Seat padding

[Andrews]

What do you use for seat padding? I've tried several different types of foam padding, but can't seem to find the right balance between hard and soft...

[AtomicZombie]

That's one of those questions with 1000 answers! On the Marauder, I have foam that is almost as hard as wood as I often shoft around depending on how I am driving. On the StreetFox, I used a thick 2 inch foam base that feels like a gel wrist pad, and a 1 inch thick version for the back. On several projects, I used a 1.5 inch white foam that I found as packing in a plasma TV box.

Brad


What do you use for seat padding? I've tried several different types of foam padding, but can't seem to find the right balance between hard and soft...

[Andrews]

If you don't mind me asking, where did you get the foam for the Street Fox? I would love something about 2" or so that feels like a gel pad. I have found some sources on the internet, but I'm concerned about pulling the trigger on something that I can't see and touch first...

I love the seat cover on the Street Fox too - from looking at the picutres it looks like professional upholstery - how did you pull off that look?

Thanks,
Steve

[AtomicZombie]

Thanks!

The foam came from a place that sets up wheelchair seats. I am not sure what the stuff is called, but it seems to conform to your body after a few minutes then just springs back to life. Next time I visit, I will ask them what this stuff is called. I just bought a 2x4 sheet of the 2 inch and 1 inch to make a bunch of seats.

Brad

[nzvet]

Hey Andrews!

The seat foam I've used on all three of my builds (including my first, a Meridian) I used 2" Open Cell foam. Simply, this stuff is like normal form rubber but it's got bigger holes in it and makes a good balance between comfort and durability. Doesn't soak up water either. You can obtain it from an Upholsteror or a Marine covers shop. The catch is that it can be a bit pricey.
Here's a photo of the seat on my latest build.
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s156/nzvet/SWB%20MK2/P10208031.jpg
A close up so you can see what the foam looks like.
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s156/nzvet/SWB%20MK2/P10208231.jpg

Look forward to seeing your latest build!

[TheKid]

Here's a link for foam. They carry all types, and the prices are pretty reasonable.

http://www.thefoamfactory.com/

[AtomicZombie]

That foam on your beatiful ride is the same as the foam I use on the Marauder. This foam is fairly stiff, keeps you from sliding around, yet allows easy movement on the seat. It glues down really nice with spray adhesive

Brad

[Andrews]

Great information - thanks all!

nzvet - outstanding work - did you build the seat too? If you did, very professional! I would love to replace my "simple" seat with one like yours. If you did build the seat, how did you do it?

If you have a chance to check out this link, which type of open cell foam would you say you are using?

http://www.thefoamfactory.com/opencellfoam/opencellfoam.html

[nzvet]

Great information - thanks all!

nzvet - outstanding work - did you build the seat too? If you did, very professional! I would love to replace my "simple" seat with one like yours. If you did build the seat, how did you do it?

If you have a chance to check out this link, which type of open cell foam would you say you are using?

http://www.thefoamfactory.com/opencellfoam/opencellfoam.html

Thanks!

This seat on my latest build was a bit different.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s156/nzvet/Seats/P10208411.jpg
I used 3 layers of 6mm bendable ply, glued them together on a mould and fibre glassed all with epoxy resin.

This mould I made to the shape of my back which made for a very comfortable seat.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s156/nzvet/Seats/P10208421.jpg

Got this idea from the member of another web site and decided to give it a go as I was interested in the construction method. Unlikely that I will do this again as it works out expensive and the seat is comparatively heavy.

The seat on my second build was based on Brad's method of exterior plywood sections held together with metal tags.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s156/nzvet/Seats/P10208461.jpg

This is by far, I feel, the most efficient way of construction. I did 2500km's on this seat in comfort and it's lighter and heaps less expensive than my moulded seat. I'll likely use this seat on my next build.

On the foamfactory web site I'm not sure which is the same open cell foam that I have. In my previous post I said it was 2" thick. My apologies, it's more like 1" thick. I bought this foam as Fire Retardant Open Cell Foam. Wasn't particularly after fire retardation, it just happened to be a feature of this stuff. I can only suggest you emailing one of my photos above to the foamfactory (or other supplier) and see what they can match.

Best regards

[Andrews]

Nice work! I love the design of both seats and I'll use your pictures as a reference for the way to proceed. Very impressive!

[Andrews]

nzvet - if you don't mind me asking, what are the dimensions of the seat you built (exterior plywood sections held together with metal tags)? I would like to recreate that shape as accurately as possible...

Again - very impressed by your work!

Thanks,
Steve

[racer39]

Saw this and ordered one will keep yall updated
http://cgi.ebay.com/Recumbent-Bicycle-Seat-For-ActionBent-Bikes_W0QQitemZ140229590667QQihZ004QQcategoryZ7295 QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp16 38Q2em118Q2el1247

[nzvet]

nzvet - if you don't mind me asking, what are the dimensions of the seat you built (exterior plywood sections held together with metal tags)? I would like to recreate that shape as accurately as possible...

Again - very impressed by your work!

Thanks,
Steve

The seat is made from exterior ply so it wont fall apart if it gets wet. The ply thickness is 17mm although 19mm (3/4") would be fine.
The lower seat section (the bit you sit on) measures 250mm along the front, 300mm along the back and is 250mm deep. I've found that if the seat base is in line with the bottom bracket it can be slightly deeper but of your BB is below the line of the seat base (as on the Meridian) I needed to make it shorter to stop the front edge digging in to the back of my legs when extended on the pedal. You might want to start with the seat base a little deeper as it's easier to cut back later on.
The back (middle) section measures 490mm high by 250mm wide . The top section measures 160mm high and 250mm wide. The angle of the back section to the seat is 125 degrees. This angle can alter depending on angles of your frame. The top section is 90 degrees to the seat section. For neatness, I've rounded off the corners on the top and seat.

The back section overlaps the seat section where they join so I cut the rear of the seat section on an angle to improve fit. I used 6 tags with 4 holes in each to join the sections together although 2 tags per join should work. The tags (metal plates) are 31x3mm and about 80m long. Remember to drill the holes in the plates after you bend them or the plate will bend across the line of a hole!

I used a 31mm rubber strip around the edge of the seat which I feel in hindsight was unnecessary. If you wanted to cover the edge of the ply you could use electrical tape as I did on my moulded seat. I used black adhesive vinyl to cover the back of the seat.

Best regards

[Pagan Wizard]

Thanks!

This seat on my latest build was a bit different.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s156/nzvet/Seats/P10208411.jpg
I used 3 layers of 6mm bendable ply, glued them together on a mould and fibre glassed all with epoxy resin.

This mould I made to the shape of my back which made for a very comfortable seat.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s156/nzvet/Seats/P10208421.jpg

Got this idea from the member of another web site and decided to give it a go as I was interested in the construction method. Unlikely that I will do this again as it works out expensive and the seat is comparatively heavy.


Any chance you can link to the builders instructions or post a set of your own?? I really like this design, and wouldn't mind giving it a try.

[nzvet]

Any chance you can link to the builders instructions or post a set of your own?? I really like this design, and wouldn't mind giving it a try.

Hey Wizard!

Built this a while ago but will see what I can find and come back to you.

Best regards

[nzvet]

Originally Posted by Pagan Wizard http://forum.atomiczombie.com/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://forum.atomiczombie.com/showthread.php?p=2853#post2853)
Any chance you can link to the builders instructions or post a set of your own?? I really like this design, and wouldn't mind giving it a try.

Have posted seat construction details on "Discuss Your Projects Here" forum.