Gel saddles.

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gavroche

Getting old but not past it
Location
North Wales
Do any of you use one on your road bike? What are the pros and cons of one. I am considering getting one from Aldi today. Are they worth the money?
 

Sharky

Guru
Location
Kent
No and I think the general view is that gel saddles don't work.
A long time ago, I used a unicanitor saddle - https://www.sportreviews.co.uk/unicanitor-saddle-review/ which has zero gel, just a plastic shell.

At the time, it was quite comfortable and used it for a few seasons. However, I re-used it for a rebuild many years later and it was agony.
In the meantime, I had switched to a saddle with a firm plastic under shell, but a very thin layer of padding - this type work for me.

Thick gel saddles, don't support you where needed and the gel gets to your soft tissue places where support is not needed.

But if cheap - always worth a try
 

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
Do any of you use one on your road bike? What are the pros and cons of one. I am considering getting one from Aldi today. Are they worth the money?
A saddle that fits you is worth whatever you want to pay. What this is made of is neither here nor there.

I ride a saddle that (I think) could be described as "a gel saddle". It's great. But the reason it's great is that it suits me and I found it after trying very many different models of saddle.

There's an old-skool view that "the harder the better". That's cobblers. If it fits and it's comfortable then it's good. If it doesn't fit it's not.

Also claims "gel saddles will cause chafing" are cobblers: Crap saddles and ones that don't fit will cause chafing. They may come in all kinds of materials.
 

lane

Veteran
I think they may be OK for shorter rides. My wife has a massive gel cover thing she puts over her saddle it's heavy and an absolute monstrosity but she swears by it. She only does short family rides and some utility cycling.
 

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
A saddle that fits you is worth whatever you want to pay. What this is made of is neither here nor there.

I ride a saddle that (I think) could be described as "a gel saddle". It's great. But the reason it's great is that it suits me and I found it after trying very many different models of saddle.

There's an old-skool view that "the harder the better". That's cobblers. If it fits and it's comfortable then it's good. If it doesn't fit it's not.

Also claims "gel saddles will cause chafing" are cobblers: Crap saddles and ones that don't fit will cause chafing. They may come in all kinds of materials.
interesting i get wear on the shorts just below the pad on either leg, i find the saddle comfy but shorts seem to wear quicker than they should ?
 

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
I've ridden 200, 300, 400k on my Selle SMP Trk with absolutely no problems. Conversely I once rode 300k one of my previous saddles and was in serious pain sitting down for a whole week afterwards. Time was when my distance was limited not by my legs but by the fact that my saddle was just so painful after a few hours.

Does that mean I recommend all gel saddles to everyone? No. Just that you need to experiment to see what suits you, and don't be put off from trying things because people on the internet say "they are all bad".
 
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Smudge

Veteran
Location
Somerset
The secondhand folder i bought earlier this year, had an expensive Selle Royal Xsenium gel saddle on it. The seller was making a point of how comfortable it was. I absolutely hated it, possibly the worst saddle i've tried and i changed it shortly after bringing it home.
Nowt more subjective than saddles.
 
OP
OP
gavroche

gavroche

Getting old but not past it
Location
North Wales
Just bought one from Aldi, £7.99, memory foam, so nothing to lose by trying it when the weather improves. I have not ridden my bike for 10 days due to weather conditions when I had time to ride. If happy with it, I will buy two more for my other bikes, bearing in mind that all my rides are only up to 45/50 miles max, mostly under 40 to be honest.
 

MontyVeda

a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
I don't ride a road bike but used to have a great Gel saddle until it wore out after 10 years. Replaced it with a harder one which I'm now totally accustomed to, but am also toying with trying the Aldi one. For £7.99 it's worth a punt.
 

Skanker

Well-Known Member
Location
Walton on Thames
My favourite seat was the Rido I had on my old GT, super comfy.
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I have a gel saddle on one of my road bikes, and a memory foam saddle on another. The Gel saddle is comfy, but can get a bit ‘squishy’ on a long ride, as it heats up. The memory foam saddle is much better. It’s supportive, cushioned, and doesn’t get ‘squishy’ during a long ride.
 

Pat "5mph"

A kilogrammicaly challenged woman
Moderator
Location
Glasgow
Just bought one from Aldi, £7.99, memory foam, so nothing to lose by trying it when the weather improves. I have not ridden my bike for 10 days due to weather conditions when I had time to ride. If happy with it, I will buy two more for my other bikes, bearing in mind that all my rides are only up to 45/50 miles max, mostly under 40 to be honest.
I tried an Aldi saddle (the narrow one, I think the model is called trekking) just because it was cheap.
That was years ago, I now have one for each of my bikes (hybrids and touring) plus one for spare.
No problems on long tours and on the only 100 mile ride I did.
 
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