Modern Buddy

It is just me or does anyone else find the Buddy seat uncomfortable after 20 minutes?

It's comfortable to me. But then again, I'm used to bicycle seats -- the Buddy feels cushy by comparison.

Not to mention that after 20 minutes, at least one of my hands has usually gone numb (even with gloves on). So trying to get the feeling back in them may be distracting me from my butt.

cowgirl helmet wrote:It's comfortable to me. But then again, I'm used to bicycle seats -- the Buddy feels cushy by comparison.

I'm used to bicycle seats too because I teach cycling classes at the gym. But my butt does not bother me nearly as much as when I ride my Buddy.

I never had my hands go numb. My brain yes but never my hands.

Cowgirl, do you have a death grip on those grips?

are you sitting too close to the front of the seat? i've noticed that when i do that, it feels uncomfortable. now i sit about 2 or 3 inches back and it feels much better.

I've adjusted back and forth and can't get comfortable.

Cowgirl, loosen up your grip! Keep a gentle but firm grip on the bars, kind of like you would a kid's hand. Too tight and you'll hurt the kid, too loose and it'll slip out. The bars won't run away on you if you relax the grip just a bit!

I find the seat quite comfortable but I have yet to go on any extended rides (more than 15-30 minutes).

My seat tends to take a few tries to lock back into position after I've opened it--which I find rather annoying at times. Anyone else have this problem?

Pugbuddy,

I was having the same problem until Mr. cthoops told me to push down on the seat at the point where it latches, rather than on the very edge. It's worked like a charm ever since.

Thanks for the points about the death grip. I'm planning to get a Throttle Rocker to help ease the problem.

I've not had a problem with the seat, though lots of folks here have taken far longer rides than me. I ride 25 minutes one way daily and 45 minutes or so pretty frequently, with a handful more than that and never a problem with the seat.

After the midwest had the tornado r'ally we were on the scoots for several hours a day (tho sometimes in more broke up increments) I ended up with sore hands and arms more than a sore anything else. But i was also at times distracted by the helmet making my ear hurt.

I typically shift durring my rides when it becomes uncomfortable. But hey, my cpu chair is uncomfortable after about 20 minutes too. Remember how uncomfortable that chair in school was? Man I couldn't wait for the bell to ring.

My point is that I think it's natural. I'm not thinking IKEA makes some fully funcitional--yet comfy--scooter seat.

Okeh, you're the fourth woman who I've talked to about hand numbness while riding. It's not our grip that's the problem, it's the size of the scooters' grips in relation to a woman's smaller hands! That, along with the vibrations and the angle of our wrist, is what's causing the numbness. A Throttle Rocker could help, but I found that changing the angle of my wrist for a bit while riding will stop that feeling of pins-n-needles. My hand's grip never loosens (I think it's a VERY BAD idea to loosen your grip!), just the slope of my wrist changes.

Not having a seat issue here. As a matter of fact, I hate it when I have to stop at a light and put my feet down, because it forces me to shift from a comfortable position that I kind of squiggle around to achieve again after it changes to green.

-jetboy

polianarchy wrote: My hand's grip never loosens (I think it's a VERY BAD idea to loosen your grip!), just the slope of my wrist changes.

Seriously......sometimes my hand is barely grabbing the grips. Maybe it's easier to do with bigger hands. You should ride one time with no gloves. See if your knuckles are white. If there is less color in your knuckles than the rest of your hand, you're holding on too tight.

Don't worry, if you get in trouble, you'll be able to squeeze tightly in a fraction of a second.

cowgirl helmet wrote:Thanks for the points about the death grip. I'm planning to get a Throttle Rocker to help ease the problem.

I have to agree with KidDynomite, you don't need to grip that hard anyway. I paid attention this morning on my ride to work and the only time I have a tight grip is when I am WOT @ 60+ mph.

Unless you're riding WOT all the time, I would think you just need to loosen up a little.

Well, I'll try the no-gloves idea and see if I'm white-knuckling it. I also think Polianarchy may have a point. Guess we'll find out.

cowgirl helmet wrote:Well, I'll try the no-gloves idea and see if I'm white-knuckling it.

Try keeping your wrists as flat (neutral position) as possible. Do you do a lot of typing in your job? I'm no doctor, but there could be another underlying issue.

Or, it you could be getting out all that stress of being in the nation's capitol and you are squeezing the death out of your grips.

Yes, I do do a lot of typing in my job. Since I work in DC, my first reaction to that question is "Doesn't everybody?"

But it could definitely be stress. Not just the stress of life in DC (though that's definitely present), but also the stress of being a new -- and still rather nervous -- rider.

cowgirl helmet wrote:It's comfortable to me. But then again, I'm used to bicycle seats -- the Buddy feels cushy by comparison.

Not to mention that after 20 minutes, at least one of my hands has usually gone numb (even with gloves on). So trying to get the feeling back in them may be distracting me from my butt.

Cowgirl,
maybe some "gel" padded bicycle gloves would help, they do help with hand fatigue on my road bike......

Just a thought ......

Eddy.

Take a nice long vacation somewhere warm and has sand.

Wait, I live there !

Seriously, I deal with a bunch of demanding healthcare workers. I won't trash any one particular group here.

That's why I got my Buddy. To get away from the rat race. I'm going to plan a beach ride in the next couple of weeks. It will be 20+ miles one way. I may decide to drive along the coast from Mission Beach (San Diego), through La Jolla, and stop somewhere in Del Mar. After that I'm going to map out a mountain ride.

As a musician, I need to have blood flowing to my wrists, hands and fingers.
In the AM (Since PM is HOT as hell lately!) as I'm gearing up and letting the bike warm up on it's center stand. I do a variety of hand, wrist and finger stretches that's I've picked up from a variety of sources. Yoga, martial arts and other musicians.

I find they help.

I got verbally zinged by my MSF instructor for elbows flying to wide and shoulders hunched upward. It FELT comfortable to me but I realized that was affecting my wrist position and causing tense shoulders, arms, wrists and overtightening my grip. Amazing what happens when you actually relax (Just RELAX DERRICK and listen to the soothing sounds of this 80's hit...)

As to the seat, there's options of shaving it down. I believe most dealerships can help with that. I've heard of Memory Foam and Gel Pad options being installed under the seat leather. There are things one can do if need be.

I agree with the position of your wrists/shoulders/elbows being the most likely culprit, maybe in combination with too tight a grip. Mine rarely go numb, but I make a concerted effort to adjust my grip so that my wrists are straight. Same thing with using the mouse at work... too many awkward angles and too much stretching to reach and things start to go numb. And usually once things go numb, I can find trigger points of tightness from wrist to neck where nerves are being pinched.

My seat has no problem but like some of the others it’s my hands and wrists that get it.
I’ve tried every which way and still they go numb.
I whish I could bend the handle bar, at the ends, down 10 degrees, or would larger grips help?

my arms go numb doing lots of things, back disk issues i've been told. that's why i was worried about the 8 hour ride to the sues camping rally. but i felt great there and back no problems.

i decided the numbness came from leaning on the handlebars so i stopped and the numbness stopped too.

no problems with the seat either. i squirm a lot and scooters allow for multiple positions.

lots o fun

I've also had problems with the seat getting uncomfortable on longer rides, usually after about 40 minutes. I think it's a combination of factors: riding position, inseam, etc. Shifting helps but I can only shift so much because of the Bud's short floorboard and seat.

They do make some pads—I think they're called butt buffers or something like that. You can also pull the vinyl seat and shave the foam into a better shape or have gel inserted there. An upholstery shop can probably do this for you.

I tried out the advice about wrist position today, and found that I got much less numbness in my hands. Now my question is how people hold their throttles. I tried grasping it lightly with my right thumb, fingers extended, but wasn't convinced I had a good enough grip; I felt more confident making a fist, AKA the Death Grip. Any thoughts?

ericalm wrote:They do make some pads—I think they're called butt buffers or something like that.

I'm not endorsing the Butt Buffer, but here is their web site. No matter what I end up buying next, I plan to try a Butt Buffer. I tried a different pad on my Blur, but it was too thick and I hated the way it attached to the seat. It was too thick and inflexible and oddly shaped so it ended up looking sort of like a toupee that doesn't fit.

pcbikedude wrote:It is just me or does anyone else find the Buddy seat uncomfortable after 20 minutes?

I don't. Feels fine. But I did find the seat on my Reflex uncomfortable, so I added an Air Vent seat. Around $40 and problem was solved...

http://airventusa.com/styles2004.htm