More comfortable than a standard seat

[Lee337]

Having now had the opportunity to test my latest bit of bike kit, a sheepskin seat pad, I feel it's time to report back on how I find it to live with. First, let me give you a bit of background. When I bought my Triumph Tiger 955i, my first ride was over 160 miles from the purchaser to my home in South Lincs. This was in torrential rain, following my better half in her Qashqai, mostly on A roads & motorways. With two stops for coffee, it wasn't a bad journey.

However, since then (and not because of) I've been suffering a trapped nerve in my lower back. This has made riding a little uncomfortable after 30 – 40 minutes and certainly spoils my riding pleasure.

I read about other adventure bike riders using sheepskin seat pads which increased their comfort and almost doubling their time in the saddle. I'd also heard of horse riders using them for much the same reason, so decided to purchase one. This one came with fitting instructions which showed how simple it was to fit to the bike. It took me about 5 minutes in all, including reading the instructions & removing the seat from the bike.

Up until now, I haven't ridden more than 20 miles, commuting to work a couple of times so was reluctant to put fingers to keyboard to report back. However, over the last two weekends, that changed.

Firstly was a ride, again in torrential rain. It wasn't far & only lasted around 50 minutes, but the difference when compared to the standard seat was chalk & cheese, and I definitely like cheese. It didn't matter that it got wet, I didn't notice until I got home. What I did notice was no discomfort when riding and my backside remained toasty warm, more so than my hands, even wearing winter gloves. When I got home, I took the sheepskin off & gave it a good shake which got most of the water off. Admittedly, I also took it inside & hung it up to dry, but I also did the same to my textile jacket & trousers. There was no wet dog (or sheep) smell even though it was the first time it got wet since buying it. So far, plus marks all round.

The second ride was a round 160 mile trip out, again mostly on A roads & motorways, but with various roadworks, time in the saddle was around 1 hour 45 minutes. This time it was dry, although when I set off, the temperature was just over 5oC. Thing is, I didn't really notice the cold, at least not in my body. Again wearing winter gloves, my hands were a little cold (must get the heated grips fixed) but I believe the seat pad kept my core warm. After the first 30 miles or so, once I'd adjusted to riding the bike with no stop, start traffic as is usual on my commute, I still felt comfortable & could have happily carried on further when we reached our destination.

On the way home, it was a little warmer & riding with the Sun on our backs, I'm glad I took the inner liner out of my jacket, I didn't need it. Despite what you'd think, my nice warm sheepskin seat pad was nice and cool on the way home. Actually, it probably wasn't cool, it's more likely that it kept my core temperature more stable because of the thermal properties of the natural sheepskin, but that doesn't sound quite as cool as... er cool. Again, I could have ridden further but something that the sheepskin pad can't do is feed me & tea was calling.

Another plus for my sheepskin seat pad.

So that's three pluses and no minuses so far.

What do you mean, that's only two?

Didn't I mention how much it cost? Oh, OK. How about the grand total of £32.00. Try getting a gel seat or heat pad for that kind of dosh & I think you'll be looking for a long time.

This is, of course only my opinion, which may differ from yours & while it makes the standard seat more comfortable for me, I suspect there are others who, having tried a sheepskin to sit on, didn't get on with it.

You pays yer money, you takes yer choice.

[HockleyBoy]

Good stuff, its nice when you find a solution that works and it dosent cost a fortune!

I have used a beadrider on my Tigers for nearly 200k miles including days with up to 900 miles in the saddle. I am sure it wouldn't be everyones cup of tea but it has worked for me and cost less than a tenner as I cut down a really cheap car one and wired it together with fishing trace wire.

I might try the sheepskin option on my new Tiger as the standard saddle is a little hard and the beadrider dose look a bit sh*t.

[JayDub]

I first tried one about 25yrs ago and was instantly sold, and strangely, even in hot weather its not uncomfortable and sweaty, as you would imagine it to be

[Chris Canning]

Got caught out some years ago when the net was agog with factory seats with gel in them,bought a pair of eBay and off we went down to Valencia the first 100 miles was great and after that had all the delights of a council park bench what we didn't realise the worse was to come..... left the bike in sun and came to get on the it the pair of us must have ridden 3 miles with both of use stood up on the pegs rather than get our backside cooked we still laugh about it now.

Came home original seats back on the torture chamber gel back on eBay hey hoo....

Having done a 1000 mile day(Barcelona/Birmingham)with the stock seats their's a lot worse out there.

Always found the trick for long distance is sitting at the back of the seat problem being as one gets tired end up do the opposite.

[Bigfeesh]

Bought a brown sheepskin jacket off fleabay, £6, took my big scissors to it & now have a fine full seat length sheepskin cover, I push it underneath the seat then lock it down, works well.

[Timbox2]

Ive got a field of sheep just up the back of me house, Ive tried sitting on a few to test this out but I keep falling off the F...ers

[Bigfeesh]

Try wellies, a larger size than normal helps according to our Druid loving pals!