Like many riders, after hours on a stock saddle, riding becomes uncomfortable and is a pain in the butt. I had read about gel pads, custom seats, sheepskin, and wooden beads, which all claim help alleviate the pain.
I had seen drivers with wooden beaded seats and couldn’t quite wrap my head around sitting on something hard to make a ride soft. I wasn’t about to spend about $50 on wooden beads just to find out that I hated them within five minutes. The Iron Butt people recommend beads, and as they have much more experience and many more kilometres under their wheels than I, then I should seriously consider beads.
The low cost version is the one that drivers use. Off I went to the local Canadian Tire and for $12, not including tax, I had a well made, but rather large, wooden beaded seat. My first inclination was the cut the nylon just larger than the shape of the seat and tie off all ends. I soon realized that this would be impossible after looking at how intricately the three strands of nylon hold the on the beads in place.
While I was thinking about how to proceed (return the item or get out a knife), I simply laid the beaded seat across my by seat. As you can see from the picture, it was a perfect fit.
I removed the saddle and looped string around the frame, replaced the saddle and then tied the beaded seat to the saddle. Along the back and on the pillion seat I tied the beaded seat to various anchor points, including the saddlebag supports.
With the beaded seat firmly attached I went for a quick trial run and was surprised with how comfortable it is. I’ve had it on my bike for just over a week and have ridden about 800 kilometres. Although a wooden beaded doesn’t look or sound comfortable, it certainly is. It keeps the blood circulating and massages achy muscles as I ride.
I have since replaced the heavy string I used to tie the beaded seat to the bike. It's now tied off with 70 lb test picture frame wire. I've put a bit of electrical tape and black foam under the wire where it touches the saddle so there won't be any wear and tear.
As a bonus, it also stops rainwater from pooling under me. In my recent ride to Halliburton I returned to the city in a soaking downpour. I usually wind up sitting in a puddle when it rains heavily, but not when I’m sitting above the water on a beaded seat.
