The 5 Best Bike Seats for Women

Let's face it, bike seats for women are critically important. If you've ever ridden a bicycle with a seat that is too small or with little padding, you know what we're talking about.

Seats, often called saddles, are almost as varied as bicycles and e-bikes, and finding the right seat for you can make all the difference when buying your dream bike.

Let's help you find a bike saddle, so you can do your errands, commuting, exercise, and more in peak comfort.

Common bike seat issues for women's bicycle seats primarily focus on the width of women's hips and pelvis. Since women's and men's anatomies are so different, it makes sense to approach seat designs individually or each.

Let's learn about some common seat issues with different types of bikes.

Road Bikes

First, road bikes have the worst bicycle saddle options for women, hands down. Designed for men doing long-distance touring for several decades, road bicycle seats were historically designed narrowly to accommodate men's physiques.

However, for decades now, women have become avid cycling enthusiasts and now regularly participate in triathlons and Iron Man competitions worldwide. The traditional road bike seats were designed for the narrow pelvis of a man. The female anatomy typically features wider hips and a wider pelvis.

Even as women started to buy road bicycles with greater frequency, designers and manufacturers kept missing this crucial truth about women's bodies or weren't sure how to accommodate them without sacrificing the aerodynamic traits of traditional road bike seats. This design issue left women poised on their sit bones, filled with soft tissue, making for very uncomfortable rides.

Women often have to overcome this design issue by adapting their form to override the issues or investing in a saddle with the correct amount of firmness, padded cycling shorts, or both.

Beach Cruiser, Commuter, Hybrid, and Adult Tricycle Bikes

Fortunately, bicycles in these categories are equally accommodating to women and men, especially since there is no competitive element involved. These bicycles are intended for comfort, male or female, allowing you to commute to and from work or school, get your groceries, take your children or pets for rides, exercise regularly, and to do it all with enjoyment.

Okay, it's obvious that we're looking for comfort in a bike seat for women, such as width and cushioning, but we have some specific ideas to help you choose.

1. Choose the right softness or firmness. While you might not want something too soft, you also don't want something as firm as a road bike. Work with your online bicycle seller to determine the right bicycle seat for you.
2. Choose the right width and size. Again, avoid narrow seats commonly found on road bicycles. They are likely to be uncomfortable due to the narrow shape and the firm padding. A bike saddle suited to your body's frame and your hip and pelvic width will serve you well and let you enjoy long, comfortable bike rides daily.

Now that you have some idea of what to look for in a bike seat for your current or next bicycle, it's time to start shopping. We have compiled some of our favorite bicycle seats for women to get you started.

1. SixThreeZero Super Max Cush Extra Extra Large Comfort Seat

We love the SixThreeZero Super Max Cush Extra Extra Large Comfort Seat. It works with any of our electric or standard bicycle models. Even better, it works with any bike brand out there, so if you bought another bicycle with a poor seat design, we'd love for you to check out our extra large comfort seat.

Here are some features and specs of this super comfortable saddle:

• Filled with foam that our design team engineered to peak softness. It lets you feel like you're sitting on pillows on this "sofa saddle," without losing the ability to pedal effectively and focus on the tasks at hand.
• Compatible with a broad range of bicycle and e-bicycle brands and models, allowing you to use it interchangeably with our bikes and others.
• Features a comfortable width of 14.81" and a length of 11.81" that should accommodate the female form easily. Seriously, it's extra large and features curves at the outer edges to "cradle the butt" in our CEO's words. We know you'll love feeling like you're sinking into your saddle.
• Made with brown synthetic leather to match our classic bike styles, like beach cruisers and commuters.
• Perfect for riders looking for comfort over performance.

2. Specialized Expedition

The Specialized Expedition bicycle seat works well for women looking for comfort and sit bone protection when riding various city-style bikes and hybrid models. You could probably make it work for road cycling too.

The Specialized Expedition seat features gel padding, which offers comfort for your bones and the soft tissue in your backside.

While only available in one size, it's wide and well-designed enough that it offers a solid fit to a variety of body frames.

3. Liv Contact Comfort Plus

The Liv Contact Comfort Plus seat is perfect for fitness riders, whether on a road bike or a commuter.

Featuring a center zone cut, a wide base, and tough, durable Chromoly rails, this seat offers comfort with a streamlined style. It also comes with a lightweight and fitted water-resistant seamless synthetic cover to add to the comfort and sleek look.

4. Specialized Power Comp with Mimic

We like the Specialized Power Comp with Mimic because it is a comfortable choice for female commuters. Specialized uses a special process to design seats like this one, featuring multilayered form for solid support while maintaining equilibrium. It also minimizes soft tissue swelling during rides, which would otherwise end up causing saddle soreness the day after a ride.

Best of all, you can ride in any position on this saddle, including sitting forward toward the nose of the saddle.

Choose this sleek but comfortable saddle in a range of sizes, according to your size and needs.

5. Terry Liberator X Gel Saddle

While ideal for road cycling, this saddle offers plenty of versatility, allowing for use on different bicycle styles and frames.

The Terry Liberator X Gel Saddle distributes weight evenly and uses a multidensity foam to protect your sit bones and the delicate soft tissue in your glutes.

A few additional features make this a reasonable option for women's bike seats:

• A full cutaway through the seat's midsection and nose reduces pressure.
• Reduces points of contact with ergonomically shaped rear depression and back panel.
• Fitted with a long-lasting, durable Dura-tek cover.

If you need more help deciding on the best seat for your new or future bicycle, our SixThreeZero team of cycling enthusiasts can help. Whether you want our top pick listed above, our other favorite bicycle saddle we sell, one of the others listed, or something else, we'll help you make the best decision for you and your riding comfort.

Contact us to learn more about our seats, bikes, accessories, and anything else you might need for your ideal bike riding experience.