Recumbent Seat Cushion

[Stradageek]

High guys, help needed.

I have already waxed lyrical about my recent acquisition of on Oke-Ja which is a beautiful machine with just one emerging shortcoming. The seat cushion is a bit 'basic'.

Being a skinny individual it took me a while to find the ideal seating material for my Speedmachine and my Strada (Vensit seat cushions rule!) and to get the webbing tension correct on my Kett. The BikeE has a fairly thick and sculpted cushion which (while not as comfortable as the others) is also OK.

However, the small, fairly thin, fairly hard, vinyl covered Oke-Ja seat has meant that 'recumbent butt' is now a bit of an issue.

The seat is a Velcro sealed vinyl wrap, so I have experimented with different foam inserts. Using foam any softer than that supplied with the seat seems to allow the seat frame to press through, so no real mileage there.

A magical foam stiffness may exist (suggestions please ) but I feel that the small size and lack of thickness/sculpting may mean this is a fools errand.

Can anyone offer a magical solution and/or source of a suitable replacement cushion?

Many thanks

Stradadgeek

[Tigerbiten]

How big/thick do you need exactly ??

I'd be inclined to look at the smaller Ventisit pads.
The smallest is only 260mm x 200mm x 30mm.
Next size up is 360mm x 240mm and can be had either 30mm or 20mm thick.
Hopefully one of them would be stiff enough to hold you off the frame while still moulding to the shape of your backside.

Luck ............

[Tangled Metal]

I got a ventiseat pad from Netherlands. Its the polypro 3D mesh pad that's pretty stiff and rough, but it drains if it's wet through and isn't too hot in warmer conditions. In fact a breeze can blow through at times.

They do all sorts of sizes and even ones designed for certain recumbent models. Failing that they might make a custom if you contact them.

[Stradageek]

Thanks for this. I do have nice Vensit pads for my other recumbents but the Oke-ja is a bit of an oddity.

If I get time today I'll post some pictures. The seat pad has no underlying support other than a narrow metal plate, so relies heavily on the rigidity of the cushion.

My latest modification adds some sculpting, courtesy of an old gel saddle cover. As the problem is that the seat is both flat and hard, I thought I'd try attacking the 'flat' issue this time.

Test ride coming later today - wind permitting

[Stradageek]

Pictures below, you can see the bulge where I've inserted the gel saddle cover - still very cold and windy at the moment

[Tigerbiten]

I'd cut an aluminium/plywood triangle to fill the holes in the base and that will give you a flat surface to work on.
Then something like -> https://www.ventisit.nl/en/store/27x32- ... p286108275 on top of it may well work.

Luck ...........

[hercule]

I’ve had plain medium density upholstery foam on my Trice’s mesh seat for years. Saves me from recumbutt. I can’t ride without it!

[Psamathe]

I'd image they would be expensive and hastle but there is somebody in the US who custom makes seats for all sorts of recumbents. They sound well thought out (e.g. not just a stretched fabric but shaped round the seat, etc.). I've not used or considered just just recollecting as the person has a section in a recent LaidBack Bikes Video Blog:

(that bit starts at 1:07:10)

Ian

[Stradageek]

The latest suggestion to come separately is to buy and office chair orthopedic cushion - the BikeE seat cushion is much like one of these.

But, by way of an update, the current modification (a gel saddle cover inside the vinyl) seems to be working pretty well.

Just need a longer ride to be sure - not that I need an excuse