Customer Reviews

Planet Bike 5020 Men's ARS Standard Anatomic Relief Saddle with Gel

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a review for non-expert bike riders.

I'm a male in my mid-30s who has had occasional prostate inflammations over the years (prostatitis). Not surprisingly, bike seats, with all the pressure they put on your perineum (aka your "taint"), have caused prostate soreness for me. Most recently, I bought a comfort bike (more like a mountain bike than a cruiser) that came with a stock Avenir seat. The seat was *very* well padded, with springs Avenir Men's Comfy Soft Top Saddle (Black). Comfortable to sit on, but too wide and mushy for active biking -- not to mention that it put pressure on my perineum.

I did lots of research on bike seats for men, and the research that has been done suggested I either stop biking or get a noseless bike seat. I was sad to think that biking with a saddle that has a nose could lead to permanent prostate pain, not to mention nerve damage, and impotence... I don't want to give up biking, and I'll be honest about the noseless bike seat: not only does it clearly give you less control of the bike, you end of having to explain to everyone why you need such an unusual seat... I'm a little vain, I admit it, but I'm not stupid -- I would use the noseless seat a last resort after exhausting the other alternatives. The Planet Bike ARS Standard 5020 is one of the alternatives I wanted to try first.

Put simply, the seat is awesome! no pressure AT ALL on the perineum for me. The seat doesn't have a ton of gel padding, so it's a lot firmer than the over-the-top plush Avenir seat. I think that's actually going to be better for longer bike rides. I plan on putting lots of mileage on it in the next few weeks, and I'll post an update on how it holds up on long rides.

The seat looks nice, and I'm really psyched about getting on my bike more to commute to work and to explore all the awesome bike paths around my city. So happy with it that it made me write my first Amazon product review ever. And I've bought LOTS of stuff on Amazon.

Planet bike has other ARS seats for men. I wondered, how is this seat different from the (currently) cheaper "Planet Bike A.R.S. Anatomic Relief Bicycle Saddle" also listed on Amazon? Planet Bike Men's A.R.S. Anatomic Relief Bicycle Saddle That one is model # 5000, which you can look at also on the Planet Bike website. That seat is slightly narrower (6.5" vs. 7.0" for model 5020), and not quite as long (10.5" vs. 11"). The 7" width on the 5020 model makes for decent placement of my sit bones on the saddle (I'm about 5'10" and weigh about 150), for my biking style. That is, I sit semi-upright with comfort/mountain bike handlebars. You can go narrower (6" wide) with the ARS Competition: Planet Bike 5022 Men's ARS Competition Anatomic Relief Saddle with Gel. Or you can go to 8" width, with springs: Planet Bike 5019 Men's ARS Spring Anatomic Relief Saddle with Gel and Elastomer Springs.

To sum up, if your "taint" is feeling numb or sore after biking, DON'T IGNORE IT. First make sure your seat is positioned properly, which people at the local bike store can help with. But if that doesn't solve the problem, look into these seats. Your mileage may vary, but these are definitely worth a shot.


*************** 1 year update 6/9/2011 ********************
Hi everyone, after a long delay, I have an update. The bike seat now has hundreds of miles on it, and I'm still quite happy with it. Over that period of time, I've also become more serious about cycling and I purchased a road bike with drop handlebars. I've been using the same seat on the newer bike and despite the change in riding position, I'm still liking it. Here is the main observation I've made since using the seat:

- The gel pads are a bit raised, which means that the back part of the seat is a little higher than the nose. much like if you were to mount your seat with the nose tilted down, this can make you lean a touch forward and end up supporting more of your weight on the handlebars (if your hands hurt when you ride, this could be the reason). What I end up doing is tilting the nose up ever so slightly. When I do this everything seems in order. Just don't tilt the nose up too far or you begin to put pressure on your taint again...

So, I remain happy, and I hope you enjoy the seat should you choose to purchase it. I'm thinking of trying out the narrower ARS Competition 5022 model for my road bike (Planet Bike 5022 Men's ARS Competition Anatomic Relief Saddle with Gel), and if I do, I'll post a review on that one. Happy riding!

This seat has mixed reviews which would be expected from a seat. I bought it because I often wondered about a soft seat; but then I've never had a problem with my hard seats - just curious.
As for me, the seat is very comfortable, but it is too soft for long rides. When you rest, unless you sit square on the seat, it does not make you feel stable.
If you are a casual rider - this is great and a fantastic choice, but if you like to ride 15 to 30, I would not recommend this seat.
The "Boys" slot is excellent.
Average speed 15 + -
Distance: 15 - 30
height: 5' 11"

Designs like this supposedly make bike riding easier on one's backside, and this one is definitely more comfortable than the regular gel seat it replaced. I'm using it on a hybrid or "city" bike and it absorbs the bumps of the patched streets of Boston pretty well. The one thing I don't like is that the fabric is brushed nylon and it tends to grip my trousers when I swing my leg over to get off the bike. A higher price will probably get you a slightly better made and longer lasting seat, but if you're riding relatively short distances in the city this one is a good value.

There are many similar designs by other manufacturers. One of them allows you to adjust the width of the seat, if effect, by increasing the gap that runs front-to-back. But the Planet Bike 5020 is comfortable once it's adjusted properly on the seat post, so I don't think there's much to be gained by adding a lateral gap adjustment unless you're very small or very large.

Note that it's important to take the time to make sure you have the seat installed in the right position -- tilted a bit forward so that you're comfortable and in the right place back-to-front on the seat post. If you don't adjust it carefully you may be sore and unhappy. But any seat needs to be adjusted, after all.

great product.
not only gentle on your jewels but also gentle on your wallet. I used to call my bike the crippler but now am able to ride up to two hours with no
ill effects using this seat. extremely comfortable for those of us who have lost some of the padding over the years.

I bought this saddle to replace the factory seat on my hybrid bike. I am in my late fifties and the natural padding isn't as good as it used to be. On top of that I was experiencing numbness in "that certain part of a mans body." I installed this on my bike and that numbness was no longer a problem. I have used it on short to medium rides, 30 minutes to 3 hours, with complete comfort. My backside did become quite fatigued on a 5 hour ride, but I don't know if I could endure any seat for that long with out some discomfort.

I have been using this now for over 6 months 500 miles and while there might be a better bicycle seat somewhere, I doubt that it will be at such an affordable price.

UPDATE: Six months later, over 1200 miles and the seat is still the best I've used. I have been on several half century rides and many more 25-35 mile rides and it is always comfortable. It has been left in the sun, soaked in the rain, and it still looks pretty new.

I'm pretty happy with this saddle. It does what it's advertised to do: provide comfort. When I take it for rides that are less than 30 miles, I experience absolutely no discomfort; however, rides that exceeded 30 miles did become a bit uncomfortable. So purchase this if you are a casual biker, but perhaps shop around if you plan on doing a lot of distance riding.
Also, unlike the customer pictures of the saddle (which in my opinion makes the saddle looks ugly as sin), I feel this seat is actually very stylish. It is also fairly light; definitely lighter than my previous Serfas Men's RX Bicycle Saddle - RX-921.

I used this saddle to replace gel saddle that had worn out. The saddle I had used before was years old
and the gel had broken down. I biked 1800 miles that year and it was comfortable the whole time. I then bought
a Trek Madone and even though this saddle is bulky and not the lightest saddle I wanted comfort. I biked
5600 miles last year which included rides of 100 miles and a couple of 70 mile rides. I never had any discomfort
from this saddle at all. I have a different saddle on my indoor trainer bike. It is an Anatomic Relief saddle also.
After about a half an hour on that thing I get numbness and discomfort. I was on the Planet Bike saddle for 5 and a half
hours during my Century ride and didnt have anywhere near the discomfort I get from the other saddle. I wont
hesitate to have this saddle on every bike I use from now on.

The shape of the seat isn't bad; it avoids pressure in all the sensitive areas. However, the pleather covering is grippy and has more friction than my old seat, and causes more obstruction around the legs because it's wide. This seat is more suitable for cruiser bikes and less suitable for racing type bikes.

Have had this item for over a year and it is wonderful. Very comfortable. Can't say enough about this seat.

Great seat for a decent price. Put a few hundred miles on this seat and no problems or soreness. Did the NYC Century with this seat and did not feel uncomfortable for one sec. I had the prior model to this one without the gel and the post bar on the left side started to bend well after the 30 days so I could not return it. So if your trying to decide between that model and this one, spend the extra $20 and get this one.