More comfy saddle

Yes, I knew the original one is Velo brand too. But the original Velo does not fit properly to the human requirements in a Strida. I have bought a new Sport Duo (my third Strida) and this saddle will be the first improvement I will do. (May be, I will try first the Velo Newport S2W, a little bit less bulky)

http://images.jensonusa.com/large/sa/sa403a78blg______spri.jpg

On the first days I also thought that Strida standard saddle is not very comfortable. And I started to look for other but I couldn’t decide (all saddles with good opinions were expensive) after more than 1 month I get accustomed to standard saddle.
Maybe is not the best but anyway better than saddles types designed for mountain bicycles.

Just purchased Comfy and Cheap $14 includes shipping

cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi … 2379wt_960

When I got my Strida, I emailed Mark Sanders about replacing the seat, and he answered “we’ve never had complaints about the seat”… (But then, this is the guy who says “you don’t need gears…”, and “We gave up bothering trying to make the seat fold…”…)

In the UK, I went to my local Halfords, and tried fitting various seats, and cycling round the store to get a feel (!?) for comfort.
In hindsight, the flat lino floor of the shop is not a good test of behaviour vs. potholes!!
I settled on a gel-filled one from Bikehut.

But after reading the reports here, I’m thinking of going back and trying some sprung saddles. Gel is good at distributing the load evenly, no question. And has at least some elastic impact dampening.
Springs (as well) to take the kick out of potholes sounds like a good plan…

p.s.: The creme version with the Brooks saddle and bag? That is too steampunk-awesome to even exist. Really lovely!
(My Strida 3 is a visual assault, with green mudguards, and yellow reflecto-tape plastered everywhere…
Not that that seems to prevent “London white-van man and Joe-lorry-driver pretending they can’t see me, and trying to crush me…” My other favourite topic for “Strida Mods” is some kind of anti-lorry gun…)

I recently added a Brooks Flyer Special to my Strida 5.0 LT. Love it! More comfortable than stock and the springs seem to really soak up many of the bumps. Along with it I added the bended bars which for me, whose 6’2" tall, was a big improvement in fit and general feeling of stability.

I choose the aged leather seat to avoid having to oil the seat and because my seat will rarely see long term sun exposure or inclement weather (here in California).

I had a bit of a struggle getting the seats mounting rails to snap onto the plastic Strida seat bracket. I had to push and wiggle for 20 minutes before it finally slipped on. Once in place the seat frame fit well without any clearance issues.


I am about to purchase a flyer aged myself, looks very nice on your strida! When you say “Brooks Flyer Special” Do you mean a Brooks Flyer S? S being a shorter (ladies) version. I ask because I was thinking if I should get the S or not, perhaps the normal one would be a bit too large on a Strida?
I think the S comes in at about 245mm V’s 275mm for the standard.

Hi danny777,

Brooks Flyer Speical ≠ Brooks Flyer S. :wink:

Brooks Flyer
http://www.brooksengland.com/catalogue-and-shop/saddles/touring+%26+trekking/Flyer/

Brooks Flyer Special
http://www.brooksengland.com/catalogue-and-shop/saddles/touring+%26+trekking/Flyer+Special/

Brooks Flyer S
http://www.brooksengland.com/catalogue-and-shop/saddles/touring+%26+trekking/Flyer+S/

Brooks Flyer S Special
http://www.brooksengland.com/catalogue-and-shop/saddles/touring+%26+trekking/Flyer+S+Special/

Best regards,

Amuro

My confusion was the OP mentioned it was a special. It is not, it is just a Brooks Flyer Aged. The Brooks Flyer S Aged has less holes where the laces go through.
Well I’ve just ordered a (non S) Brooks Flyer Aged, after a measure up, and looking at the picture above it looks a great fit for the strida. Thanks for your help.

Hi,

I have a SX Strida for almost a year and the 1st thing I have done was to put in a more confortable saddle (a selle royal). The saddle is good but the position is not entirely horizontal so I keep looking for the ideal saddle. My thougts are with the Brooks 67 and now the strida ST-SDL-003. Can anyone give informations about these sadlles (comfort and horizontality)? Thanks.

Hello MPires,

partially were your questions already discussed

Replacing your seat?

Looking for a Shhortcut to a Great SX

Re: Compact front & rear lights

“The crucial factor whether a saddle fits on the molding or not is the distance of the saddle rails to the the lower edge of the saddle nose, as you can see below.”

Strida-5 24/7/365 - Long distance mods & living with the bik

The Strida “EVO red 18 inch and leather” - that’s the Canadian custom edition - :sunglasses:
is originally equipped with the ST-SDL-003 leather saddle.
http://stridacanada.ca/?product=strida-evo-red-18-inch-and-leather

Looks like the Strida saddle would fit, no?
(At least with the QRS system.)

Perhaps could Bill tell us more?

When I first saw this post I began to think how I can help, Blackstridaaustria is just too fast. I will take some photos today with the Strida leather saddle mounted on a bike with a level across the top of the saddle. I have been using the Strida leather saddle this summer and have been enjoying the ride. I have never ridden a Brooks so I can’t compare. I like the springs in the back of the saddle as it takes the edge off of the bumps on rough pavement. The Strida leather saddle is also wider at the back than the other Strida saddles and as I am sitting more upright on the Strida than other bikes the wider seat at the back of the saddle gives me more support. I have several customers using this saddle including women with no complaints. I have put about 500 km on the saddle myself which have included rides up to one and a half hours and 35 km. I am out of stock until my next order comes late this month, or I could send anyone a Strida leather saddle complete with a bike as I have those in stock!

“discalimer, I am the Western Canadian and currently the only North American Strida distributor and I love to ride and sell Strida bikes” http://www.stridacanada.ca


All this talk of the Brooks Flyer but I think the B67 is better and costs the same.
I say get the widest saddle possible since you are sitting almost vertical on this bike.

I got a Brooks B67 Select, it is awesome.
Length: 260mm
Width: 205mm
Height:73mm
Weight: 850g (Select is 870g)

Flyer is not as wide, so less comfy.
Length: 275mm
Width: 175mm
Height: 87mm
Weight: 890g

The Strida springer looks good too, since it is more like a B67.
Anyone know how wide it is?

The Strida leather saddle is 210 mm wide, Bill

Thanks Blackstridaaustria, Bill and ttakata73 for all the infos. It seems in the photos that the B67 and the strida leather saddle are perfectly horizontal. If so probably any of the solutions are good and maybe the strida saddle offer more confort because is wider. Today I was seat in a conventional bike with a B67 and it seams to me that the springs are too strong (for my weight - 70 kgs). Maybe the springs of strida seat are weaker?

Hi, I am about the same weight and I don’t have a comparison regarding spring strength but I like the Strida saddle. I don’t notice the springs in the saddle until I hit a bump in the road and the springs take the edge off the bump without feeling too soft. Bill

Thanks Bill.

It looks that the Strida leather saddle is actually made by Gyes in Taiwan (http://www.gyes.com.tw/Saddle.html), typical from the Gyes saddles is indeed the ‘wave’ in the middle of the bridge between the springs.

Gyes makes a lot of different models, inspired by the Brooks saddles. From the comments I could read on various forums, users are very happy with their purchase. Gyes saddles are often cheaper than the Brooks ones.

According to this site (http://swhs.home.xs4all.nl/fiets/tests/zadels/index_en.html), Brooks made the springs stiffer on the B67 and the Flyer in 1999, by increasing the wire diameter from 4.55 mm to 4.95mm. This made the springs less effective as they now only soak the big bumps.

From the pictures on the Gyes website, it looks like that the outside diameter of the springs on their saddles is bigger than the ones of the Brooks saddles. Assuming that the wire diameter is the same, it would mean than the Gyes springs are softer.

Brooks Flyer:

Gyes GS-16 (Flyer equivalent):

Does any one have both saddles (Brooks B67 or Flyer and Strida ST-SDL-003 or Gyes GS-16)? If yes, I would be interested to know the various spring dimensions (wire diameter, spring diameter, length) of both models.

I am lightweight and that’s why I am interested in softer springs :wink:

Just a side note.
I have a black Brooks Finesse on another bike and the black color leaches out on my clothes!
That is why I got a B67 Select , the light tan color should leave less of a color stain on my clothes.
I have no experience with Brook’s brown leather.
Something to consider researching when buying any color dyed leather product.

I`ve mounted the Brooks B67 and the diameter of the spring is 4,95mm and the length around 65mm. I found it neccessary though to increase the length to 75mm…