# Do Gel seats work?



## Arrowfoot (12 Feb 2015)

Anyone? Like my sportives and long rides and wondered if they actually do make a difference. Asked the folks in my group and most felt that it was not necessary.


----------



## Mo1959 (12 Feb 2015)

Arrowfoot said:


> Anyone? Like my sportives and long rides and wondered if they actually do make a difference. Asked the folks in my group and most felt that it was not necessary.


Personally I would say no. The softer the seat the more comfy it may appear when you first sit on it, but it becomes painful for longer rides. Conversely, a firm seat seems hard at first but I find on a long ride you stop noticing it as it is supporting you rather than digging into places that the gel eventually does.


----------



## Keith Oates (12 Feb 2015)

I also agree that Gel seats are not so good as the harder ones, of course there is also the Brooks saddles which are not cheap but most people who've used them speak highly of them. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Berties (12 Feb 2015)

A seat that would be measured for your seat bones and fitted correctly would be the best way forward topped with a good pair of bibs with a good pad


----------



## screenman (12 Feb 2015)

Gel seats work great, for the first 30 seconds and it is all downhill from there. Do as Berties suggested and cycling will become even more pleasurable.


----------



## mjr (12 Feb 2015)

There are good gel seats but resist the temptation to go too soft and still make sure you get the right width for your sit bones and right shape for your riding style.

I think the Selle Royal Maya range is currently a bargain for a fairly firm gel saddle. I've got a Maya moderate on one bike and a Brooks Flyer on another and it's a tough choice which I prefer. I've ridden both on 50+ milers.


----------



## ScotiaLass (12 Feb 2015)

Horrible things!
After quite a few saddles, I finally found one that works for me (a Bontrager MTB saddle) but everyone is different, although I think most agree that a soft gel saddle isn't good for anything other than short leisure rides.


----------



## sidevalve (12 Feb 2015)

Not for me - go Brooks.


----------



## Globalti (12 Feb 2015)

Ghastly things; they make you sweaty, which creates sore spots. You need to be prepared to find a saddle that's firm and suits the shape of your anatomy; many people swear by Brooks saddles but my feeling is that they are actually beaten together by blacksmiths in the same factory as leather and iron medieval chastity belts were once made. They work by stretching to fit your shape. The modern alternative is a saddle with a well-shaped shell, which cups your sit bones - lots of folk swear by Charge saddles; my Charge Knife is super-comfy even over 100 miles - I just don't notice it.


----------



## mjr (12 Feb 2015)

ScotiaLass said:


> Horrible things!
> After quite a few saddles, I finally found one that works for me (a Bontrager MTB saddle) but everyone is different, although I think most agree that a soft gel saddle isn't good for anything other than short leisure rides.


I'd agree that a soft thick gel saddle isn't a good choice for longer rides unless you're either really upright or need it for some other reason.

Can we please remember that gel in saddles isn't gel like in a tube of ointment: it's usually just a plastic foam with trapped air bubbles. As it says on SheldonBrown.com's saddle page, "The fact that a given saddle says "GEL" in big letters has no correlation with how comfortable it is...it's basically hype" and I'd say that it's currently out-of-fashion hype with many riders.

All Bontrager MTB saddles seem like they're probably gel, although some now call it things like "Zone Density foam", so they can still sell them to gel-bashers. So is it a horrible thing?


Globalti said:


> Ghastly things; they make you sweaty, which creates sore spots. ... my Charge Knife is super-comfy even over 100 miles - I just don't notice it.


That's the Charge Knife which Charge say has "foam padding"... or in other words, probably a gel. So does it make you sweat and create sore spots?


----------



## AndyRM (12 Feb 2015)

Berties said:


> A seat that would be measured for your seat bones and fitted correctly would be the best way forward topped with a good pair of bibs with a good pad



This. Many times.

Gel seats/covers are an abomination.


----------



## Globalti (12 Feb 2015)

mjray said:


> That's the Charge Knife which Charge say has "foam padding"... or in other words, probably a gel. So does it make you sweat and create sore spots?



Not a gel. I've stripped and re-covered several of these modern plastic saddles and it's a dense foam cleverly moulded onto the flexible shell, then covered in a perforated vinyl. Even riding the Cape Argus in temperatures around 30 C I didn't find the Knife sweaty.


----------



## Apollonius (12 Feb 2015)

Like most things in cycling, it is a trade-off. You would not like to ride a steel saddle. Not, the other extreme, one made of (say) marshmallow. The right shape and softness for you, is what works. Personally, I have a horror of soft saddles, but they work for some people. The biggest downside is that they ruckle and then rub.


----------



## Gravity Aided (12 Feb 2015)

Leather saddles mold best to the anatomy, and provide the best support for longer rides. Foam leather covered saddles work well too. I'm still using an Avocet from the 70's, but prefer leather saddle over it. Gel seems to be too cushy. I think my sit bones sink down too far on them, causing discomfort. Seems like a great idea, riding on gel, but one who's time has come and gone. Charges seem a good value, and get good testimonials from many cyclists.


----------



## mjr (12 Feb 2015)

Globalti said:


> Not a gel. I've stripped and re-covered several of these modern plastic saddles and it's a dense foam cleverly moulded onto the flexible shell, then covered in a perforated vinyl.


So they've _all_ been open foams rather than any being a closed-cell foam (aka gel)? Seems surprising, given what's on sale.

There seem to be three main types of saddle top: hard (unicanitor and so on), padded of various depths/mixes (most, including some padded with only leather) and hammock (most brooks and similar). Statements like an entire material like gel behaving in only one way are just silly - it just means it's the wrong gel for you or there's too much of it or it's in the wrong place for your bum. Another saddle shape made from the same stuff may fit like a bumglove.


----------



## oldroadman (12 Feb 2015)

Always used Brooks B17 ("butchered" with the big copper rivets) in early years, which was comfy but a bit heavy in competition. Later on a switch to firm plastic covered with a decent (unpadded) layer of leather, which was very supportive. And I've still got it in frequent use. It's simply horses for courses. Those thick gel things are horrible, sweaty, saddle sore devices. One more thing - quality shorts with a proper gender specific anatomic insert, and chamois cream (or Sudacrem) - can't beat it.


----------



## Globalti (12 Feb 2015)

What is the stuff that's used in wrist supports for mouse mats and keyboards? Is it an aerated silicon foam or a gel? Isn't this the kind of stuff that's used in big fat squashy saddles, bought mostly by people who think they'll be a good idea?


----------



## Gravity Aided (12 Feb 2015)

Gel saddles have a silicone looking gel in them, foam saddles have closed cell foam. Gel saddle once wore out for a fellow on a ride, and silicone sort of gel was inside.


----------



## Apollonius (12 Feb 2015)

Oh dear! Can you please put a warning of some kind on if posting horrific pictures like the one of the saddle above. Gruesome!


----------



## PaulSecteur (12 Feb 2015)

Gel Saddle - covers a lot of saddles from that monstrosity above to things like this, that I feel are acceptable...


----------



## mjr (12 Feb 2015)

Gravity Aided said:


> Gel saddles have a silicone looking gel in them, foam saddles have closed cell foam. Gel saddle once wore out for a fellow on a ride, and silicone sort of gel was inside.


Saddle makers aren't that consistent in their use of the terms. Some gel saddles may be like that but many aren't.


----------



## glenn forger (12 Feb 2015)

I use one, it's fine:


----------



## Globalti (12 Feb 2015)

Hideous, innit?


----------



## Kevin T (12 Feb 2015)

Spend your money on a more expensive pad in your shorts.


----------



## DWiggy (12 Feb 2015)

Hard seat + good shorts + a few good rides = happy bum


----------



## cyberknight (12 Feb 2015)

Standard gl saddles can cause more issues with chafing as you sink into them , i have heard about these but im not sure if they are any better?
http://fabric.cc/shop/saddles/cell/


----------



## mjr (12 Feb 2015)

Any saddle that is too wide between your legs for you will cause chafing, surely? Maybe a leather hammock will eventually succumb, but most other things won't.


----------



## Arrowfoot (12 Feb 2015)

Thanks all, very informative and helpful.


----------



## Gravity Aided (13 Feb 2015)

From website_ Pilderwasser_


----------



## S.Giles (13 Feb 2015)

I use a saddle that purports to be a 'gel' saddle (whatever that means), and it suits me fine. I bought it (for £14) to replace a saddle that had stitched-together panels that would hold water which would then seep out and dampen the nether regions. I've done several 100+ mile trips on my 'gel' saddle, and wouldn't consider swapping it unless it broke or something. If I purchased a new bike, I'd swap it over to the new one in fact.


----------



## vickster (13 Feb 2015)

They are not all of the spongy type. I have a gel saddle that's as hard as rock, and although the right sit bone size, it's not especially comfortable but it looks lush on my Genesis as it matches the colour scheme

http://www.evanscycles.com/products...gclid=CJO30fPB3sMCFS7MtAodMzsAxQ&gclsrc=aw.ds


----------



## screenman (13 Feb 2015)

I think when we see the words Gel Saddle we see it as those wide lumpy things you get on a BSO or a cheap gym bike.


----------



## vickster (13 Feb 2015)

The OP didn't specify which he was thinking about


----------



## screenman (13 Feb 2015)

vickster said:


> The OP didn't specify which he was thinking about



I know, which is why I should have asked before answering.


----------



## S.Giles (13 Feb 2015)

Here's mine. It looks just like the kind of thing that would get slagged-off around here but I love it. It's not overly soft, and I'm so used to it that I don't notice it at all when I'm riding. I bought it in October 2013 and it's been on two different bikes so far.


----------



## PaulSecteur (14 Feb 2015)

Gravity Aided said:


> From website_ Pilderwasser_


Seems its best not to use a gel saddle after a curry night....


----------



## Gravity Aided (14 Feb 2015)

PaulSecteur said:


> Seems its best not to use a gel saddle after a curry night....


I would not even wave a samosa at one.


----------



## downfader (14 Feb 2015)

From personal experience I think gel seats depend on the design. A lot more has to go into that design to accommodate the gel. I do have a gel filled SKS (san marco) saddle on the posh bike. Best saddle I've ever used, but it cost a fair bit compared to similar. As others have said you can get a decent saddle and shorts/pad workaround for a hell of a lot less.


----------



## HLaB (14 Feb 2015)

My spesh avatar has their BG gel and its probably the comfiest saddle Ive got, but be careful of a too padded saddle, which can lead to movement/chaffing.


----------



## Glow worm (14 Feb 2015)

S.Giles said:


> Here's mine. It looks just like the kind of thing that would get slagged-off around here but I love it. It's not overly soft, and I'm so used to it that I don't notice it at all when I'm riding. I bought it in October 2013 and it's been on two different bikes so far.



Mine's similar and its great. More comfortable than my sofa.


----------

