Customer Reviews

Hobson Pro Hub X2 Saddle

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I'm 6'1" and weigh in at around 240. I previously used a Serfas "deep groove" design that seemed to worked well when I would ride 10 to 25 miles per week. But when I recently stepped-upped my riding to around 100 miles a week I began to have problems. Very bad tailbone pain and... well... lets just say I had to buy more than one tube of Preparation H. I would knock off the riding for a few days until I felt better then I'd try it again... I could tell as soon as I got back on the seat it was not helping matters.. and again... the pain would return. I was quite concerned I might have to find a new form of exercise. That's when I decided to take a gamble and try the Hobson Pro Hub X2 saddle .

DAY 1: (11 MILES) I received the seat and installed it in no time. Took a couple allen wrenches with me and... despite still feeling some pain from previous riding... decided to take it for a test drive. I originally decided to just ride down to McDonalds and back (2 miles). The first sensation was... "what is this pushing into my legs?" The seat tends to put pressure on the meaty part of your legs right where they meet up with your butt. This was no big deal... just something I was not used to. So the adjusting began. You can move this set back and fourth... up and down and you can tilt it forward and back. You can also spread the seat apart... so there are many adjustments to be made... make sure you have your allen wrenches ready! I moved the seat back as far as it would go... and the feeling of the seat pressing into my legs was not quite as bad... but still there. Again, this was not a real problem... just a feeling I wasn't used to and it didn't impede my peddling at all. As I rode the first 1 mile or so I stopped to make several adjustments... at least 6... and by time I got to McDonalds a mile away the seat was feeling pretty good... and best of all... no pressure was experienced in the tail-bone area. My weight was being re-distributed to my sit bones and I liked the feeling so much I continued on with what turned out to be an 11 mile ride. I still felt the pressure behind my thighs just below the butt but I was getting used to it. One adjustment that really helped was to lower the seat. And I never experienced any loss of control or the ability to ride with one hand... or even no hands... the seat did not affect my stability at all. I think if you experience this instability sensation, it may be a sign your seat is tilted too far forward so try just tiling it back to about a 2 to 3 degree tilt forward... nearly flat.

DAY 2: (20 MILES) I got back on the bike and set out for my 2nd ride with the new Pro Hub X2. The only adjustment I made this time was... due to a little more weight on my hands than I liked... I tilted the seat back just a bit. It was still tilted forward by about 2 to 3 degrees but there was much less weight on my hands. I knew this meant there would be more weight on my butt so I wanted to be sure this would not bring back the pain in the rear (so to speak). It did not. The ride was great and I was getting used to the feeling of having the seat press against the back of my legs near the butt.

DAY 3: (30 MILES) I felt just a tiny bit of residual soreness in that area behind my upper leg as I woke up today. This was from the seat touching this part of my leg. It was very minor and akin to perhaps your feet being sore after a long walk. I was confident that once my legs and butt got used to it the soreness would go away. Before I started the ride the sensation was pretty much gone... and when I got back on to the bike for a 30 mile ride it didn't bother me at all. Another great ride... mostly flat with speeds between 10 and 20 MPH but I threw in a few hills. It was on the hills I noticed an added advantage of this seat. By forcing that meaty part of the back of my leg into the front of the seat even more than normal... I could actually get a little more leverage peddling. It's kind of hard to explain but basically the seat was providing a solid to push off from... keeping my legs down... so when they pushed down on the pedals I had more leverage. I wouldn't recommend riding like this for long because it was putting extra pressure on the back of my legs but it did provide a way to get some explosive peddling power while going up a steep hill in a higher gear range... thus keeping up the speed. Again... there was no pain on my tailbone at all... and while riding it feels as if my tail bone is above and/or behind the seat. This was a pretty long ride so we'll see how I feel tomorrow.

DAY 4: (26 MILES) No pain... everything feels great today... except for a tiny bit of soreness in my hands... in the meaty area under my thumbs. I think this is because the seat has shifted some weight forward to my arms... but I need the arm workout anyway so I'm not adjusting the seat back anymore. I did purchase some gloves with gel inserts and they work great. There's absolutely no pain or soreness associated with my butt... so this seat is doing it's job. The ride today was just fine... and I'm completely used to the feel of the seat... the previous feeling of "pressure" on the back of my upper leg is no longer even noticeable... it's still there it's just that I'm used to it and it's not painful and does not cause any soreness. The seat was simply moving my weight to different areas of my butt... which is why I purchased it in the first place... these areas were just not used to the pressure... and this took a couple rides to get used to. By this ride, it was no longer an issue.

SUMMARY;
This is a great seat... and it really saved me from giving up bike riding. A few suggestions...

Make sure you take your wrenches with you on the first and second rides... and make sure you know how to adjust your seat... you can...
MOVE THE SEAT FORWARD/BACKWARD... TILT THE SEAT FORWARD/BACK... RAISE THE SEAT UP/DOWN... and you can INCREASE/DECREASE THE WIDTH OF THE SEAT by moving a little roller... once you get it lined up with your sit bones just right you'll know it because it feels great.

If you feel as though you can't take your hands off the handle bars... the seat is probably tilted forward too much... tilt it back and try again.

Don't be afraid to lower the seat more than what you are used to. The best way for me to explain why this helps is it makes you go a little bit bowl-legged... which provides more leg clearance around the seat... if the seat is too high... your legs have to almost squeeze the seat in order to reach the pedals.

Invest in some riding gloves with gel inserts to help absorb some of the extra weight you may be shifting forward to the arms.

As far as a previous review of this seat saying you should not purchase it unless you can try it out at your local bike shop... I'm not sure this is practical. Like I explained above... I made at least 6 adjustments over a mile of riding before the seat started getting comfortable. And I don't know many bike shops that will let you test their seats for that long of a ride.

I upgraded to the pro hub from the original easy seat. The added gel in this seat puts it over the top ! Since using the seats i can't go back to a regular bike seat.Really saves the old rear ! I've let several others try this seat and they all want to know where to buy one and some have.I'm convinced that if this seat where not available I could not ride a bicycle further than a block. Most comfortable seat I've sat on, I can't say enough about it. just buy it and enjoy !

My wife and enjoy bike riding for fitness and recreation. We typically ride 20-30 mile routes on weekend days and 10+ routes on weekdays depending on our schedule. For the last decade we have also been taking bike tour vacations in both Europe and the US. We are not skinny century riders, but we have logged more than a few miles in a variety of saddles. Our current bike is a Trek 7300.

There have been two areas where we have continually looked for relief and improvement. Saddle pain and wrist pain. Happily, after a two month trial period that included one 4 day tour through Gettysburg, PA. and about a dozen 20-30 mile rides in our local area on both street and the typical crushed limestone bike paths, I can confirm that the Hobson Pro Hub X2 has allowed me to check saddle pain off the list.

My wife would experience tailbone pain, and I would experience a dull ache right where your legs transition into the buttocks after about 15-20 miles. The pain was annoying enough for both of us that we would take frequent 'butt breaks' every few miles after hitting the 15 mile mark. But since we both installed the Hobson saddles, we have found we no longer have problems. Just this weekend after a 31 mile loop we both realized that the only complaints we had about riding was that the last five miles always seem to be uphill and into the wind.

As other reviews have stated, the seat does flex or tilt bit back and forth a little bit. At first it was a little odd, but we quickly got used to it. In fact, it seems like this little bit of movement helps keep the weight distribution moving to different areas. Also, as others have stated, it will feel a little different on your bottom thighs as the traditional narrow front is mostly eliminated. The narrow tongue is replaced by short nubs on each seat pad. You will also want to take your Allen wrench the the first rides so you can make adjustments to find how it best fits you. Mine is set pretty far back, and level with about 3/4 inch spread between the pads. I experience no detectable control differences in how my bike handles from a traditional saddle.

I've also found that because of the wide saddle, I can sit upright with my full weight on my seat while coasting, something I could never do with comfort on a traditional saddle for more than a just a few seconds. While I'm not into biking simply to coast downhill, this additional position provides yet another method to rest various parts of the body during rides, allowing me to go longer distances with less fatigue, primarily the wrists as I can give them short breaks where they are required to bear no weight at all.

A few reviews have suggested the product looks 'flimsy'. I think this might be due to how the front portions of the saddle will flex. You can in fact flex them with your hands. I have logged approx 250 miles on them in the last month with my 250LB butt, and have not experienced any deformity from the original shape of the saddle, or any additional flexing or give while riding.

I will revisit this review come the end of fall with additional impressions after having ridden on this saddle for close to six months.

After five months of being back on the saddle at least 4 times per week, every week without coccyx pain, I can honestly say the Hobson Pro Hub X2 saddle is a "Savior" for me.

My coccyx pain started back in February 2007 during my 4:30am daily stationary bike rides before work. I purchased three very good quality coccyx / Tush cushions and stopped cycling completely. One cushion for work, one cushion for my car and one cushion for my home office - the pain was that bad. After 8 months of no cycling and nursing my enlarging tush, I felt it was time I could attempt to get back on the saddle again - it was now January 2008. The first 4:30am ride on the stationary bike was going well until I tried to get off. The coccyx pain started up ever so slightly again. So I gave it a day of rest and went back. Once again, it was getting off the saddle that was the issue and more intense coccyx pain this time. Long story short, I work in Research Lab so naturally I did my research. I found the Hobson Pro Hub X2 saddle was the best coccyx saddle out there for me. I was taken by the way it was constructed and it's adjustability. The seating position and the feel with any saddle of this type takes time to get used to. But, in the end (and I mean in your end literally) you'll be thankful for this purchase, if your coccyx pain was related to cycling.

I was some what skeptical of the item when I purchased it but after using it for up to 3 hours a ride, I am a believer in the product. It does exactly what it advertises. It is well worth the money !

I 'm using this Hubson seat since the day i received it, everyday. I 'm going a ride with my bike 1 or 2 hours every evening. I have to say it's absolutely comfortable and you may sit on this as much as you like without feeling any kind of pain at your pelvic region.

It's absolutely brilliant! Thanks to the guys in Hubson and those one who are selling it.

I'm 53, 210 pounds (should be 175-180), and I love this seat. I've tried several different types, but this is the only one that was comfortable for me.

I ride a mountain bike with front suspension, 75% road and 25% trails.

I was drawn to this seat because it so obviously has had a great deal of thought put into its design. I especially appreciated that it could be adjusted in several ways to suit the individual rider. So, I began working with the seat carefully and with the thought that I would need to 'settle in' to it, over time.

Well, I didn't. Frankly, it's a "pain in the but". It is a PLATFORM and it reminds you of this constantly. It is the most unforgiving seat I've ever ridden as it demands that you conform to it, rather than it conforming to you. I also have found that the front of the seat has an annoying habit of becoming 'hung up' on my trousers when mounting and dismounting.

There's more "engineering" than practicality in this one!

I have the original Hobson which I use on a Spinning cycle at my gym. I needed another saddle for my hybrid street bike, so when I saw the Pro Hub X2 I thought I'd give it a try. I find it to be more comfortable and better designed than the original. Both are great for keeping pressure off of the prostate, but hands down the Pro Hub X2 is more comfortable and better looking too!

This is a great product with a fatal and serious flaw.

The build and overall design idea are good, the execution is seriously flawed. You should read this review carefully before making a selection for this seat.

The design flaw in this seat is so obvious that at first I thought I'd done something wrong; failed to tighten a screw, complete an installation step. This is not the case.

This seat uses a design that creates a seat cushion for the left and right sides of your butt, leaving a space down the center to remove any possible pressure and trouble for male (and female) riders.

The fatal design flaw for this seat is that each cushion has a 1/8 to a 1/4 inch of free movement, up and down. If you take the seat and shake it you'll immediately see, and feel, and hear, what feels like the seat cushion mounts not being correctly tightened. It also makes the seat feel cheap, and poorly made. This all translates, fatally, to a seat position and experience that makes the bike feel unstable or jittery at the top.

As a very long distance cyclist I need my seat and bike to be rock-solid, no movement, jitters or looseness. Unfortunately, this bike seat introduces all of these negative things into my very solid bike. Using a normal seat my mountain bike is solid as a rock, after installing this seat the top feel of the bike is jittery, unstable, with a left and right peddle action that creates an un-nerving movement and sound that simply shouldn't be there. Period.

I contacted the company who makes this seat and over several e-mails they made it very clear that this cheap feel and sound and function is part of their design. They told me that many people don't like it, many get used to it, and many return their seat.

I respectfully asked the maker of the bike seat to include this movement in their description (there currently is no mention of this on their web site as of 04SEP11) -- and explained that I would never have purchased this bike seat had I known of this designed-in behavior.

It may sound minor to some, but it is important to consider this designed-in behavior before selecting this bike seat.

Last, the vendor on Amazon who I purchased this seat from is not an official reseller of the seat which means the maker, Hobson, would neither refund my money or exchange the seat I own for a normal (non moving) seat.

A $70 lesson that went badly.