T50 seat advice needed

[Brad R]

I have a new T50.

I have Ventisit seat pad. I have about 50 miles on it with several rides of more than an hour.

I find that I get some discomfort right at the top of my gluteus maximus where most of my weight is resting on the narrow seat. I find that I need to get out of the seat at least once every 20 to 30 minutes to relieve the pressure.

I am near the weight limit for the bike.

This is my first recumbent with a hard seat.

Now for questions:

1) is this something that will get better with time and miles?

2) if I need to change something, is reclining the seat back to a lower angle likely to help?

I saw posts where Bachetta Euromesh seat is used and other posts discussing tbe use of Thor seats. I would like to avoid spending more on this bike right now.

 

[RojoRacing]

I struggled with this exact issue and tried a ton of mods the the stock V20 seat but it wasn't until I swapped to a THOR seat that the problem was solved for me. There are two things to note though, I'm only 155 lbs and the Vendetta's seat angle is completely different than the T50 so we're talking apples and oranges really.

 

[Eric Winn]

I've only done short rides on the T50 so far but i'm noticing more pressure on my butt than I was expecting. Don't get any on my Vendetta. I'll know more when I get in some longer rides.

-Eric

 

[super slim]

A Photo is better than a thousand words!!!!

Please attach a side view photo of you on the T50, with your leg closest to the camera fully extended, so the Tribe can view and comment on bike setup!

Your BB might be too low, or the seat base angle might be too high.

Adding a 100 mm chainstay extension to my fixed 45 degree seat Silvio V1.0, removed the Glute problem.

Can you move the seat base backwards, without increasing its angle too much, AND lower the seat back angle, as this will mean that BB will rise so you feet still reach (Heel on pedal, leg straight).

Check the front / Rear wheel loads with you on the bike.
The optimum is 50% Front / 50% Rear, but the Front can be from 45% to 55% I THINK!!!!

 

[Brad R]

A Photo is better than a thousand words!!!!

Please attach a side view photo of you on the T50, with your leg closest to the camera fully extended, so the Tribe can view and comment on bike setup!

Your BB might be too low, or the seat base angle might be too high.

Adding a 100 mm chainstay extension to my fixed 45 degree seat Silvio V1.0, removed the Glute problem.

Can you move the seat base backwards, without increasing its angle too much, AND lower the seat back angle, as this will mean that BB will rise so you feet still reach (Heel on pedal, leg straight).

Check the front / Rear wheel loads with you on the bike.
The optimum is 50% Front / 50% Rear, but the Front can be from 45% to 55% I THINK!!!!

Thanks for suggestions. I'll try to get a picture up later today.

AFAIK, There are no alternate seat stays for T50.

I already have the seat as far back as it will go with the stock hardware.

The only easy thing I can do is cut the seat stays to get more recline. But I don't want to make that my first step unless there is a good chance it will work.

 

[Brad R]

I struggled with this exact issue and tried a ton of mods the the stock V20 seat but it wasn't until I swapped to a THOR seat that the problem was solved for me. There are two things to note though, I'm only 155 lbs and the Vendetta's seat angle is completely different than the T50 so we're talking apples and oranges really.

Was it the shape, width, angle or the combination that caused the problem for you?

 

[RojoRacing]

Not sure what was the cause of my problem, I only know the solution. I literally tried dozens of different types of foam adding and removing lumbar support and such but it wasn't until I swapped to the THOR that I got any pain relief. Also it wasn't just an improvement ether that I had to continue to dial in, it was a 100% solution on the very first ride. I had several other neck and such issues which were helped by the new seat but required further mods to the headrest and such to dial in to be perfect.

 

[Doug Burton]

On my bikes with more upright seat angles, I have doubled the seatbase foam (just shoved an extra original pad in the cover - it's tight, but can be done.) In some cases I cut a relief in the bottom pad for my tailbone; results of this were inconclusive. I have a squishy butt with sharp bones

 

[Gary123]

TMI

 

[Doug Burton]

TMI

Maybe, but lots of folks have the predicament. The old Sofrider cushions were dual-density foam. The top part was soft and ventilated well. The underlying foam was stiffer and damped the higher frequency oscillations/bumps very well.

I have looked at the current T50 seat cushion, and it is high-ventilation low-density stuff. A layer of minicell underneath would help it to be the ultimate seat cushion.

 

[Brad R]

Maybe, but lots of folks have the predicament. The old Sofrider cushions were dual-density foam. The top part was soft and ventilated well. The underlying foam was stiffer and damped the higher frequency oscillations/bumps very well.

I have looked at the current T50 seat cushion, and it is high-ventilation low-density stuff. A layer of minicell underneath would help it to be the ultimate seat cushion.

I bought the Ventisit and didn't even try the standard cushion. Is there a chance the standard cushion will be better?

My problem in not "none on seat". It seems that my weight is not spread far enough side to side or up onto the back.

 

[Lim]

I struggled with this exact issue and tried a ton of mods the the stock V20 seat but it wasn't until I swapped to a THOR seat that the problem was solved for me. There are two things to note though, I'm only 155 lbs and the Vendetta's seat angle is completely different than the T50 so we're talking apples and oranges really.

I visited the THOR site and found they are amazing. Do you think this carrier seat can fit to T-50 or other cruzebike? I think I am going to try one.

 

[Brad R]

After discussion in the other thread about moving the seat back mounting point higher on the seat to get more reclined, I realized that I had thought about the triangles incorrectly.

I started with the rear seat pan mount at its lowest setting. This actually causes the seat back to be more upright and concentrates my weight on the seat pan.

I raised the rear seat pan up two notches. This reclines the seat back more and puts what weight is still on the seat on a wider part of the seat.

My test ride wasn't very long. So I don't know how much more effective this will be for me. But it felt better and is easy to try.

I tried a couple of higher positions, but they had me sliding down the seat into the frame.

The other thing I had already done was to mount the frame side of the seat stays in the 2nd (closet to the rear end) threaded hole.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/135435293@N08/shares/g5wpR9

 

[Gary123]

Great pics.

 

[Brad R]

I got a chance to do a 12 mile ride this evening. The more reclined position is more comfortable, but I still got recumbutt after about 30 minutes.

I like being able to get my feet down easily which is great for stopping, stating, and confidence. But the seat might just be too narrow for me.

 

[Brad R]

I ordered a Thor carbon seat. Hope that fixes my comfort problem. I'll see if it is easy to mount once I get it.

 

[Lim]

I ordered a Thor carbon seat. Hope that fixes my comfort problem. I'll see if it is easy to mount once I get it.

I hope THOR seat might help your recum butt. An idea struck me that if you changer your rear wheel to smaller one, i.e. 22" or 20", you'll get more reclined and your butt might not be okay. Another idea is that you let your BB as high as possible. It might help but I am not sure whether your long-legs will allow this or not.

 

[Vicki C.]

A Photo is better than a thousand words!!!!

Please attach a side view photo of you on the T50, with your leg closest to the camera fully extended, so the Tribe can view and comment on bike setup!

Your BB might be too low, or the seat base angle might be too high.

Adding a 100 mm chainstay extension to my fixed 45 degree seat Silvio V1.0, removed the Glute problem.

Can you move the seat base backwards, without increasing its angle too much, AND lower the seat back angle, as this will mean that BB will rise so you feet still reach (Heel on pedal, leg straight).

Check the front / Rear wheel loads with you on the bike.
The optimum is 50% Front / 50% Rear, but the Front can be from 45% to 55% I THINK!!!!

I know you didn't ask me for a photo but I am having some seat issues I have never had with a recumbent and maybe I could get some advice or input. It is not directly from the side. Any ideas or anything obvious about my seat angle?

 

[Brad R]

I got a little more comfort by raising the rear of the seat by two positions.

https://flic.kr/p/Wfe64f

It didn't solve my problem, but made it a little better.

 

[Vicki C.]

I don't want to have to do that but I suspect it may come to that if the situation doesn't improve. I feel I am sitting on my tailbone or something and it creates pressure on the nerves causing an ache in my hips and legs. It's weird.