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The Exercise Bike Seat
The better your exercise bike seat, the more comfortable the ride. Nobody will keep at an exercise bike fitness program if every ride is agonizing. You must choose a comfortable seat.
What are the choices for a comfortable bicycle seat? First know that most any exercise bicycle can be modified to use a regular bicycle seat. So if you find a comfortable bicycle seat it can become your exercise bicycle seat. Usually it's just a matter of loosening one nut under the seat and pulling one seat off and slipping on another.
Many exercise bikes come with very wide seats, much wider than
regular bicycles. Here's an example of what you can find at Amazon:
Most of the weight of the rider is supported by the seat. Less weight is supported by the arms and legs. That's usually more comfortable but not always. The major muscles in the hips are very involved in bicycle pedaling. Over a long pedaling session, if you're sitting on those muscles, you can develop cramps in the muscles.
That's why racing street bicycles have such small seats, to take the load off the hip muscles. More of your weight is on your arms and legs with a road bike especially if you ride hard and fast. But the trade-off is the narrow seats put pressure on the pelvic bones with the related nerves and blood vessels. That can cause numbness in the groin area.
For an exercise bike usually a wider seat is better and the feel is improved with padding. Gel padding is what you want for the best feel. There are different types of gels with different feels. You can get a gel padded seat or buy a slip-on gel pad for your existing seat.
You can see gel pads and seats at your local bike shop. Discount stores often stock gel pads. Or shop online for a seat or pad. Since the size and fit of seats varies, make sure you can return the seat if it doesn't work for you.
Don't quit using your exercise bike because of a poor exercise bike seat. A new exercise bike seat or even an inexpensive seat cover may be all you need to keep you pedaling toward better fitness.
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