A small contact area
Of the three places where a rider touches a bicycle, the saddle carries the most weight over the longest time. Designers have tried to make the saddle supportive, durable and acceptable to many body shapes, which is a difficult list. This article describes how the saddle changed. It is a history of design and not medical advice, and it does not recommend any shape for any person.
Bench and pad
Karl von Drais’s walking machine of 1817 had a padded seat, usually a small cushioned bench at the top of a wooden frame. The rider spent much of the time with one foot on the ground, so weight was shared between the feet and the seat.
The pedal velocipedes of the 1860s were often fitted with a leather-covered pad mounted on a metal spring or a thin metal plate. The wooden wheels and iron tires of these machines gave a famously hard ride, and the seat spring offered a little relief. Many of these were adapted from the saddles of horses and carriages, which were already well developed.
The high-wheeler saddle
On the high-wheeler, the rider sat high above a very large wheel and relied on the saddle to stay in place. Saddles of the 1870s and 1880s were generally leather, shaped to the body and mounted on a spring from the backbone of the frame. The rider’s weight was carried mostly by the saddle and the pedals, and the position was upright. Saddle design was tied to the rest of the machine, since the high seat affected balance.
Leather saddles for the safety bicycle
The safety bicycle placed the rider lower and farther back, with more weight on the saddle. Leather remained the main material, in part because it was familiar from harness-making and because it could be formed and broken in. One approach was the hammock-style saddle, in which a piece of leather is stretched between a metal frame at the front and back. The tension of the leather could be adjusted with a bolt, so that it gave a little under the rider’s weight.
Some British companies became well known for leather saddles, and these saddles were associated with touring and club riding in the early twentieth century. Leather saddles needed time to adapt to the rider and some care to prevent them from sagging or getting wet. Their long life, when well made, is part of their reputation.
Springs and padding
For riders on rough roads, comfort was a constant concern. Many roadster and utility bicycles used saddles with coil springs under the seat. They gave a cushioned ride but added weight and bounce, and they were most useful on bicycles ridden slowly on poor surfaces. Pneumatic tires in the 1890s eased some of the harshness, though riders still sought comfort from the saddle.
Padding was another solution. Thick pads of felt or other materials were used in some saddles, and a variety of covers were tried. Wide, padded saddles suited upright riding and short trips. Narrower, firmer saddles suited sporting riders who needed freedom to move the legs during pedaling. Different types of riding led to different preferences, and the variety has continued.
Cut-outs, shells and synthetic materials
In the later twentieth century, several changes took place. Plastic shells replaced leather as the base for many saddles, since they were cheap and could be molded to shape. Foam padding, and later gels, were added on top, and synthetic covers replaced leather on many models. The materials were the product of progress in industrial chemistry and synthetic fibers, which made it possible to produce uniform, weather-resistant seats at low cost.
Designers also experimented with shape. Some saddles have a channel or opening along the center, intended to relieve pressure on some parts of the body. Others have a flat profile or a short nose. Claims about the benefits of such shapes are mixed and individual experience varies, so they are best regarded as part of the long search for a comfortable design and not as established fact.
Different bodies, different saddles
An important change in recent decades has been variety. Makers now offer saddles in different widths and shapes, sometimes designed for particular groups of riders, such as those who ride in a more upright or a more forward position. Women’s saddles, in particular, have been marketed for many decades, though the details differ between companies, and the whole question is under continued discussion. The long history shows that no single design suits every rider.
Saddles on other machines
The idea of a sprung or shaped seat for a working machine was not limited to bicycles. Pressed-steel seats on farm tractors, for example, were mounted on springs to cushion the operator. The bicycle saddle is a smaller example of the same approach, where a part is shaped and supported to reduce the effects of vibration on the person using it.
What the saddle shows
The history of the saddle is less about breakthroughs than about steady adjustment. Changes in roads, tires, riding positions and materials all shaped what riders wanted from a seat. Because comfort is personal, the saddle may be the part with the greatest variety, and there is still no standard design.