The Dual Action Seat: Maybe not for everyone
Several months ago, I received a Dual Action Seat for evaluation. I really should have written about it sooner, but I’ve been a little lost for words. The first thing that struck me upon lifting the Dual Action Seat from the box was the weight. It is not only in appearance that the Dual Action Seat resembles a boat anchor. As you can see below, the Ritchey seatpost and WTB saddle I pulled from my bike to make way for the Dual Action Seat tipped the scales at just over 600 grams. The Dual Action Seat and seatpost weighed in at almost 1.9 kilograms!
Once I mounted the Dual Action Seat to my bike, the next surprise came with how much the new seat shifted my position forward. The difference shown below may not seem like a lot, but believe me, the difference feels dramatic. While this was another strike against the Dual Action Seat from my perspective, I will admit that if anyone happens to have an ill fitting bike and is looking for a way to shift their position forward, the Dual Action Seat could be the ticket.
As unsettled as I was in this new forward position, I didn’t dwell on it. As it turns out, the Dual Action Seat had another peculiarity that I found more disturbing than the position. From my cursory examination of the saddle, I understood that the two pads of the seat would tilt up and down with the movement of your legs. However, what I found strange was that the entire assembly would also twist side to side like a bar stool. I asked if there was meant to be some sort of mechanism to return the seat to a centered position. I was told that older designs did feature a spring mechanism for that purpose. However, that mechanism was removed due to issues with durability.
To their credit, the people behind the Dual Action Seat are not looking to have everyone replace their current saddle with a Dual Action Seat. They do take pains to emphasize that the Dual Action Seat is meant more for people who for one reason or another simply cannot use a regular bicycle seat. If that describes your situation, by all means, have a look at the Dual Action Seat. For more info, see: DualActionSeat.com.