I have a Rans Dynamik Crank Forward bike. I like it a lot. However, the seat, although basically OK, is not really as comfortable as I would like, especially for distance riding. Ten miles and I’m alright, 20 and I’m not liking it.
The main problem with the seat for me is that it is too small for my butt, and for my weight. If I weighed less the butt psi would probably be fine. Now, the seat is not small, it is much bigger than a road-bike seat, but not as big as what I am use to, not as big as my comfortable Stratus XP seat.
Today, I tried something and it seems to make a really big difference.
First, here is a photo of the bike, as a reminder of what it looks like. Notice the seat angle. I currently lean against it as much as sit on it.
I have these two old seat pans that at one time or another were on my Stratus XP. They cracked here and there, over time, and I replaced them. On one I put 7,000 + miles in one year, so, don’t be too judgmental of their construction (one plastic, the other fiberglass). The cracks are mostly around the mounting holes. Besides still having these old pans I also have one extra pad that would fit either, and an extra seat cover.
I undressed the current Dynamik seat, stripping off the original thin sponge pad, the slightly thicker pad I added, and the cover. I then laid the Stratus XP pans on top of the bare Dynamik pan, one at a time. The fiberglass pan was a natural fit, like they were in the same stack for shipping, hand-in-glove kind of thing. They were siblings. Where one curved, the other curved. And, they were about the same length. The Stratus seat, however, was/is significantly wider, as is the pad. Brought a smile to my face. The plastic Stratus seat pan? Not so much.
I mentioned that the Stratus pans were cracked around the mounting holes. This would be a problem if trying to mount them in the intended fashion. Should not be a problem when attached to and nested in the lap of the Dynamik seat. And, fortuitously, there were overlapping holes in the pans so that I was able to just zip-tie them together. Will probably attach them more firmly if the test rides please me.
Take a look.
I just went out and took a measurement. The Stratus seat (with pad) is a little over 5 inches wider than the original Dynamik pan. I hope I have to rename this bike, “Happy Butt”.
