Spongy Wonder Noseless Bike Seat

Until this year, I had no idea these types of seats existed. I went biking early in the year with a friend who had one and it sparked my interest. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I have been extremely happy the past few months.First, I have struggled with piriformis syndrome the past 3 years from biking. After my first ride with this seat, I was sold. I have had no issues since I started using this seat. It still flares up from time to time, but it has nothing to do with biking, but from bad work chairs.(can you make work chairs :) ) It was so bad before this seat, I had thought about giving up biking. To give you an idea of how bad, it would flare up for multiple days after a short ride of 20-30 miles. It would be so bad some times, I could not even sit in comfy chairs at home, but had to lie down to remove the pressure and stretching of the muscle over the sciatic nerve.Second, with this seat, I have absolutely no pain anywhere. (yes guys, I am speaking specifically to you)I just completed the MS150 (150miles over 2 days) and never once had any pain. When all my friends were complaining about their bum hurting (or other areas), I had absolutely none.Another example is going over train tracks.(my ride to work takes me over multiple sets of tracks) Normally, you have to lift off the seat a little so it doesn't hurt. Now, I just stay sitting which allows me to loosen up my hands a bit so they don't take all the force of the impact...win-win.Last, I wasn't one of the riders who had excruciating back pain from riding, but I would have some minor pain. I have not had any back pain since using this seat, even doing the 150 miles. I think this is because without the horn, it allows your lower back to be in a more natural position.Third, I believe in this seat so much, I actually just purchased two more. One for my second bike and one for my wife's bike.neutral thoughtsFirst, it takes a few rides to get used to quickly getting in the right position since there is not the horn to help. What I mean is, how quickly it takes for you to get your body in the center of the seat.Second, without the horn, it takes a few rides to get used to not using it to maintain control. Maybe it is because I am an amateur rider, but I never realized how much I used my legs against the horn of the seat to help in turns. I have noticed now, if I use my legs in the same manner, they are pushing against the bike frame. But mostly, I tend to use more of my arm strength to compensate.Both of these neutral thoughts, are very very very minor things.

This is my first negative review ,but people need know this doesn't work.

I like it, it saves my tessies. takes getting used to

What I wonder most is why it's called "spongy" . The pad is dense enough that it's nearly hard. I'm not having any success in having a pain free ride. What I am doing is shifting from one spot to another as the pain becomes unbearable. I wish I had bought one of the much less expensive ones with the split seat and cushions.

Lightweight (compared to other no nose saddles). It's not perfect as a saddle (compared to traditional ones), but it has been letting me ride an upright now again, whereas before, I was only riding a recumbent.No prostate pressure, and let me tell you, it's an amazing feeling. Wish I discovered this years ago.UPDATE: been riding an upright bike again since purchasing this saddle.If only I could get the saddle in spin cycle classes. I've noticed my pelvic floor muscles are very relaxed while riding with the SW, but unconsciously tighten on the traditional saddles in the classes.

I am a bicycle commuter since 1995 with 70K miles on my odometer and rode 1200 miles on the Spongy Wonder (SW). This seat removed the perineum pain for sure; however, it generates a significant "hot spot" under each sit bone. I think this is due to cutting off blood circulation to the tissue pinched between the sit bone and the seat pad. These hot spots are not noticeable until after riding about 3 to 5 miles. I was able to adjust the bike fit (seat height & position, seat tilt, handlebar position, etc.) to reduce some of the burning sensation; however by the end of my 7 mile commute the two hot spots were on fire and persisted. No amount of moving around or shifting my weight resolved this. The Spongy Wonder website FAQ claims that the seat “takes a little getting used to due to using different muscles". I interpret this to refer to these two hot spots, although they are not mentioned on the website. After about 5 months (~1200 miles) of commuting with the SW seat and trying everything to eliminate the hot spots, I was unsuccessful and never “got used to them”. In my opinion, it really has nothing to do with "using different muscles" as suggested on the SW website. Further, these hotspots cannot be resolved with softer pads; that is a myth. I went back to my conventional seat (WTB Volt) and gave the SW seat to my wife, who loves the seat but has only ridden a few miles.I found a silver lining in using the Spongy Wonder for those 5 months. I learned to recognize exactly where my sit bones are and what it feels like to put 100% of the seat force on them. Before using the Spongy Wonder, when I was having significant perineum pain on a Brooks saddle, I reckon the force distribution was about 50/50 (sit bones / perineum) and this is way too much force on the perineum. What I now realize is that the ultimate comfort (for me) comes with about 80% of the seat force on the sit bones and 20% on the perineum. The 80/20 distribution eliminates the hot spot at each sit bone and the 20% does not cause perineum pain. So the silver lining with using the SW is that it helped me better understand how my anatomy transfers force to the seat.If someone with a Spongy Wonder seat is reading this review looking for suggestions on setup, first recognize that bike fit is extremely important to avoid orthopedic issues like knee and shoulder pain. Many local bike shops offer bike fit as a service to ensure your bicycle matches your body size and riding style. Once you are confident with your bike fit and decide to try the Spongy Wonder, my suggestion is to begin with the pads level (parallel to the ground) and ride like this for a while. Slide the seat fore/aft and up/down in small increments to notice how this changes the feel and comfort. After this, try adjusting the pad tilt away from level in small increments. What I noticed is that more tilt down in front will require your arms to take more force. It is inadequate to evaluate these small incremental changes by taking a quick spin around the block. Give it a few miles between changes to ensure you recognize the affect. My most comfortable pad tilt was fairly close to level.During the time I was using the Spongy Wonder, I had a phone and email exchange with Jeff the owner/founder/designer asking for his suggestions how to set up the seat. There are many testimonials on the SW website from people who have (supposedly) ridden “thousands of miles” with the SW seat. Unfortunately, the SW website does not offer any hints or suggestions for how to set up the seat, like I have provided above. Despite my requests for a summary of "best practices" for aligning the seat, all I got from Jeff was a bunch of marketing hogwash about how great the seat performs. Some of the photos on the SW website show the seat with the forward edge of the pads tilted down 20 to 30 degrees. I can tell you that this might look good to an uninformed person, but I doubt anyone could ride with the seat like this for more than a few miles.In conclusion, I would encourage anyone who has provided testimonials on the Spongy Wonder website (if they are in fact real people) to respond to this review with their suggestions for setting up the seat. How many miles have you ridden on the Spongy Wonder seat (total miles) and what was your longest single ride? Were you able to eliminate the hot spots at your sit bones? What is the pad tilt you settled on?Edit in Dec 2023. Not one person has taken me up on prviding a detailed testimonial with answers to my questions. I agree with the comment above: BUYER BEWARE.

Been using cheapo schwinn noseless saddles for years and shopped, and tried others. This one is a winner. Also, it's made in North America (Canada and US). Very good quality. Super happy with it.

If it weren't for this seat, I would no longer be able to ride my bike. It takes a little getting used to but I feel like I could ride all day long with this seat. Much kinder to those delicate areas than regular bike seats. Have had this for over a year now.