Milan: Air Saddle System makes for a more comfortable ride

Researchers Federico Casiraghi, Paolo Chiorino, Giuseppe Andreoni and Davide Bruno in the Faculty of Design at Politecnico di Milano have come up with a new design of bike saddle, which reduces the amount of vibration felt by the rider, whilst at the same time ensuring the rider’s body weight is better distributed.

The Air Saddle System (ASS) has two air cushions, made up of interconnecting pockets or cells, and can be fitted to any traditional bike saddle. The cushions are located in the main areas of contact between the biker and the saddle, on the front, near the perineum and on the back, near the ischial bones, and can be adjusted using a normal bicycle pump.

ASS is intended to be used on any model of bike, from professional racing and mountain bikes to leisure bikes. Since it adds hardly any weight ASS could be used for races, but it is particularly useful for avoiding injury and ensuring comfort during intense practice, for both professionals and amateurs.

• vibrations are absorbed
• it ensures optimal distribution of a cyclist’s body weight
• the spacing between the pockets, or cells, of the cushion provides ventilation
• the ASS can be adjusted to suit each rider, providing more or less cushioning as required
• ASS is very light, so there is minimum weight gain

 A patent is available.