Jack’s Prototype Journey: From Sketch to Saddle

Below is the full story of how this seat came to be — written by Jack, the guy behind the idea. If you're a shop owner, bike enthusiast, or just curious about how a simple concept turned into a real prototype, you're in the right place.

The Spark: A Simpler, Smarter Seat

With a background in engineering and decades of experience with manufacturing of industrial products, I decided to design the seat I couldn’t find. So I sketched something simple: two seat halves that pivot at the front and slide independently at the back, locking into place with spring-loaded plungers. No tools, no fuss. Just pull, slide, click. Repeat.

Filing the Patent and Gathering Early Feedback

I worked with a patent attorney, reviewed more than 40 existing patents, and quickly saw that most adjustable designs were overly complex, required tools to adjust, and were not built for casual riders. Most of them never made it to market.

I filed a patent for our unique design. The patent application is still pending.

With the patent filed, I showed the professionally created patent sketches to numerous bike enthusiasts, repair shop owners, and bike rental shops. All of them thought it was a great idea and encouraged me to move forward.

What I Found on the Market

I reached out to multiple bicycle seat manufacturers and distributors and never heard back. I quickly learned that almost all bike seats are manufactured offshore.

One day, while searching online for adjustable bike seats, I came across a design I really liked. It was adjustable to three different widths, but the adjustment had to be made by removing four bolts and a bottom shell from underneath the seat, lifting and rotating the seat halves to the new position, and replacing the bottom shell and four bolts.

Everything else about the seat looked great. It had a synthetic leather seating surface, memory foam cushions and, even in the smallest width position, it had a reasonably sized opening that allowed for airflow and less contact area for sensitive areas of the rider.

Real-World Testing Begins

I ordered a couple of seats and my wife and I put them into the rotation with our other seats. They rode great. The ride was firmer than most seats, but we thought that was good. Our experience with thick soft seats is they feel great initially, but hurt more than firm seats after a short time.

After my first ride on the adjustable seat, I knew this idea wasn’t just promising — it had real potential. The moment I shifted the width and felt the pressure move, I got noticeable relief. That’s when I knew it was time to start full-on field testing to see just how far this one-in-three seat could go.

500+ Miles of Field Testing

I started taking just the adjustable seat on my rides. After I experienced seat soreness from the initial setting, I would pull over, take the seat and post off the bike, and do the several-minute operation to set the width to a new position. When I resumed riding, the pain was not all the way gone, but significantly reduced.

I am sure a small part of it was due to the several-minute break, but past experience has taught me that it takes more than a short break to get the relief I felt when I resumed riding.

I logged over 500 miles on the seat. Periodically I would take it apart to inspect the components. The seat has a multi-layer construction that allowed me to disassemble the cushioned seat halves from the middle layer and the bottom shells. I was able to inspect every component except for the memory foam. After 500 miles, I did not see any wear on any components.

Connecting with a Manufacturer

With the help of a friend I worked with at the manufacturing company, I was able to locate and establish communication with the company in China — Huge Oaks — that is the manufacturer of the seat. They were interested in manufacturing my design.

After three months and almost daily emails, we were able to design a seat using their existing seat halves with the synthetic leather and memory foam, and my spring plungers to allow the rider to quickly adjust the width of the seat with no tools — and without taking the seat off of the bike!

The Prototype Phase

I received three prototypes on July 7th. My plan is to show them to numerous bike enthusiasts, repair shop owners, and bike rental shops for their input. I also plan to put 250 to 500 test miles on the prototypes, periodically taking them apart. I will measure for deformation of components and for forces to slide the seats and operate the spring plungers.

I’ll keep this page updated as testing continues—so check back for progress, photos, and results. And if you’ve got thoughts or feedback, I’d love to hear from you.