How do I know what size bike seat I need?
Sit with your feet tilted up long enough to leave a good impression. Stand and find the two deepest indentions your sit bones left behind and mark them both with a point. Measure from one point to the other with your measuring tape in millimeters. Add 20-25mm to determine your saddle size.
Do bike seats have different sizes?
Bike saddles come in different sizes to accommodate different body types. Finding a bike saddle that is the right size for your body mostly has to do with the width of the saddle and how well it supports your ischial tuberosities (sit bones).
How big is a bike seat?
The most common size is 27.2 mm (1.07 in) for most bikes, especially for the higher-quality models. BMX bikes commonly use 25.4 seatposts. In some modern bikes with thicker alloy or carbon tubing, larger diameters such as 30.9 mm are used. Tapering seatposts often have a diameter of 22.2 mm (⅞ in) at the top.
How do you measure a saddle seat?
It’s easy to measure a western saddle’s seat size. Use a retractable tape measure. Start the tape measure behind the swell and stretch it across the seat to the front of the cantle. That measurement is the seat size.
What happens if your bike saddle is too wide?
A bicycle saddle that is too wide causes chafing due to your thighs rubbing against the sides of the seat and reduces pedal efficiency since the saddle interferes with your pedaling motion. Also, aerodynamics is worsened from the increased contact area between your spread-out legs and the increased air resistance.
Are bike seats one size fits all?
Are bike seats universal? Yes, most modern bike seats are universal and can be interchanged with different seat posts. The exceptions are if you have much older equipment or a specialized bike. It’s best to check the number of rails and the rail width on your saddle to ensure a correct fit to the seat adapter.
What size seatpost do I need?
To find out the diameter of your seatpost, you must remove the seatpost from the bicycle frame and look for the size, which is stamped just below the “Minimum Insert” line toward the bottom. The number will be a three-digit number (such as 26.8 or 27.2 or 31.6).
How do I know what kind of saddle I have?
Check on the back, the skirts or on a plate underneath the jockey. Contact the saddle’s manufacturer for information about the saddle’s age. Most manufacturers will be able to tell you the age of the saddle using the serial number. Go online and research the saddle manufacturer in conjunction with your serial number.