Seat customization

[vamootsman]

I performed the humpectomy today and did some testing before I have the seat rebuilt/recovered. Definitely a must do improvement IMO. A little tweaking is in order for my own arse though. Loved being able to push myself back 2-3 inches, but still felt like I was sliding forward on the seat unless I was accelerating. Soo, going to have the hump in the front built up an inch and the middle where my arse sits, shaved down a 1/2 inch and contoured to fit my cheeks I want to sit in the "pocket" like you do on properly broken in Brooks cycling saddle.

One thing I immediately noticed with my weight farther back was a better balance on the bike in general. The front end felt way less twitchy, and less quick on the turn in, Definitely smoother handling. The rear though, with the weight biased toward the back, felt a bit sharper on the hits, so hopefully the new shocks and tires will clean that up a bit.

The bike felt more like a Standard Cycle in positioning and handling which is exactly what I was looking for.

Can't wait til it's done, but will probably finished closer to August at the rate I'm going.

I think it will be worth the wait though.

[vamootsman]

So I haven't had time to get the seat to the shop to get it customized yet, but a few observations from riding around on the humpectomized seat. What a POS! I don't care if the Thai people are shorter than the average European or American or who or whatever, that stock seat sucks A$$. I love the room that the humpectomy provided but It still makes me feel like I'm constantly having to push myself back on the seat because it actually slopes forward. Who designed that? I'm a pretty light guy too, so WTF? Not like my weight should be crushing the seat down from excess "baggage" in my bum. Anyway, can't wait to get it redone when time is on my side.

[caseybea]

I have the same issue. I do have a custom seat from Thailand, but it's still not enough. I still feel like I'm being dumped forward. Grrrrr.

[Larry David]

I have the same issue. I do have a custom seat from Thailand, but it's still not enough. I still feel like I'm being dumped forward. Grrrrr.

Can I ask where you got your seat from? I have bought from from bikerzbits in Thailand. It arrived today and is unusable as there is no rubber seal underneath like on the original so it will let water in. I've posted a thread about it.

[Alibally]

I think you need to swap it over

[Larry David]

The original seat has a gap all the way around which holds in the stick on rubber seal. The custom seat has no gap for it to go into.

[Larry David]

Ive attached photos

[Jge64]

Email their support address, I have a seat from them and it fit and shipped fine. They answer my emails within the same day.

[Mel46]

The seal actually goes on that lower ledge all the way around. Start where the seat connects to the hinge and take your time. Pull the one from the original and use it.

[Larry David]

The seal actually goes on that lower ledge all the way around. Start where the seat connects to the hinge and take your time. Pull the one from the original and use it.

I'm not sure how that will work as there won't be anything surrounding the seal. On the original seat there is about a 1cm deep gap all the way around which the seal fits nicely into, holding it in place. If I just stuck it on the new one there would be nothing surrounding it so I can't see how the stickyness alone will keep it in place with nothing surrounding it??

[Mel46]

It works, believe me. I added a picture to one of the threads showing my new seat. I took the seal off of my original seat and applied it to the new one. It still is there. Works well.

[Larry David]

Ok, I will give it a go. So do you not have any gaps around the side of your bike with the custom seat on it and no water comes in?

[Mel46]

The seal works quite well. I would suggest putting the custom seat on without the seal. Then close it and see where the seat meets the base in order to visualize where the seal would go. Look at it opened and closed. Then take the seat off and install the seal around it. Then look again. The seal should cover any area you were concerned about. The only time I have ever had it leak was when I overloaded the under seat area, causing it to bulge up. Otherwise it has been great. Keep in mind also that some of the custom seats do not come with the two rubber bumpers where the seat latches, and it isn't easy to get the old ones off. You may end up ordering replacements from some place like bikebandit.com.

[Larry David]

The seal works quite well. I would suggest putting the custom seat on without the seal. Then close it and see where the seat meets the base in order to visualize where the seal would go. Look at it opened and closed. Then take the seat off and install the seal around it. Then look again. The seal should cover any area you were concerned about. The only time I have ever had it leak was when I overloaded the under seat area, causing it to bulge up. Otherwise it has been great. Keep in mind also that some of the custom seats do not come with the two rubber bumpers where the seat latches, and it isn't easy to get the old ones off. You may end up ordering replacements from some place like bikebandit.com.

It seems you are right. I took the seal off the original and put it on the custom seat. Although there is no lip surrounding it like there is on the original one, it seems to stick on quite well and stay in place. It has also rained and no water appeared to leak in so all good so far. Thanks for your advice with this.

I have also found that I can now get into a much more comfortable seating position due to being able to sit further back on the seat with no hump being there. I didn't actually buy the seat for that reason so it's an added bonus.

You mentioned the 2 rubber bumpers. I had an issue with these. I pulled them out of the original seat and then with great difficulty I pushed them into the custom seat with the help of a screwdriver to push them in. However I then found that the seat wouldn't close with them in so had to take them out again. The seat then closed fine.