Hammer

Whats better a gel cover for the saddle or just a gel sadlle?

Dee asked:

I ride my bike occasionaly mostly in the city ,but i find i have sore inner legs after sitting on the hard seat that came with the bike,so i am wondering what would be better out of the gel saddle cover or the a gel saddle?

Our Answer: Dee that's a great question and I am glad you asked us. First things first....I suspect that you are using a saddle that is possibly wrong for your style of riding. Pain on the inner legs can be caused by a few things...if it's a "chafing" type sore then your saddle could be too wide and a gel cover won't help you at all.

If your pain is more in the muscle or more internal (kind of like your bones that are hurting) then you might benefit from a different saddle too. If your saddle is too narrow it can be just as harmful as if your saddle is too wide. If it's too narrow then you need a wider saddle to support your sit bones. Your pain is being caused by improper support from the saddle, NOT the hardness of it. This is very common and easy to fix.

We positively, absolutely 100% don't recommend gel seat covers or any seat cover for that matter. Bicycle seat covers typically do not stay in place well, they slide around on the saddle and can create hot spots and pain because the padding in them is usually inferior.

We would recommend that you check out a high quality gel bicycle saddle from a company like Terry or Selle Italia. The Selle Italia Diva or the Selle Italia Lady are two of our favorites for women. Give one of them a try and we would be willing to bet your pain will be gone in no time.

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SELLE ITALIA SLR LADY GEL FLOW BLACK BIKE SADDLE SEAT
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6 Comments »

ohiojeff rated this:

personally i find gel holds heat. i would rather have an ordinary saddle, but that is me. i know others that love gel. i would perfer the actual seat. those covers slip around and are a lot more bulky. you kind of have to do what works for you. for me, give me a good pair of shorts and a saddle with the center cut away, and i am happiest.

# 13 March 2009 at 4:56 pm

ct rated this:

Honestly, neither…

Hear me out.

You should pick up a pair of bike shorts. Even if spandex isn’t your thing, there are nice ones everywhere where the spandex is built into another short.

Gel, whether on a seat or in a cover, causes friction between yourself and the seat because it slides. When you have this extra friction, chafing can become a problem.

By using a nicely padded seat with (I find) a leather surface, and a nice pair of bike shorts, you should feel better.

Having the right shaped seat, and having it properly adjusted will also be of great importance. I like the Specialized Body Geometry seats in my opinion.

good luck

# 14 March 2009 at 9:14 am

silverbullet rated this:

Sore inner legs result from chafing. Adding bulk between your legs via gel saddle or cover will likely make the problem worse. Friction is your enemy. In a most cases, a properly shaped, slick surface is much better, even if it seems too hard.

For serious cyclists, a saddle is little more than a placeholder.

# 17 March 2009 at 7:27 am

steven b rated this:

Sore inner legs may mean that the saddle is to wide, not that you need a gel pad. Whoever gel saddles are better than gel pads. No one seat is exactly the same as anyother design. therefor the gel pads do not allways fit well on the saddle. This poor fit causes the pad to slip and move and can cause you to move around on your bike more than you would feel comfortable doing.

i would take your bike to a bike store and try several different saddles on your bike. have them install different ones and ride the bike for a few minutes see how it feels under you. Like I said earlier, it may not be you need a gel pad, it could be your saddle is not the right one for you.

# 19 March 2009 at 2:17 pm

M R rated this:

All answers sound good. Fat, wide, mushy saddle is your problem making fatter, wider and mushier will make it worse. A hard saddle doesn’t cause chaffing. A narrower, firm saddle ELIMINATES it.

# 21 March 2009 at 3:46 am

spdybyke rated this:

when you get sore inner legs your seat is to high if you feel it on your rear the seat is to low adjust your seat up or down till you get rid of the problem. of course a wide seat will prob. always give you problems.

# 24 March 2009 at 3:27 pm