Blrfl
Natural Rider Enhancement
A few weeks ago I promised someone here I'd post a review of my Bead Rider after my trip. The trip, as some know, got canned, but I've since had enough saddle time to give it a good workout. So, without further ado...
What it Is. The Bead Rider is a cover made of wooden beads that you put on the top of your saddle. The benefits, according to the manufacturer, are two-fold: it reduces the pressure points on your tail and gives air a place to circulate underneath you. Both of those will be covered later.
Installation. Easy peasy, as our friends across the pond like to say. Take the seat off the bike, place the bead rider on the top with the trimmed-off parts facing forward, pull the elastic cords around the bottom and pull them tight with the spring-loaded stays. I found that I had to adjust the position of the rear stay to keep it out of the way of the parts on the frame the seat sits on. The recommended size (14x14") leaves about 2" of room for front-to-back position adjustment.
Initial Impressions. The cover is put together with heavy nylon fishing line, some of which shows around the outside. My wife, who makes beaded jewelry, said the arrangement they used to thread it through the beads should hold up well. On mine there's one or two spots where I think they could have added a bead, leaving about 3/4" of exposed line. The instruction card that comes with the Bead Rider warns that beads are more slippery than a regular saddle, and they're not kidding. There's lots of room to slide around on this thing, but if you ride with your knees against the tank, you'll get used to it in about a half hour. The extra slide-around does make it easier to vary your position, which in my case meant being able to ride a bit longer without stopping. I find that the beads tend to slide forward and back as I do, and after awhile my riding position causes the whole thing to migrate toward the back part of the front seat. Curing that whole underway isn't a big deal: you pick your tush up, put it back down toward the back and let everything slide back to where you want it. Seat height changes by about half an inch with the Bead Rider installed, so you may have to reconsider what position you use. I'm tall enough that I didn't have to change anything once I got used to it.
Pressure Points. Part of the theory that makes the Bead Rider work is that instead of having a few pressure points that get annoying as time passes, it distributes your weight across a few hundred of them, one on each bead. The good news is that the practice pretty much works. Sliding around a bit shifts them around nicely and gives you a low-budget butt massage. I've put on some weight over the last few years, and I did notice that the front edge cut into the tops my thighs initially. Some adjustment toward the rear helped that, and now I don't notice it. During a couple of all-day rides, I found that it really was comfortable.
Ventilation. If anything, this is where the Bead Rider excels. We had a couple of chilly mornings after I first installed it, and you could definitiely tell when you were moving. We've had progressively warmer days since, and after the temperature climbs into the 70s, you don't really notice it, but it's there. Today was the first day of summer in Washington, and the thermometer on the bike hung around 95 degrees most of the way home from work this afternoon. I can pretty much deal with whatever heat the bike belches out while I'm rolling, but sitting at long traffic lights gets a mite uncomfortable. With the Bead Rider installed, the bike continues to exude heat, but the gap between me and the seat gives it a place to go, and you can definitely tell the difference. When you come to a stop, your undercarriage will warm up a to a point, but after that it doesn't accumulate as it would with just the stock saddle. By the time I got home, I was plenty sweaty, but unlike similar days last year, I felt no need to pull my shorts out of the crack of my behind. One other thing the manufacturer points out is that the gap gives rain a place to drain off instead of being soaked up in your pants. I've only been out in a good rain once with it, but in that respect it does seem to work as advertised.
Summary. Given the prices of some of the other seat pads out there, I thought this one was worth a try, and I think I got my money's worth. There have been a couple of times I've thought about taking it off, but by the time I get to a stopping point, I've forgotten why.
Bead Rider 14"x14" beaded seat cover for ST1100 and ST1300.
$35 from http://www.beadrider.com.
I give it :butt1: :butt1: :butt1: :butt1: out of a possible 5.
--Mark
Long-Term Update, October, 2012: After six years of ownership, I still like this thing a lot. The one I bought experienced a failure in the nylon cord that holds it together, but BeadRider replaced it quickly without question. (The quickly part is relative, since they're just across the Potomac river from me.) The finish on some of the beads is starting to show age, but the whole thing has lasted surprisingly well and isn't showing any signs of being ready to fail. The newer ceramic-beaded model may last even longer. The only other thing I'll add is that you should remove it every few months and clean the seat, because it does tend to collect dust and dirt.
What it Is. The Bead Rider is a cover made of wooden beads that you put on the top of your saddle. The benefits, according to the manufacturer, are two-fold: it reduces the pressure points on your tail and gives air a place to circulate underneath you. Both of those will be covered later.
Installation. Easy peasy, as our friends across the pond like to say. Take the seat off the bike, place the bead rider on the top with the trimmed-off parts facing forward, pull the elastic cords around the bottom and pull them tight with the spring-loaded stays. I found that I had to adjust the position of the rear stay to keep it out of the way of the parts on the frame the seat sits on. The recommended size (14x14") leaves about 2" of room for front-to-back position adjustment.
Initial Impressions. The cover is put together with heavy nylon fishing line, some of which shows around the outside. My wife, who makes beaded jewelry, said the arrangement they used to thread it through the beads should hold up well. On mine there's one or two spots where I think they could have added a bead, leaving about 3/4" of exposed line. The instruction card that comes with the Bead Rider warns that beads are more slippery than a regular saddle, and they're not kidding. There's lots of room to slide around on this thing, but if you ride with your knees against the tank, you'll get used to it in about a half hour. The extra slide-around does make it easier to vary your position, which in my case meant being able to ride a bit longer without stopping. I find that the beads tend to slide forward and back as I do, and after awhile my riding position causes the whole thing to migrate toward the back part of the front seat. Curing that whole underway isn't a big deal: you pick your tush up, put it back down toward the back and let everything slide back to where you want it. Seat height changes by about half an inch with the Bead Rider installed, so you may have to reconsider what position you use. I'm tall enough that I didn't have to change anything once I got used to it.
Pressure Points. Part of the theory that makes the Bead Rider work is that instead of having a few pressure points that get annoying as time passes, it distributes your weight across a few hundred of them, one on each bead. The good news is that the practice pretty much works. Sliding around a bit shifts them around nicely and gives you a low-budget butt massage. I've put on some weight over the last few years, and I did notice that the front edge cut into the tops my thighs initially. Some adjustment toward the rear helped that, and now I don't notice it. During a couple of all-day rides, I found that it really was comfortable.
Ventilation. If anything, this is where the Bead Rider excels. We had a couple of chilly mornings after I first installed it, and you could definitiely tell when you were moving. We've had progressively warmer days since, and after the temperature climbs into the 70s, you don't really notice it, but it's there. Today was the first day of summer in Washington, and the thermometer on the bike hung around 95 degrees most of the way home from work this afternoon. I can pretty much deal with whatever heat the bike belches out while I'm rolling, but sitting at long traffic lights gets a mite uncomfortable. With the Bead Rider installed, the bike continues to exude heat, but the gap between me and the seat gives it a place to go, and you can definitely tell the difference. When you come to a stop, your undercarriage will warm up a to a point, but after that it doesn't accumulate as it would with just the stock saddle. By the time I got home, I was plenty sweaty, but unlike similar days last year, I felt no need to pull my shorts out of the crack of my behind. One other thing the manufacturer points out is that the gap gives rain a place to drain off instead of being soaked up in your pants. I've only been out in a good rain once with it, but in that respect it does seem to work as advertised.
Summary. Given the prices of some of the other seat pads out there, I thought this one was worth a try, and I think I got my money's worth. There have been a couple of times I've thought about taking it off, but by the time I get to a stopping point, I've forgotten why.
Bead Rider 14"x14" beaded seat cover for ST1100 and ST1300.
$35 from http://www.beadrider.com.
I give it :butt1: :butt1: :butt1: :butt1: out of a possible 5.
--Mark
Long-Term Update, October, 2012: After six years of ownership, I still like this thing a lot. The one I bought experienced a failure in the nylon cord that holds it together, but BeadRider replaced it quickly without question. (The quickly part is relative, since they're just across the Potomac river from me.) The finish on some of the beads is starting to show age, but the whole thing has lasted surprisingly well and isn't showing any signs of being ready to fail. The newer ceramic-beaded model may last even longer. The only other thing I'll add is that you should remove it every few months and clean the seat, because it does tend to collect dust and dirt.