Best Mountain Bike Seat of 2018: Complete Reviews with Comparisons
Looking to increase the comfort of your ride as you speed through the countryside? Buying a quality mountain bike seat can drastically improve the quality of any off-road ride thanks to increased padding and superior suspension. Making this one small change to your bike’s setup can yield hugely positive results when it comes to the enjoyment of your trips.
With such a wide variety of mountain bike seats currently available, this article pulls together and reviews five of the best seats around. We’ll take a look at each seat’s highlights, the pros, and the cons. By the end of this article, you should have a clear understanding of what is currently available in the market as well as whether or not any of our top five mountain bike seats are right for you.
Comparison Chart
Best Mountain Bike Seats Reviews
1. Outerdo Mountain Bike Seat
The Outerdo Mountain Bike Seat made it into our top five list thanks to it is well thought out and functional design as well as its extremely affordable price. This is great for all levels of rider and also great for road cyclists.
Review
Some of the most notable features of the seat include:
- Ergonomics: The seat itself has been designed with a focus on heavy use; thus, taking into account that riders will want to stay cool and comfortable during their trips. Outerdo have made sure to include a cut-out for increased airflow as well as a narrow front end for ease of movement; both of these features add to the overall practicality of this seat’s intended use.
- Comfort: With the use of high-density foam padding and widen rear-end of the seat, riders can comfortably sit on this seat for prolonged periods of time before pains or cramps kick in.
- Construction: This seat is also made of sweat- and tear-resistant leather for increased durability. Users will also notice the perforated holes for even greater airflow, helping to keep the rider cooler during more intense rides.
- Customer service: Knowing how important it is that customers can trust their products, Outerdo offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee on this bike seat, so if buyers were to have any difficulty, they could contact Outerdo that would arrange a full refund.
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2. Zhiqiu Mountain Bike Seat
The Zhiqiu Mountain Bike Seat delivers a professional style bike seat at a seriously low price. This seat is great for those who are looking to add some extra functionality to their mountain bike but are either budget conscious or new to bike customization.
Review
This bike seat has the following features:
- Shell: This bike seat uses a conventional fitness or racing style shell with its long and narrow shape. This helps to create greater freedom of movement for the rider as well as naturally encouraging a forward-leaning posture.
- Rails: This bike seat uses a universally accepted steel rail system, making it not only durable but also usable on a wide variety of bikes. Its measure of adjustment is up to 4cm, allowing riders to find a position that provides the greatest deal of comfort while riding.
- Design: Using a rear groove and central cut-out, riders will appreciate the healthy level of airflow that they’ll receive while riding with this bike seat. This also helps to keep the seat lighter.
- Padding: As opposed to most conventional and entry-level bike seats, instead of using a plastic polymer filler, the Zhiqiu uses an artificial fatty gel that can reduce pressure towards the prostate by as much as 40%. This helps riders stay cycling for longer periods of time without unwanted discomfort.
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3. WTB Speed Come Saddle
The WTB Speed Come Saddle uses a marginally larger mountain bike shell for increased comfort, which leaves riders in a slightly more upright position, making it a little more comfortable.
Review
The WTB Speed Come Saddle has great features including:
- Size: Measuring in at 10.4″ x 5.7″, this seat has a little extra space for riders, meaning they can sit a little easier during their rides. This also provides room for more padding.
- Design: The ergonomic design of this seat provides a level and more padded rear end, cushioning the rider more than narrower or angular seats. Riders will also benefit from the large central groove that promotes airflow, helping to keep them cool.
- Construction: With the frame being made from steel, this bike seat is extremely durable but also surprisingly lightweight as it only weighs about 369 grams. It also uses a synthetic exterior cover for a soft touch feel.
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4. TigerSmarts Bike Seat
The TigerSmarts Bike Seat is an excellent option for those who are looking for a comfortable and relaxing ride that allows for more intense riding when necessary. This bike seat also comes with some added extra not often found in bike seats of a similar class.
Review
The key features of this bike seat include:
- Comfort: This bike seat is of a thicker design than its competitors to provide a greater amount of padding which consists of high-density foam. This padding material is not only extremely comfortable but also resists displacement over time, allowing for longer rides. Riders will also benefit from increased airflow thanks to the large central cut-out.
- Suspension: Using dual elastomer shock absorbing springs, this bike seat reduces the level of discomfort during those off-road rides by smoothing out the bumps and drops.
- Extras: Adding a little extra, this bike seat also comes with a reflective tail sticker for increased nighttime visibility as well as all of the necessary mounting tools required for a quick and easy installation.
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5. Selle Royal Respiro Road Bike Saddle
The Selle Royal Respiro Road Bike Saddle is an anatomically designed bike saddle with a focus on comfort as well as functionality. This is a high-quality bike seat that offers fantastic features alongside a stylish design.
Review
Some of the things you’ll love about the product include:
- Ergonomics: With a wider than average base for bike seats of this type, riders posture will be supported at a 45º angle to keep them relaxed and leaving them in a comfortable position for more intense cycling. There is also a large central cut-out that allows for increased airflow, helping to keep riders cool over longer trips.
- Material: This bike seat uses patented Royalgel which delivers an extremely comfortable ride that can reduce pressure on peak points by up to 40%. The bike seat cover used is designed to better reflect sunlight than standard covers and can keep the seat up to 25º cooler. This seat is also completely water resistant.
- Extras: This bike seat also comes with an integrated clip system at the rear of the seat, allowing riders quick and easy attachment of other Selle Royal products such as their convenient saddle bag.
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FINAL VERDICT
Our recommendation for the best mountain bike seat of 2018 is the Selle Royal Respiro Road Bike Saddle. Not only does this seat offers all of the fundamentals that you’d look for in a quality seat but it also features enhanced aspects such as its patented padding system or the material used in its cover, allowing it to stay significantly cooler than its competitors. Hence, this seat is extremely functional and looks great with its combination of matte and glossy black construction.
For those looking for something a little cheaper that still offers a great ride, you might want to take a look at the Outerdo Mountain Bike Seat. This seat offers fantastic sports styling in regards to its central cut-out and rear groove, it’s incredibly lightweight, and is completely waterproof, making it a great year-round seat. You will notice a compromise in regards to its quality of construction or materials used, but it offers these features at an incredibly affordable price that should see it in any top five mountain bike seat list.