Bicycles

Butt-friendly bike seat moves with your legs

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The vabsRider is claimed to be "the world's first virtual axis bicycle seat"
ataraxyBSC
The vabsRider is claimed to be "the world's first virtual axis bicycle seat"
ataraxyBSC
A top-down view of the vabsRider
ataraxyBSC
The vabsRider is designed for use on bikes of various styles and sizes
ataraxyBSC
Bby independently moving up and down along with the legs, the two sides of the saddle reportedly transfer pressure from the sit bones to the femurs, distributing the load more evenly
ataraxyBSC
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If you don't want a part of your body to get sore, then that part shouldn't be pushing against something that doesn't move along with it. That's the thinking behind the vabsRider bicycle saddle, the two sides of which pivot in time with your pedaling.

Australian engineer Robin Macan first came up with his idea for a more compliant bicycle seat back in 2016.

He proceeded to team up with industrial designer Philippe Guichard to develop the concept further, and then joined forces with the Melbourne-based Whistle Design Group to produce a marketable product. It is now being commercialized via Macan's startup, ataraxyBSC.

The vabsRider is designed for use on bikes of various styles and sizes
ataraxyBSC

"The innovative split seat design allows for individual movement of the legs, rotating around the hip joints on an axis that is virtual to the seat," the company states on its website. As a result, by independently moving up and down along with the legs, the two sides of the saddle reportedly transfer pressure from the sit bones to the femurs, distributing the load more evenly (and less painfully).

Set screws in the vabsRider's system-specific seatpost allow for combined fore/aft and height adjustments, along with adjustments to the saddle's angle and width.

A top-down view of the vabsRider
ataraxyBSC

If you're interested in getting a setup for yourself – once they reach production – you can express your interest by emailing the company. Guichard tells us that pricing and availability have yet to be determined.

You can see the vabsRider in action, in the video below.

Potential buyers might also want to check out the somewhat similar Airo Bike Seat. While that saddle has an unmoving middle section, "Wing-Springs" on either side of it pivot up and down as the rider shifts their sit-bone pressure from side to side while pedaling.

Source: ataraxyBSC

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7 comments
usugo
there was a similar saddle commercialized still 20, or even 30, years ago.
Evidence is, it didn't catch on
Trylon
The Manta seat does the same thing. Expands the contact area to the femurs, reducing concentrated pressure on the ischium. I tried it once and it seemed to work. They have glowing testimonials on their site (mantasaddle.co.uk) from casual cyclists on extended tours all the way up to Dominic Luther, a long distance cyclist who spends his time riding all over the world. He had clocked over 100,000 km (60,000 miles) at last count. New Atlas covered it 14 years ago and they're still in business.

https://newatlas.com/manta-bicycle-saddle/15251/
solas
For those with sit bone injuries or who aren't really in shape (muscle is your protection), I suppose this makes sense, but : I simply don't see how this translates to more comfortable rides over longer intervals: one already needs to know how to get OUT of the saddle and shift weight at this point, and this saddle is trying to hug your femurs that are flexing in shape constantly as your ride -- a new chafing issue.
michael_dowling
I HATE riding a bike,partly for this reason. Another is that biking in most cities is dangerous,as dedicated bike paths are not common in most North American cities. In my city,a cyclist was killed a few days ago in a hit and run collision. My city has no dedicated biking paths for travel across town,just isolated paths near city parks.
clay
There's more than one way to skin a cat. This is yet another great design that can be added to the Options List for making bike riding comfortable.

I quit riding because of damage to that nerve (I can't pronounce it, but its the one these seats protect)... I hope another 20 companies make seats addressing this problem.. simply to get the prices down to where *normal people* can afford to buy them. :-)
Marco McClean
Put an electrical generator and wireless chargers in it, to charge a phone or other device in each back pocket, and run a shaft straight out the back to wave a danger flag back and forth. Or just put a reflector on the back of each bobbing half of the seat, to make the rider more visible to cars*. Or a little butter churn, or a mechanical crocheting machine. Or two bellows to whoosh air through a tube into your shorts to cool things there on a hot day.

*A few years ago I read about a study, where they found out that drivers passing a bicycle go by much closer to it if the rider has a helmet on. It's something to do with psychology. Of course the helmet is necessary, though, so wiggling reflectors or a big flag going left and right behind the bike would compensate for that problem. (Unless it would make it worse, where drivers might unconsciously go even closer, to try to touch the flag with their mirror nacelle or radio antenna.)
Kpar
usugo is correct. I bought one of those back then, but it wasn't all that comfortable. This design looks like a significant improvement, the seat lobes are longer, and spread the weight out better.