make up an aluminium pan and build it up with foam to a flatter profile, then get it covered with leather or vinyl but I'd be interested if any upholstery experts have any suggestions?

BTW it doesn't have to be plush - just a wee bit better. I could ride all day on the standard curvy seat without any probs so I don't think it's a case of MTFU.

Looks like this at the moment.

[Bibio]

i was going to reply in the ecosse section about it being the wrong shape and that's why its a pain in the bum

as you have said it need to be flat at the pelvic bone area and support the upper legs. interestingly its the shape to most of the extent that makes the comfort and not the padding. anything that goes up yer crack is going to be painful. i'm no expert but when i was doing mine i browsed a lot of sites before i decided on the best shape and come to the conclusion that the old saddle shape was the best and the flatter it is the better it is, mine still isn't perfect as it was a rush job but its pretty comfy and you have seen how little padding i have on mine. i have to stand up about every 30 odd miles just to stretch the legs but apart from that my bum doesn't start to get sore till about 80 odd in one go and even then its only 5mins till its good to go again which suits me fine as it makes me take a break.

so i suppose you could track down thicker foam and shape it more into a saddle shape. BTW i also found out that soft foam is rubbish for long distance comfort and what you really want is that mixed hi density stuff or a full gel pad like mine.

You could always buy a replacement car seat-foam from ebay (any car, about £30 upwards) and use the hot-wire method to cut/shape it to fit the seat area. Then just cover it with bike seat covering stuff and stick it on. One lower car seat section should do you a couple, should be fairly comfy as its made for sitting on.

[TamSV]

Thanks for the thoughts guys. While I like the idea of a proper seat I'm not sure I could cover it myself and make it look decent.

I'm going to try Bibio's idea and have got some thicker race foam on the way. It's 25mm thick which will be enough (I need to take about 10mm out the middle to make the seat flat).

I'll see how I get on with that and will report on progress.

[Bibio]

may i suggest that you use a flap wheel in a grinder to shape it

[andrewsmith]

Originally Posted by Bibio

may i suggest that you use a flap wheel in a grinder to shape it

+1

Use Tony Archer, he's based in Huddersfield and does custom seat work, always really busy and his
name is all over other forums

That's a seat, looks more like a tank protector

[punyXpress]

Two options:
Eat more pies & put some bulk on yer ersebones!
Try:

GUIDO’S

PILES CREAM

50kg

If all else fails, use our EXOCET Suppositories

Works for me!
ps: haven't forgotten those blocks I mentioned @ GM

[TamSV]

My new seat foam arrived this morning. Unfortunately it's a bit rubbish.

It doesn't take sanding very well and just ripped up.

So, mulling it over, I've decided I'm going to get a proper seat made. I thought it would be worth making a wee prototype just to prove the concept.

Now this isn't pretty.

Ripped the old seat off.



Then hairdryer, plastic scraper and WD40 to tidy things up. Good as new.



Cut out a seat from the new foam with the bread knife...



And then chopped up the remnant of the old one and stuck them together to form the shape of the seat unit on the bottom, leaving a flat piece of foam on top. Took a triangular section out the two side pieces and cut the middle piece down to about 5mm thickness. All pretty rough as you can see. Prototype remember.



Finally, covered it with a piece of vinyl from an old seat I had lying about and stuck it on the bike. Told you it's not pretty.



Actually that photo flatters it. I can't begin to tell you how really, really awful it is.

But that's not important. I now had a flat seat to test out so off I went. Filled the tank and decided I'd see how far I could ride until I got sore. 110 miles later I was still absolutely fine so came home. That'll do.

That's still race seat foam, but the fact that the seat is flat makes such a massive difference.

I'm going to make up a pan I can bolt on and off. I'll use aluminium or maybe try fibreglass. Then I can mess about with different padding to get it spot on, then get it covered by a pro. A Winter project I think.