Regret buying Thor seat?

[bret]

I have read many posts about using these. I am considering replacing the stock Q45 2021 model seat - my main complaint is recumbutt, but I also have significant back/neck issues. Among other issues, I can't recline much more without neck trouble. Attached is a photo of me with the current seat showing the approximate recline.

Has anyone bought a Thor seat and regretted it? Are there any downsides apart from the price and working out the mounting?

Thanks.

 

[billyk]

I regretted it immediately! "What is that lump poking me in the back? This is not right!"

If it hadn't come all the way from Poland by parcel post I would have returned it. But I rode it for a while and totally learned to love it. Now 3 years in. Fixed my recumbutt, that's for sure. Just makes it more comfortable to sit on the bike for hours.

Mine (GS seat easy) has an aggressive lower back bulge "poking" me, but they knew what they were doing when they designed it.

It's not obvious how to mount this on a Q45 ... You get the plain seat, no hardware. Took some fiddling.

I use it with a Ventisit.

 

[Dudley]

Hi Bret
I have a Thor on my old Q3 and find it pretty good even though the position is fixed and is a bit too laid back for me.

I have just upgraded to the latest Q45 and was looking at putting a Thor on it. Unfortunately we're going on a long journey next week and I've run out of time.
I made the bracket for the Q3 myself and my skills are limited to a hacksaw and a drill. Now this part will interest Bret but probably not many more ... Aldo (our local Perth bike magician) reckons he can fabricate a bracket that will allow the seat to have variable positions.

Aldo has just done a mammoth job converting our two Q45s to Rohloff with Gates belts so he's a bit of an expert. I'll message you to see if we can set a time so you can check out the Thor.

 

[jond]

I have read many posts about using these. I am considering replacing the stock Q45 2021 model seat - my main complaint is recumbutt, but I also have significant back/neck issues. Among other issues, I can't recline much more without neck trouble. Attached is a photo of me with the current seat showing the approximate recline.

Has anyone bought a Thor seat and regretted it? Are there any downsides apart from the price and working out the mounting?

Thanks.

you must be prepared to accept that a new seat may not solve your issue.

if it’s just recumbutt maybe you can live with it by simply stopping and walking around.

also riding a lot seems to lesson the experience of recumbutt.

seats are such a personal experience and manufacturers have more than a job and a half catering to our collective variable bodies.

a flatter pan is simple and universal but in my experience leads to recumbutt.

my sofrider and vendetta have oem seats with pretty flat pans. I get recumbutt on the sofrider but not the vendetta thanks to the recline putting less weight on my glutes.

of course you cannot recline due to neck issues hence the Thor seat option .

a shaped pan could work. It works for me on my hp velotechnic streetmachine at any available recline.

if the new adjustable Cruzbike vendetta s40 seat is a success maybe an offering might be forthcoming for the adventure line…..

I get recumbutt on my green speed gto trike the sofrider and pelso brevet if the recline is too low on the brevet. But I simply stand up when required to alleviate the symptoms . i personally would not go to the expense and modify without a known guarantee therefore maybe you could find a friend with a Thor seat for you to try. Good luck.

 

[Black Hawk Down]

The Thor seat will not fix recumbutt. I use one and it is more comfortable in other ways, but the angle is made even steeper with it. Recumbutt is angle and weight. Lower angle and lower weight is the only fix I know for recumbutt. I have no issues with my V20, no matter how far I ride. The S40 is painful, requiring stops every 30-40 miles, and I rode it 11K miles last year. I have the Thor Carrier seat, which helps with shoulder pain. I only wish that Cruzbike sold a touring bike with a 20 deg angle. It would be soooo comfortable.

 

[Always-Learnin]

The Thor seat will not fix recumbutt. I use one and it is more comfortable in other ways, but the angle is made even steeper with it. Recumbutt is angle and weight. Lower angle and lower weight is the only fix I know for recumbutt. I have no issues with my V20, no matter how far I ride. The S40 is painful, requiring stops every 30-40 miles....

Ditto above...

On the stock seat... the only thing that I have found that helps is to add some padding either under my legs at the front of the seat to elevate them slightly and increase the angle or to add padding in my mid-lower back area on the seat which raises the angle of my back to hip region slightly. Both change the angle and subsequent weight distribution slightly but adding padding at the front of the seat seems to work the best for me. YMMV of course.

The Thor seat was great when I had my Silvio 2.0+ as it raised my shoulders slightly, but the stock seat's 27 degree angle was fine...no recumbutt at all.

 

[Black Hawk Down]

Ditto above...

On the stock seat... the only thing that I have found that helps is to add some padding either under my legs at the front of the seat to elevate them slightly and increase the angle or to add padding in my mid-lower back area on the seat which raises the angle of my back to hip region slightly. Both change the angle and subsequent weight distribution slightly but adding padding at the front of the seat seems to work the best for me. YMMV of course.

The Thor seat was great when I had my Silvio 2.0+ as it raised my shoulders slightly, but the stock seat's 27 degree angle was fine...no recumbutt at all.

I wish Cruzbike would offer a 27 deg S40. I'd order one instantly.

 

[woodguy]

I think the message from this thread is that the Thor seat solves recumbutt for some folks, but not others. It did solve it for me. I think Black Hawk Down is right that what really helps is a lower angle & lower weight. My Thor on the 2018 Q45 is at about 33 degrees, and that puts most of my weight on my back, not on my butt. It is true that mounting it to the bike requires some creativity.

 

[cpml123]

I think the message from this thread is that the Thor seat solves recumbutt for some folks, but not others. It did solve it for me. I think Black Hawk Down is right that what really helps is a lower angle & lower weight. My Thor on the 2018 Q45 is at about 33 degrees, and that puts most of my weight on my back, not on my butt. It is true that mounting it to the bike requires some creativity.

I imagine these would be a great combo of all Cruzbike's good points. Make the seat incline to around 30 deg. Install Thor seat with neckrest. Keep 42 chainring. Change RD to Eagle GX 12 speed with 10/52 cassette. Change wheels to light carbon wheels with XD driver. Change to air shock. This way you can both go fast and climb big hills with cushy ride while carrying lots of groceries!

 

[Black Hawk Down]

Well.. I, for one, prefer Ultegra DI2 group set. I would never ride a manual shifter again. Once you go electronic shifting, you can never go back.

 

[Gary123]

Well.. I, for one, prefer Ultegra DI2 group set. I would never ride a manual shifter again. Once you go electronic shifting, you can never go back.

Yes u can.

 

[Black Hawk Down]

Yes u can.

Not me. I'm done with mechanical shifting. DI2 syncroshift is brilliant.

 

[2whluge]

I just got done riding RAGBRAI on my Q45 with the stock seat. I had it reclined to eliminate the recumbutt but after a couple of days my hips were sore from getting bounced around. Then I straightened it up and the RB came back. I had to stop about 20 miles from the end of the last day to change the angle, not an easy thing with the rack attached. At that point, I longed for my old Volae with the carbon seat that I could make quick, infinite adjustments.

Part of the CB seat problem, IMHO, is that the seat pan stays at the same angle. Changing anything on this seat takes more time and tools than any bent I’ve had. I tried a Ventisit, it’s like a rock.

I have a Bacchetta mesh seat which is comfy, but too high and close to the bars for my liking. I may try the Volae seat, I know how that works.

 

[bladderhead]

Yes u can

Yes u can make a BEFS(bar-end-friction-shifter).

 

[Black Hawk Down]

Yes u can make a BEFS(bar-end-friction-shifter).

and.. @Gary123

I rode most of my long life with mechanical derailleurs. Index shifting improved things quite a bit. But going to electronic shifting is a game changer for me. The software makes micro adjustments for each gear, especially when shifting the front derailleur. When going up a steep hill and having to quickly downshift, there's never a case where the chain slips and causes you to slow down, right when you don't want to. Also, it has syncroshift so that you press one button to shift up and another to shift down. You don't need to think about the front derailleur and you barely can tell that it's shifting. Of course this isn't an issue if you do without the front derailleur, which is popular with modern mountain bikes. I prefer having a lot of gears as I do touring with lots of mountain climbs, but want speed on the flats with a tailwind. I also like keeping a constant cadence in hilly terrain.

The software allows you to decide at what point the front shifts and how many gears the back will shift at the same time, making ultra smooth transitions. The battery on the DI2 lasts for about 500-600 miles before needing a recharge, your miles may very depending on how often you shift.

I recently used it on an 11,000 mile tour and it failed once when the software somehow got corrupted. A bikeshop downloaded the latest firmware and reset it. It hasn't failed since. I also rode my V20 with DI2 for over 10K miles without any issues. In comparison, through my 40 years of using mechanical shifting, I had issues every year with chains coming off or jamming. Skipping when going up steep hills, riding in a big gear on the front and back without realizing it. They were also difficult to adjust properly during maintenance. You have to change the cables regularly. I've never changed my electric cables.

To each his own on this topic, but my opinion is electronic shifting is light years ahead of mechanical.

 

[jeffTrinkle]

I wish Cruzbike would offer a 27 deg S40. I'd order one instantly

 

[Derek]

I put a Thor carbon sport medium on my v20 and immediately slowed down by almost 2 kph. It kicked my shoulders forward into the wind. It was comfy but I can sacrifice for speed. It’s been collecting dust in my attic ever since.

 

[LarryOz]

I put a Thor carbon sport medium on my v20 and immediately slowed down by almost 2 kph. It kicked my shoulders forward into the wind. It was comfy but I can sacrifice for speed. It’s been collecting dust in my attic ever since.

I had the same experience - a little more comfy - and better lumbar - by at the sacrifcie of speed. No Thanks!
I added my own lumbar to my stock Cruzbike seat - so it perfect for me at this point.

 

[Always-Learnin]

I had the same experience - a little more comfy - and better lumbar - by at the sacrifcie of speed. No Thanks!
I added my own lumbar to my stock Cruzbike seat - so it perfect for me at this point.

Larry, how about some photos of that setup?

 

[vmi1056]

Late to the party but why not chime in. Can’t speak from the V20 perspective but I installed the Thor on my S40 and it has been a game changer for me. As stated by others, sets my upper body up a little higher but I will sacrifice that for more comfort and it totally eliminated my recumbutt. I have broad shoulders so I’m not very aero to begin with and the amount of comfort I gained from switching to the Thor has been worth it. I also experimented with it on my Q45 and it was an awesome experience on that bike as well. Allows for the recline angle to decrease in the 30’s and makes that bike a very comfy ride.