The part of the machine in general use which I found especially imperfect was the seat. There have, it is true, been many attempts to make better seats, but none were what I thought completely successful, I made several experiments before I could get exactly what I wanted, but finally my efforts were crowned with success
The seat which I have devised is, as you will observe, made of strings of different degrees of tension, running from a point in front to cross steel bar giving the requisite width behind. In order to give the right width and form, cross strings are interwoven. The seat is suspended between two supporting points about two feet from each other; and running from the cross steel bar to the rear supporting point are several spiral springs, which afford the requisite elasticity. It will be seen that this seat (called by some the "hammock", and by others the "network" seat) can never become hard or too wide at any point, although it gives the rider more space than other seats.
As, moreover, it "gives" in every direction, the weight is always evenly distributed. You may take my word for it that all cyclist - and especially ladies - after once trying this seat will refuse to ride on any other. It's weight is not more than four ounces, as against the (about) 3 lb. of an ordinary saddle.
Seeing that I should want so much room between the two points for suspending the seat, I found it almost impossible to make a new seat frame which would not be too heavy, and which would have an elegant appearance.
It would be natural to describe the seat first, as Mikael Pedersen invented this first. And it was the "anatomy" of the seat that caused the construction of the frame. He invented a bicycle that fitted the seat. The original seat was woven as a net. The shape was wide at the rear end and narrow at the front. The material was either silk cord or wiped cord and some times thin leather cord, 45 yards (40 m) was used. The net made it very soft to sit on. The seat was supported at the front by an adjustable leather strap and could be tightened or slacked depending on the rider and by 7 springs at the rear, the seat yielded to the body weight and gave a more pleasant ride. The frame imparted a great lateral stability to the machine, and offered excellent resistance to pedal pressure.
Some seats were made with a leather cover like we know it today. Nowadays, seats are made of imitated leather, but the principle is the same.