Customer Reviews

Planet Bike Men's Comfort Classic Bicycle Saddle

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

 

 

I bought this saddle to replace the stock unit on my college commuter bike. It's a mid-quality mountain bike that I've outfitted for better commuter service and the stock saddle was becoming uncomfortable. When I first switched to this Planet Bike unit, it felt a bit weird, but after a couple days I had adjusted to it. Now after several months it feels natural, to the point you don't really notice you're sitting on it.

It's covered with sturdy vinyl and has a tougher textured vinyl on the sides. The covering is well-attached, and wraps around to the bottom where it covers the bottom of the saddle. I don't think it will come apart at the bottom like cheaper units that only have the covering stapled on. The logo on the sides is starting to wear off, as it seems to be just printed on. This really doesn't bother me; it's Planet Bike's loss of advertising!

My final advice is that it might take a little time to adjust to this saddle, especially if you used to ride on a cheap stock unit or one of those awful gel-filled monstrosities. It is shaped well for normal riding and seems to have the right amount of padding: not too soft but not too stiff.

I've always been pleased with Planet Bike products that I've purchased, and this is one more that fits this pattern.

Nice Classic Bicycle Saddle - Good Comfort, Easy to install w/small adjustable wrench, & delivered via UPS Ground seven calendar days from order date. Good value for the price.

This seat replaced another padded seat that was covered in fabric which ripped and got soaked when it rained. This seat has a vinyl covering that seems pretty durable. The level of padding is good and the shape is good. So far, I'm very happy with this seat.

I bought one of these to replace what is becoming more and more an irreplaceable WTB Comfort V Comp saddle that I have worn all the way through the surface of.

And the reason it is so worn is that every time I try something else to replace it, off that one goes and back on goes the WTB.

It this case, the Planet Bike was very nicely made and covered with fairly thick vinyl all over and would seem durable.

So the seat itself is ok, but it is almost exactly the same size as a standard mountain bike seat, which is quite a bit narrower than my old WTB.

This in itself is not necessarily a demerit, as I also have a WTB Speed V, and although that seat is quite hard and narrow, the way I have it set on my mounain bike allows only my sit bones to contact it, and I can travel like this for several hours off road before the pain sets in.

But I need a seat for my much larger hybrid bike, and on that I am somewhat more tilted forward, and that's where the problem lies; this P.B. seat is very softly padded, and as soon as I sit on it I sink way down, and this seems comfortable at first, but after only a few miles I am starting to squirm around trying to find a stable position and the narrowness leaves me little wiggle room.

Also, the so-called anatomical cut out is very shallow and goes away immediately after you sit on it, and this is a big factor in long range comfort, because I never wear any special clothing when I ride - with me, it's always just jump on and go, and with regular jeans on, not having that strategically positioned relief area makes all the difference, and things can quickly become a pain in the butt and elsewhere, if you know what I mean. . .

But there are seats out there that allow this kind of cavalier go-anytime attitude, and I have had several, but the problem now is that, when you buy something like this and use it regularly, by the time it wears out a few years later there's a good chance that it will be all sold out when you go looking for another, or the design will have changed in signifigant ways so as to make the current version something altogether different.

So I tried the P.B. seat a couple of times, switching back and forth between it and the good WTB, and I finally had to give up and put it aside.

Getting the right seat is the most difficult part of fitting a bike, and I have gone through three different ones now and have always replaced the original.

And even though WTB still makes this particular model, it is nothing at all like my first version except in overall dimensions; I have one and the foam is much harder and does not allow me to settle into the seat and just stay there like my good one does.

However, I was able to use the new one on my 'grocery-getter' comfort bike, which I sit almost completely upright on, and it works fine there.

The seat is marketed as waterproof -- it is not. when the bike is left in the rain, the water penetrates through the material and is absorbed by the underlying cushion which acts like a sponge. The next several days as you ride, the water is then released through the seams wetting your pants/shorts. I never had this problem with the stock seat that came on my bike, any seat for that matter. On rides lasting more that 30 minutes my nether-regions become numb. This is the worst seat I've ever used.