Best bike seat recommendations?

[New_Natural_Mom]

I have been running and want to start incorporating bike riding back into my fitness regimen, but here is the problem...it is SO UNCOMFORTABLE!

When I was a kid, I could (and did) ride my bike ALL DAY LONG with no ill effects. I didn't have a special seat or anything. I would ride that 10 speed on skinny tires all day and night without any problems.

Now as an adult I can't ride for very long and when I dismount I feel like someone spent all day kicking me in my nether regions. With steel toed boots.

I have a 10 or 12 speed (but I have no idea how the gears work) with the fat mountain bike tires and a stock seat with a gel cover.

Is there a seat I can use that will let me keep control of the bike yet won't irritate hemorrhoids or hurt my very bony butt?

[walker67]

ouch, I hear ya. That was my problem when I first started riding. The only thing that helped was a women's seat that has a cutout in the middle. It is from Performance Bike and it is their brand. Also, I had to play with how I sat on the bike. Also, I cannot ride without padded cycling shorts or capris. Those make a world of difference for me. HTH. Good luck.

[KarenEMT]

I love the seats that Terry makes. I got a Terry seat in my local shop, but they are available online with a guarantee (if you don't like it you can send it back):
http://www.terrybicycles.com/saddles

(I have a damselfly and it is an awesome seat for me!)

[Materfamilias]

I second the Terry saddle idea and the bike shorts idea. Avoid wearing pants that have that seam right under the lady bits. Capris/shorts made for cycling have no crotch seam and padding. If you don't like Lycra Terry and Harlot make some normal looking stuff.
Regardless of pants or saddle, time in the saddle will accustom your crotch to riding. Stand up on occasion too.

[tjsmama]

It sounds counter-intuitive, but try ditching the gel cover. They're actually worse than a hard as a rock seat. A lot of it is just getting used to being in the saddle, and I've found that it takes a few weeks of frequent riding to build up my "girly bits callus". When I first saw the stock saddle on my road bike, I thought that there was NO WAY it would be comfortable, but it really is once you get used to it. It has zero padding and is much narrower than seems feasible. This is my saddle, and it's very comfortable, believe it or not.

Bike shorts also help, but no undies underneath! They can bunch up and cause chafing.