memrory foam for bike seats

[tudorford]

I moved a couple of years ago to get closer to family.  I have another full time job but I am trying to pick up some upholstery work on the side.  I am working out of the basement of my small apartment so I am kind of limited to the size of items I can do so I have been doing a lot of motor cycle seats.  I have been getting a lot of requests for memory foam seats but right now none of my suppliers carry high density extra firm memory foam that would be appropriate for custom bike seats.  Does anyone have any ideas where I can get this kind of foam?

[MinUph]

  My supplier sells memory foam but I have never seen anything firm in it. I have been asked in the past for it's use in bike seats and talked them out of it. I don't think it would work well on a bike. The thing I don't like in this case is its recovery time. While it is really minimal I see it being a problem while riding. Bottoming out after a 1/2 hour or so seems inevitable. I could see using maybe a inch as a topper but again I shyed away from it for bikes. It's great to sleep on.
  Better to use a gel bladder in the seat in my opinion.

[tudorford]

The guys I've seen using the memory foam put it in as an insert or overlay over existing foam.  I think they cut it out much like you would with the gel.  The people I have talked to like the memory foam much better than gel inserts because it doesn't retain heat and cold like gel does.  There is a guy that comes to Sturgis every year that does the memory foam.  I have sat on his seats and they are the most comfortable I have ever sat on but he wouldn't tell me where he was getting his foam.

[MinUph]

I'll ask tomorrow if my guy has firm memory foam. We are in Florida but he ships anywhere. How much would you want or need?

[tudorford]

My funds and storage space are both very limited right now so it would probably be just a small amount to start with.  I'm hoping to get into a house with a shop to work out of sometime in the next year.  When that happens I will be in a better place to stock up, but until then I have to pretty much order for each job.  I just took a job for a custom made seat for an older Harley.  The guy the seat is for is rather short and wants as little foam as I can put on it and still make the bike ridable.  I was thinking about using an inch and a half of extra firm foam toped with an inch of firm memory foam.

[MinUph]

Well according to my supplier they don't make firm memory foam. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

[baileyuph]

Interesting that this week a customer came in with a request to make his seat more comfortable.  He asked about memory foam.

I couldn't give him any hope using the material because the problem is bigger than adding foam - my opinion.

I don't understand how one can use any foam over a molded piece of foam and effectively make it more comfortable because adding anything to a molded piece will change the geometry.  The issue is just bigger than that; a solution would seem to start with a different seat.

After all that I agreed to add a thinner layer at the spot he seemed to bottom out.  I noticed just a thin piece makes a rather bigger difference.

Never had cyclist who thought their seat was comfortable enough.  Possibly, the bike mfgrs have a solution I don't kow about?

Doyle

Doyle

[brmax]

  Reminds me about a month ago the same type request, just adding or replacing the foam.
I just nodded and agreeing with them saying its probably best in a winter project.  I think it was the first bike run for the spring and the butt was use to the pickup seat.
Its not the first time hearing that around a driveway or shop filled with bikes, I think its getting a seat that fits better yet looks as oem if that's on their mind and many do notice.