Hi everyone, I have a Zwift bike coming in the next week. Is the saddle comfortable or do you recommended a bike seat pad cover? If so, which one do you think provides the most comfort? Thanks!
I can’t say if the saddle will be comfortable for you. If you haven’t been on a bike for a while, there’s a fair chance that you’ll get some level of discomfort from any saddle. The Zwift saddle is OK for me but your body is your own and if you want a saddle that works for you, I suggest going to a bike shop for fitting advice. Bike fit also affects saddle comfort, so a saddle that might be perfectly acceptable when the bike fit is good might feel unacceptable when the bike fit needs improvement. Personally I would never use a saddle cover as a solution to either saddle fit or bike fit problems.
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Hey Dane – welcome to the world of indoor pain… I mean, cycling! 
Exciting that your Zwift bike is on the way!
About the saddle: it’s not exactly a sofa, but that’s by design. Most cyclists don’t use padded seat covers – they might look like a good idea, but they usually just make things worse by adding squish, shifting around, and causing more chafing.
The real trick? A decent pair of padded cycling shorts (a.k.a. bib shorts). They do the job without turning your saddle into a marshmallow.
That said, everyone’s different – if after a few rides your sit bones are staging a rebellion, it might be worth looking into saddle fit or different shorts. But give it a few sessions first.
Not recommended for any of them. The trick is the right shaped saddle and properly fitting bib shorts with quality padding.
These are very personal choices - what works for me might not work for you. Saddle choice is about avoiding excess pressure in any one point.
You might try multiple saddles before you work out what works. Saddle height, angle and position fore/aft is another key point.
Too high and you’ll hurt, too low and your knees will be hurting (among other things).
It’s a fine art and you’ll need to experiment.
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On top of what others have stated, going down the road of cheap bibs can also be a dangerous path. Outdoors they might suffice, but indoors, the need for support and a chamois cushion that doesn’t move around on you is super important, on top of that.. fan(s) that will help evaporate moisture as well.
Soft and fluffy might seem like a good idea, but movement creates heat, creates hotspots, creates pain and sores.
Cheap bibs generally would be in the <$60 range, and same as saddles, not everything works for everyone. I’ve actually found Cuore’s cheapest bibs they only appear to sell on Amazon have been the best for me [indoors]. Thinner padding, but support basically in the butt and sitbones only; less material so more cooling.. so less sweat and rash.
But that took years to figure out. I ran Castelli’s cheapest bibs for a while, but kept getting rash, their air pro? IIRC, chamois, which is just a meshy foam chamois… again, probably perfect outdoors, indoors… would only work for so long until it soaked up sweat.
All of the cheap bibs I bought, sub $50 say, shorts and bibshorts, mostly just fit poorly or had weird positions, which caused me issues; works for some… didn’t work for me.
All things to consider.
All of that said, I actually haven’t heard many people complain about the saddle on the Zwift Ride. It has a modern shape with a relief to attempt to work for both men and women, a short nose, and a nose that tilts down.
There is always going to be discomfort on an indoor bike no matter what. The benefits of the tilt features of some devices and also rocker plates exist to relieve some of that discomfort.. but it’s just indoor riding. It’s going to take time to find the answers.
But a saddle cover is not the answer.
All that will do is cause discomfort through excessive movement and generate more heat.
As Chris mentioned, height, angle, fore/aft can take even the best saddle in the world and make it the worst.
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Forgot about that, very good point. If you are drowning it sweat that will make you very uncomfortable too.
One or two industrial fans should suffice. They are usually cheaper than the bike trainer branded fans as well.
The bibs I wear are either Assos Equipe RS or Cuore “silver” line. Assos lasts longer. For jerseys, the mesh style lightweight jerseys made for extreme heat are good, or otherwise just use those sleeveless triathlon tops.
At the moment because it is very cold here I’m actually wearing a thermal jersey to start with over a normal one until I warm up.