This always pops up in one form or another. Out of a chain of 3 shops, as the Buyer, I’ve probably swap meet liquidated a half dozen similar devices over the years, most were OEM types that came with a bike or were swapped and tossed after a casual bike fit.

It is primarily a thing for misguided people that have a poorly fitting bike and specifically the saddle. Suspension on bikes is not at all like inexperienced people imagine. I have a $4k Cannondale Jekyll still somewhere in storage. I’m primarily a roadie and former racer. Even on a 6in travel hardcore enduro trail bike like my Jekyll, the suspension is not for my ass; it is for control and handling while taking hits that would cause me to lose control otherwise. When the suspension is doing its thing, I’m definitely not in the saddle. Anyone that is buying a suspension bike that is doing so for a “soft ride” is simply making their bike much heavier and therefore harder to ride.

The soreness from a saddle is due to the soft tissue around your sit bones, and/or an overly stiff bike made of aluminum. You need the right shape of saddle for your anatomy. Extra padding and this kind of nonsense will only make matters worse. Real pros, of which I have worked with directly as the distribution hub for the ShoAir pro team, ride whatever they are sponsored to ride, but generally prefer the thinnest padding possible. I’ve ridden double centuries at over 200 miles in a day and likewise want as thin as possible to minimize problems. There is no solution the the stiffness problem of an aluminum frame. You’ll fatigue quickly from the high frequency vibrations quickly. I can’t tell you how many I tried when promised that the next demo bike was the greatest ever. The only exception being the Cannondale CAAD10 or higher. Those have nearly steel frame-like compliance, but no other brand came close to that experience out of any that I was given as demo’s, rode at demo days, or at interbike.

Ultimately, no bike suspension can match the suspension travel of your legs. Real suspension is not for little bumps, it is for hard charging a rock garden of basketball size material without slowing down while going 30 mph down hill. Everything else is a marketing gimmick. There is no replacement for the proper compliance built into a rigid frame’s rear triangle. You may notice the sharp bumps more after riding for awhile, but the fatigue is actually from the higher frequency vibrations. With a bad bike, you’ll feel the difference of the texture of concrete versus asphalt. No saddle, pad, or seat post can make that better. Your actual sit bones are what you are resting on, and anything that does not directly support those two little points naturally is making a problem worse.

In before “hot air up one’s bum” jokes?

Ahem. In any case, I’ve always understood that saddle soreness is in large part due to seats that don’t encourage using the “sit bones”. Saddles which are very wide and plush – which would be desirable for a sofa – can unintuitively end up being the least comfortable under the dynamic conditions of riding a bicycle.

So I’m somewhat skeptical about the benefit of multi-axis saddle suspension, although if done well could plausibly be beneficial.

Keep it topped up with farts?

I always thought Terry saddles were great. Use what works for you! It’s like a shoe for your butt.

I was looking at getting one of those SR Suntour posts or maybe a Cane Creek Thudbuster, but I’m kind of curious to see how good these things actually are.

Does anyone need this ? I always ride with Knicks (of some sort) and havent gotten a sore arse in decades.