Seat/Headrest Question

[unc99]

Got my new Silvio 2.0 up and running....beatiful bike and rides great and fast. Am struggling a bit though with getting comfortable on the seat and headrest and wondered if anybody else has had the same issue. Previously, I have owned and ridden "highracer" bikes where the one-piece seat had an upward curve at the back of the seat to raise the shoulders and, by extension, the head and neck. Never had any comfort issues or needed a headrest, even running seats where the mid back was at 22%. I'm struggling with getting comfortable with the perfectly flat Silvio seat with a headrest that lifts your head forward, as for me this seems to bend the neck instead of the upper back to tilt your head to see the road. And even using the headrest in various positions, I don't feel that I am getting my head tilted enough to see the road and have a sensation when riding that I am looking up at the air.

I'm seeing a lot of happy users on this board, so I'm guessing this issue has a little more to do with me and my personal preferences than anything else, but was wondering if others have made any modifications in respect of issues of this type. I saw where poster "fthills" was going to modify his similarly styled Vendetta seat to have an upward curve at the seat back, but didn't see any follow up to this project.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcome. I've thought about finding a firm "wedge" pillow, and using that to lift my shoulders up a pit more.

 

[trplay]

headrest

The head rest doesn't work for me. As stated in the rides report thread: Today I tweaked my Silvio headrest by bending it at the second bend from the top. Fatiguing the metal might be a bad idea but heck the headrest isn't much good to me the way it is. Not owning a vice, I pulled the car tire over the headrest to secure it between the second and third bend from the top and bounced on the top bend of the head rest to slightly bend it back/down more at the second bend. Just a slight bend seems to make a big difference. Time in the saddle will be the only way to tell. I'll know the answer soon. (update) So far after a few 20 mile rides it seems a lot better but I need more time.

 

[scabinetguy]

Head rest

Had a similar issue with my Vendetta. I became comfortable when I stopped using it as a head rest and started using it as a neck rest. I suggest fitting the rest to the curve of your neck and not placing your head on the rest at all.

 

[John Tolhurst]

There is intended to be no

There is intended to be no space between the neck and the headrest cushion. No real pressure, but no space either, and the turn down on the top of the headrest is to support the base of the skull; about an inch up from where you would say the neck finished.

 

[Tuloose]

head rest

Unc, look at my posting on 10/25 on the neck & shoulder tension page to see how I modified my head rest.
I had the same problem as you but my modification has made me much more comfortable on the bike.

 

[John Dorlon]

I was having some problems

I was having some problems with the way my headrest felt. There was some gap between my neck and headrest cushion, so I cut up one of those gardening kneeling cushions and inserted a few pieces of it to fill the gap. It seemed to really help.

 

[PeteClark]

headrest

The head rest doesn't work for me. As stated in the rides report thread: Today I tweaked my Silvio headrest by bending it at the second bend from the top. Fatiguing the metal might be a bad idea but heck the headrest isn't much good to me the way it is. Not owning a vice, I pulled the car tire over the headrest to secure it between the second and third bend from the top and bounced on the top bend of the head rest to slightly bend it back/down more at the second bend. Just a slight bend seems to make a big difference. Time in the saddle will be the only way to tell. I'll know the answer soon. (update) So far after a few 20 mile rides it seems a lot better but I need more time.

Thanks trplay for the car tire as vise idea. I had my headrest tube all the way out and needed a bit more room. Your idea worked well for me.