I have 3 inventions that change the way
you ride on the bike providing greater functionality efficiency and safety. See
them at https://youtu.be/6iF08rGNJds And
also https://youtu.be/xF4mmBL4SSg
This article is written by the inventor Russell Bathard.
© Copyright,Russell Bathard.2/05/2017.
© Copyright,Russell Bathard.2/05/2017.
This article is the start of the process
to convince the world of the worth of my inventions and compares the saddle with my better alternative.
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Here are some logical reasons why the
saddle is all WRONG.
The basic problem of what is wrong with
the saddle is the simple and obvious fact that the cycling action
involves movement yet by using
the saddle we are trying to ride on something that does not move.
The design of the saddle is wrong.
The saddle is basically a fixed
structure (with a bit of padding).
Generally for a more comfortable saddle
you need a larger saddle contact area and more padding or springs. An abundance
of saddles exist. While this is not a
bad thing, it surely indicates something is wrong. The problem is, for
comfort you need a large wide saddle, yet for efficiency of riding, and free
leg movement a slender saddle is desired.
The problem is: comfort and function
are generally mutually exclusive.
The saddle is a convex shape and
so you must sit on top of it. The
nose has the purpose of providing a point of narrow support forward of
the sit bones which are supported on the wings of the saddle. This is
necessary, for without the nose, you would slip off the wings of the saddle.
The nose does not hold the rider centrally on the bike because to avoid
abrasion the thighs must move freely on each side of the nose. It is the
transition area of the saddle between the nose and wings that provides
centralising as the pelvic femur joint is forced back into the saddle. Soft
padding and flexible wings assist comfort but most foam compresses in time
and construction of the narrow nose poses a problem. Anatomical noses attempt
to provide a healthier support for the perineum but this decreases the surface
area even more. A rider can move on the padding and experience chaffing
and saddle sores. The use of gel covering on the saddle, springs
and padded shorts is an attempt to fix this fixed saddle and make
it comfortable. It also indicates the saddle does not work.
The nose of the saddle is a necessary
evil for this design. It causes pain to some riders either at the
perineum or by bruising to the moving area of the pelvic femur joint where the
nose broadens to form the wings. Most non riders cite pain as a reason why they
do not ride.
If you were going to sit on a rail for
comfort, you would sit with it across the buttocks rather than between the
legs, yet the saddle from its origins in the days of horse transport,
acts between the legs, placing pressure on the perineum region with undesirable
genital health outcomes.
So we must adjust our riding to
compensate, lifting off the saddle at times and changing position.
We also ride with an arched lower back
in an effort to avoid pain to the perineum by placing more of the sit bones on
the wings of the saddle. This constricts and limits breathing and
affects the posture of serious bike riders who can be identified by
their hunch back appearance.
The saddle dictates how we must ride
the bike and how we look!
Ride behind someone and observe,
you will see everything that I say below is true!
A
saddle restricts the cycling movement and introduces a wobble
into the path of the bike as the movement of the hip joint and upper femur move
the body against the saddle primarily at the front of the wings. Watch
anybody ride a bike and you will see with each down stroke of the pedals the bike
sways from side to side and the steering swings side to side to
compensate and balance, since the bike is designed to do this.
Many people ride this way applying continual
effort to power down on the pedals, then correct with the steering.
Ride with more power up a sandy hill and
you will soon experience these movements and identify this wobble in your
tracks. You slip backwards on the saddle, which is yet another
problem with the saddle. The combination of more power to get up the hill, and
increased interference with the saddle due to slippage, accentuates this
effect.
Even slender saddles ridden with
power still introduce this wobble. Simply because as you cycle, the action
of cycling, creates sideways forces against the saddle. To show this I have made a conventional saddle
that is able to slide laterally across the bike. With each down stroke it is evident the
saddle is pushed to the side! Take a look at the overlapping wobble in
your tracks after riding over a section of wet pavement. This is due to a steering
correction as a result of compensating for this sideways "riding force"
against the saddle.
Riding on the saddle with power, or,
riding off the saddle, introduces wobble and instability. This is
probably why racing cyclists have huge multiple falls at the power
stages of a race i.e. the beginnings and ends of races. The inadequacy of the
saddle contributes to these falls. The saddle largely contributes to preventing
you riding in a straight line. (The other factor related to the wobble is
the dominant power of the down stroke forcing the bike to lean sideways. I
believe this to be minimal because of the minimal resistance of the crank
bearings.)
Switching to the down bars provides less
wind resistance and hence greater speed efficiency yet it is not possible to
ride in this position for long due to a lack of comfort and health problems
it causes. This test explains why. Stand up. Place your hands over your
buttocks on your sit bones(ischial tuberosities). Now bend over simulating a
racing position. You will notice the sit bones rise approximately 3
cm. This means when riding in this position the saddle cannot support
the sit bones on the wings of the saddle, they rise above the saddle and if
you observe carefully you will see the upper buttocks covering the sit bones(
the upper gluteus maximus) twisting and turning across the back of the saddle
as you ride. This places nearly all the pressure on the perineum. Add
just a little twisting for the leg motion, and perhaps some bounce for a bit
more power, to the mix, and the pain to this area will be excessive.
There are 3 points of contact and
support on the bike, the handlebars, saddle and pedals.
As more power or torque is applied there
is a shift of body weight off the saddle onto the pedals, causing cyclists
to lift, bounce and move on the saddle.
(Bouncing occurs due to the down stroke
of the pedal cycle becoming more dominant when power is applied. No pedal cycle
will be completely even in its application and I suspect some bounce is
occurring minutely all the time with hopefully the padding of the saddle
absorbing this continual impact).
The saddle becomes a useless
obstruction when power is needed and riders
must leave the saddle completely and ride standing on the pedals, using less
control, which is sacrificed for more speed.
The extreme case of power and movement
is the BMX rider. Does he use the saddle?
Heck no!
Any lifting on the saddle means there is
a lack of support for the rider. With even moderate pressure on the pedals, you
will be lifting off and sitting less on the saddle. As well as
moving the pedals around the rider is supporting himself in an awkward
posture. This uses energy and creates fatigue.
The saddle does not provide full
support for even minor increases in power.
Riding with spin on the upper bars and
using the gears avoids these problems, and it is important not to move and
bounce on the saddle to avoid introducing movement into the bike. In other
words the saddle again restricts and dictates how you ride the bike.
The nose of the saddle restricts the
height to which it can be used. If a saddle is too high you will notice the
rider rolling back and forth across the saddle in an effort to extend the leg
to reach the pedals. It is noted that racing cyclists generally have the saddle
at the maximum height that is able to avoid this roll. This is generally higher
than for recreational and touring cyclists. This begs the question, would
performance be improved if a higher riding position was possible?
I believe there is a higher
optimum position that cannot be obtained on the saddle because of the
restriction of the nose. This higher optimum position will be similar to
the height the rider occupies when riding off the saddle to provide more power.
In this position the hip is obviously further away from the pedals so the drive
position has changed, analogous to shifting a car into 5th gear. Strong legs
and use of the body weight, facilitate this power production.
So when are saddles useful?
I suggest only when
full use is made of the gears and the bike is ridden with spin, on the upper
bars, and on the flat. It is basically an efficient and reasonably
comfortable way to ride, like this, with the sit bones resting on the wings on
the saddle and with minimal pressure on the perineum.
For maximum speed and power, or
riding hills, where spin is not used, the saddle is either useless or less than
adequate.
Is speed maximised when riding with spin?
The answer must be NO since riders still leave the saddle when more power and
speed are needed.
Riding off the saddle is inefficient.
This is why the bike is not ridden off the saddle, all the time. To win the
race you ride inefficiently (for a short time) and with great effort to gain speed.
The saddle cannot help you ride in this position.
So I ask the question, why are we still
riding on a 200 year old saddle?
It
is the norm. Everybody does it. We all copy each other. We do not think. Our
cycling hero's use it. Racing regulators enforce it. It looks good. There is no
alternative!
Enter a new age with POWER RIDER!!!!!!!
Take a look at Power Rider, it is no
hoax. I have been testing and developing this for the last 16 years. It is not
your ordinary alternative seat. (These are generally comfortable to sit on,
but restrict movement making it a disaster to steer and to ride, and without
the support of the nose you slip off them.)
Power Rider is not a saddle or seat but a moving support.
It solves all of the problems associated
with the saddle.
It is highly functional and far
superior to the saddle, which in time it will replace.
I have no patent for this invention I am
giving it away for the good of cycling.
It is FREE for anybody to use.
You can view it now on the links above then
return to this article where I will outline some of its major points and
advantages. Following the video of Power Rider is a video about my other
invention, Steady Steer, which improves the handling and safety of any bike,
and answers the question do we really need headsets that can turn a full 360?
Some advantages of Power Rider that make
it superior to the saddle are:
It is noseless, so there is no
pressure on the perineum and no genital health problems.
It is comfortable for any person,
due to the design and large surface area, but it fits flush under the
rider. The pelvic femur joint never bottoms out because it is suspended
over the hollow of the seat part, by the sit bones resting on the rear of the
seat. This prevents bruising and discomfort to this area.
The movements of Power Rider create a constant
change in support areas by each seat part and from one seat part to the
other, which aids comfort.
The free movement of Power Rider
means rider movements serve to move the seat rather than transmit
movement to the bike, and the bike travels a straighter path with
little steerage wobble.
The faster and harder you ride Power
Rider the better it works. All movements merge into a cyclic rhythm.
You can ride at full power and the
bike travels almost straight!
The ability of each seat part of the
Power Rider to move independently of the other, for inclination movements, but
in a sense driven by the other, through the ball joint, allows for movements
that correspond to the pedal movements.
The hip joint is free to move and rotate
and you can use more of your bodyweight and core strength.
The leg can be fully extended with each
stroke if desired aiding continual muscle recovery.
Ride however you like, even with bounce if you wish.
When Power Rider is ridden with more
power it rises beneath the rider, providing continual support, as
bodyweight is transferred from the seat to the pedals.
This prevents the fatigue of a
rider supporting his own weight.
As Power Rider rises (and by adjusting
the position of the seat stem in the frame) you can find a point where riding
is easy and you can apply a constant torque to balance on the suspension
spring at a constant height. This is the optimum position for the rider.
This is a higher and possibly more forward position than than can be obtained
on the saddle and similar to the off the saddle, power position.
You can ride supported comfortably in
the optimum position all the time!
A huge advantage!
There is no need to leave Power rider to
stand and ride on the pedals for more power because you are already in
the optimum position riding with more control.
If the rider switches to the down bars
for less wind resistance the seat parts simply incline more to
support the rising sit bones, so the rider can ride supported comfortably in this
position all the time!
Another huge advantage!
The seat stem and an enclosed spring and
rubber suspension are an essential part of the design and it is different to
the usual suspension post in that a lighter softer and more responsive
spring can be used, since in the optimum position, most of the
bodyweight is on the pedals.
Corrugations and rough roads are not
a problem.
The softness in seat stem suspension
allows the seat parts to be solid, with no padding, giving the rider real
feel and control of the bike. It also allows for the use of ventilation
holes which serve to massage the buttocks.
The seat parts are concave so you
sit in them and so are held in
a central position.
The seat parts can be minimised for the
Racing Power Rider since the necessity to fully sit is not needed when using
Power Rider to ride fast on the down bars. The smaller and lighter Racing Power
Rider is designed to be ridden in this position all the time but sacrifices a
little
support.
The design of the seat parts allows the
hump of the seat part to sit in the crease between the lower buttocks and upper
hamstring. This allows the rider to be supported on the bike in a
similar fashion to the saddle since the support from the hump is in line
with the support that would have been given by the nose of the saddle.
This, and the precise balance over the axle,
mean there is no slippage off the Power Rider.
The inclined position of the seat parts
when riding on the up or down bars allows the rider to lean back into
the Power Rider with a straight back and breathe deeply. This
benefits overall posture.
It is impossible to move backwards
on Power Rider due to its higher working position.
When hill climbing, Power Rider automatically
rises beneath you due to the action of
the spring. You come forwards as the seat parts tilt, and lean against
the seat with the sit bones now resting in the hollow.
Power Rider must be ridden with light
hands, which means the upper body is more relaxed, which is fatigue
saving. Balance on the bike is accomplished mainly by the rider's forceful
contact on the pedals.
This is different than riding on the
saddle, where the saddle, steering and pedal pressure contribute
to balance. It is important not to over steer as you would with a saddle.
You can adapt and learn to ride in this
way and Steady Steer can
assist this. It is no more difficult than the adaption required for riding with
full front panniers.
It's as simple as riding a bike!
If you park your bike in the rain, you
can turn the seat parts upside down!
I am looking for a manufacturer and help
with maximising IT contact for my inventions.
Can you help?
Contact
russell.bathard@gmail.com
