INTO THE RIDE #75

Taking it Sitting Down...

By Randy Schlitter

Just counting our recumbent seats, how many different designs of seats have we put into production? Would you believe 11! This all started with an aluminum seat back laced with a thin nylon backing, bolted to the floor of my first Sailtrike. Little did I imagine that simple seat back design would someday become the backbone of our business. The complete list of seats that are or used to be in production:

1973 Mesh back, with fiber glass seat pan, used on Sailtrikes

1975 Fiber glass bucket seat used on Sailtrikes

1978 Fiberglass bucket seat used on the first Stratus and Nimbus recumbent bikes.

1995 Mesh back seat with fiber glass pan used on recumbent bikes

2000 Mesh back seat with injection molded seat pan and molded seat foam

2001 Formula: Mesh back seat with carbon fiber pan

2002 Short Stop: Mesh back seat with less deep pan to help shorter riders reach the ground

2002 Zephyr: Narrow Mesh back with carbon pan and adjustable pan angle

2006 Seavo: Standard mesh back seat with carbon pan and adjustable pan angle 2006

2007 Hoagie: Narrow (10”) all mesh seat, shaped similar to the M-5

2007 Sling Mesh: Mesh seat with sling bottom, inspired by Visions seat, has removable seat horn for compact travel or storage.

Out of this lineup 1, 2, 3 and 4 are no longer in production, but the ideas proven by these early seats live on in other designs.

My first recumbent seat was an arrangement of aluminum angle and a hoop of bent tubing. It formed a frame for a seat back, much like our mesh seat used today, but the seat bottom was a piece of foam rubber encased in a maroon nylon bag. I only point out the color of the nylon because it was made from my re-purposed high school graduation gown. After the graduation ceremony ended I stood at the doorway of the auditorium with my gown draped over my arm telling passing fellow students to deposit their gown with me. I soon had more than I could hold, and a lifetime supply of maroon nylon, which found its’ way into dozens of homespun projects.

With the early aluminum framed seats I learned a lot about how not make a seat, so our first recumbent bikes featured two types of “bucket” seats. One very brief experiment with plastic kitchen chairs was so off the wall it did not earn mention in the above 11. However the sleek small fiberglass bucket seat looked sexy, was reasonably comfortable, and became the standard issue until phased out by the success of the mesh back seat.

The mesh back seat went through many forms, different back heights, two-piece frames, various foams and cushion shapes. The first versions featured handmade fiberglass pans, a welded steel bottom frame and a riveted aluminum frame. Today’s Mesh back seat features a molded seat and foam bottom and a one-piece welded aluminum frame. At just under six lbs the seat is our heaviest, but most popular, due to the exceptional comfort. I remember the resistance I had to making a Mesh back seat, and how John pushed me for a design. In our tradition we pulled what we could off the shelf and tweaked this and that using part aircraft and part fresh design. I remember how imposing the Mesh seat looked compared to the sleek and small fiberglass “bucket” seat. Of course I caved after the prototypes seemed to offer a new level of comfort and the argument was over once our customers started raving about the new seat. I still have to admit, the prime motivation was Easy Racers early versions of a mesh back seat, and John was convinced we needed to keep pace with the only real competition at the time. It was a good move that lead to creating the standard in recumbent seating.

Standards can be exceeded, and in some ways it is healthy business to always be on the move to continuously improve your own product. The next few years the Mesh back seat evolved into several offerings. The Formula seat features a carbon fiber pan, a super light and thin cushion. Called the feather weight cushion it pulled 1.5 pounds out of the Mesh Seat. A Short Stop seat was also developed, from taking a standard Mesh back seat and shortening a carbon seat pan to allow the less leggy to reach the pavement.			Then perhaps the most loved and hated seat we ever produced, the Zephyr. It features a light overall weight of 3.65 lbs, adjustable pan angle and a narrow back with a tapered mesh that tensions downward. The seat was never intended as a do all seat, and found favor among those who fit well on the narrow back. To add to the frustration there is no rhyme or reason to body type or size to predict who will enjoy this seat. The hallmark of the Z-Seat allows many back angles and overall positioning so it can be a good choice on low or high bottom crank platforms.
	*Standard Seat*	Z-Seat

What we learned about tilting seat pans from the Z-Seat was applied to the Seavo seat. The Seavo seat weighs 5.54 with the stock cushion and 4.63, with the Feather weight cushion (the stock mesh seat weighs 5.25) The seat is a main feature on the Seavo tandem and has been a hit because of the high and low cranks positions, where adjustable seat pan angle can really pay off.

The Hoagie seat started out innocent enough. Knowing we did not want to re-open our composite shop just yet, and create our version of the M-5, we decided taking the Z-seat a step further, would be an idea. Original design studies for the Z-seat showed a bottom seat pan made of tubing, with both seat back and pan frame pivoting on a common point. By eliminating the pivots and bending the seat to the M-5 profile, we realized we had just re-invented the Euromesh from Bacchetta…but with a twist or two (as usual!). The Hoagie is wider, and features a longer seat pan area, and made of 4130 steel. It is light at 3.30 lbs, stiff yet compliant, with excellent power transfer. This seat falls into the steel is real category, since both aluminum and titanium versions have not impressed test riders as favorably at the steel. The hard part about the Hoagie seat has be been the manufacture. What was supposed to be a simple process has turned into a rather labor intensive piece. Currently the Hoagie is a bit pricy. We have looked to overseas production, and found it to not offer the usual price reduction (this gap is closing for many of the items we import). We have some ideas that we hope to implement to make this seat and the Sling mesh more affordable, but in the meantime we simply have to offer these products at a price point where there is some profit.


*The Hoagie seat started out innocent enough. What was supposed to be a simple process has turned into a rather labor intensive piece.*

Our latest seat is a re-make of the successful Vision sling seat. Rolf at Hostel Shoppe was kind enough to send us a version of this seat off a Volae in hopes we could make a similar seat state side, and be cost effective. Again we started into the project with great expectations about economical production (you would think we would learn by now!). The seat turned out to be excellent in many ways. The sling is comfortable because it assumes the riders shape reducing pressure points, and because the edges are soft, reaching the ground from a lofty height is no problem. The tweaks that we gave the Sling Mesh over the seat that inspired us: Lumbar support, removable horn, and steel frame for that great steel is real feel. The seat turns out light at 3.32 lbs. Another feature is the many Velcro straps on the back side that allow custom tuning of the mesh tension. Both the Hoagie and Sling Mesh seats are sewn in our Hays factory.

During testing I found the Sling Mesh seat to be the most versatile seat in our lineup. It is at home on a high racer like the F5, and just as able to provide exceptional comfort on a low bottom bracket bike such as the Stratus LE. One of our nearby dealers recently picked up a Stratus XP with a Sling Mesh seat on my recommendation of its ability to work at about any angle you are willing to ride. He wrote back stating the noticeable performance increase in coast down test with a shallow seat angle and how the seat is comfortable throughout the range. He also hinted at how we need to blow our horn a little louder about this seat, since it is 2 pounds lighter and only a $100 bucks more, noting people spend a lot more than $100 bucks trying pull two lbs out of a bike, a very “light but comfortable” investment in other words.

I like the Sling Mesh seat very much, and it is what I ride on my Stratus XP TI. The combination is simply of intense value, you have the comfortable light seat, and a bike made of ti that has this plush but performance enhanced ride.

What lies ahead in the realm of seat design is hard to predict, but with our current lineup, we may focus some of our attention on other aspects of recumbent design. It is apparent we have a penchant for messing with successful formulas, and are not shy about bringing forth the goods, even though some may end up with manufacturing challenges. The end result is something we always hope you will enjoy, and appreciate despite the sometimes very crooked and long path to market. And all this effort comes about from taking a stand on taking it sitting down (you have to love that play on words), Enjoy the approaching spring, and until next time ride safe and stay into the ride.