Gel saddle covers...any good?

[Hard-Drive]

First things first...me and the missus are proper cyclists...road bike, full susser and a hardtail each, and we wouldn't usually dream of getting on a bike without proper kit including decent shorts/tights.

However I've just bought a couple of second hand Dahon folders which we plan to keep on the boat so we can see a bit more of the places we sail to. I'm really looking forward to the extra freedom the bikes will give, but also laughing at these teeny wheeled, bendy steel, Sturmey Archer geared monstrosities...I'm even going to fit bells to warn people on pontoons of our wobbly approach!

Question...are those gel saddle covers any good? I guess the bikes are likely to get ridden in flip flops and shorts or jeans, and any extra comfort has to be a good thing. Plus, the saddles are a bit beaten up so it might improve the looks slightly.

Any experiences guys?

[scubadude]

IMO spend a couple more pounds and buy a couple of cheap but soft saddles (ASDA perhaps?) the covers slide around in my experience and aren't very hard wearing- I dread to think what marine, salt air will do to them!

[yellowjack]

Bought one from Lidl/Aldi for my youngest a few years ago, he was adamant that he needed one, as his saddle was too hard. The damned thing was a right PITA, always having to stop for him to straighten it out, as the plastic 'lock' on the drawstring didn't actually lock it off, and it had no silicone pad to stop it sliding around the saddle. Thankfully he's now passed that embarrassing stage, has manned-up a bit, and has a proper saddle without a cover. He claimed it was comfortable, but if it was moving around under him as he pedalled I can't see how it would cause anything but irritation. Your call, really.

[wotnot]

scubadude said:

IMO spend a couple more pounds and buy a couple of cheap but soft saddles (ASDA perhaps?) the covers slide around in my experience and aren't very hard wearing

+1
I have no personal experience with one of these but a friend of mine (honestly!) bought one and binned it within a week and did exactly this.

[zebedee]

absolutely awful.

buy a pair of charge spoons, fit, improve, enjoy and forget - cheap too.

[Longers]

wotnot said:

scubadude said:

IMO spend a couple more pounds and buy a couple of cheap but soft saddles (ASDA perhaps?) the covers slide around in my experience and aren't very hard wearing

+1
I have no personal experience with one of these but a friend of mine (honestly!) bought one and binned it within a week and did exactly this.

Exactly what my wife did with her MTB she hadn't ridden for "x" years

[TKF]

I've done a few charity rides where people have obviously fitted gel seat covers because they've only ever ridden 8 miles and they must need the extra protection when doing 50+

You see them littered around the side of the road at around the 20 mile mark.

[Hard-Drive]

Cheers guys. Kinda what I was expecting TBH.

Spoon is a great saddle...I've got a brown one on my groovy navy blue Claud Butler tourer, and the missus has the girlie version on her Trance. But IMHO it's probably still a "with shorts" saddle.

I might just try repairing the splits on the original Dahon saddles with a bit of "Black Witch" wetsuit repair material.

Thanks again.

[zebedee]

I don't understand the 'with shorts' comment? What does the current saddle look like and why does it need to be preserved? A saddle should be comfortable, hard wearing and not excessively heavy. Why does it matter what it looks like?

[scubadude]

zebedee said:

I don't understand the 'with shorts' comment? What does the current saddle look like and why does it need to be preserved? A saddle should be comfortable, hard wearing and not excessively heavy. Why does it matter what it looks like?

I think HardDrive wants a saddle he can ride without specific cycle shorts as its for his folding boat-bike, the Spoon is fine but its not a big, soft, girly bum hybrid saddle, which sounds like what he needs.

My wife has one of these- http://direct.asda.com/Bell-Geltech-Bike-Seat/0009... on her £20 ride-into-town-and-leave-it-chained-up bike, for a folder and occasional use in flip flops its still probably "too" good, FWIW they also have a none gel version knocked down to a tenner.

[zebedee]

I've never needed to worry about a specific type of saddle whether wearing shorts or not but there are some reasonably padded reasonably cheap but proper saddles out there.

WTB Rocket V is definitely comfy enough (it feels like a sofa after riding my road bike) and in 'race' spec is around £30. Well made, last a long time and not heavy either. Might not suit enormous butts though.

[Hard-Drive]

Cheers again for the comments. Scubadude is right, the emphasis needs to be on comfort without any cycling specific kit at all, and as the reach on the bike is very short, most of your weight is on your bum.

There's some suitable Avenir/Oxford gel things on eBay for about a tenner, sorry but I just can't bring myself to fit one of those hideous sprung "big bum" saddles (and no, neither mine of mrs HD's posteriors require that...yet...)

Its interesting, there seems to be a whole Dahon "tuning" subculture, with everything from 105 geared, double chainring drop handlebar bikes with carbon forks and deep section rims, to pastel coloured mudguardless fixies!

I am hugely tempted by a brown Charge Spoon and a pair of these...would look very cool against the metallic blue frame. http://faguru.hostedbyamazon.co.uk/XLC-Bar-grips-G...
But then I remind myslef that for 99% of the time the bikes will be in thier zip bags stuffed in a dark locker in the boat and I wonder if it's worth the effort!

They were bought as projects...several years in a marine environment had taken their toll, however I have now finished the first bike and it rides really well. New V brakes, a full strip down, repaint of all the rusty bits (SEAT blue is a very, very close colour match) new bearings throughout and replacement of the internals of the SA 3 speed gears which were fecked (from a scrap shopper from my LBS). All nice and shiny now and ready to start bike no2, which was in much better condition to start with.