Convert Western Saddle to Regular Saddle? I have a Sun adult trike with a western saddle.  That's the kind of saddle that you plunk your whole bum on, instead of a standard bike saddle that you straddle and just your sit bones contact.


This trike currently has the 19" U-shaped support bar and whatever the standard seatpost is (7/8" x ?).  This makes for a very low saddle height, and has that big honking saddle.  I'd like to replace this configuration with something higher up and a standard saddle if possible.  I know about the 21" support bar, and longer seat posts, but this bike does not have reasonable seat stays, so no way to just go to a standard seatpost/clamp arrangement (I think).



So, the question is, does anyone have thoughts, or better, has seen a product, that would let me mount a regular saddle on this support bar/weak seatpost combination?  I can get a longer support bar, and longer seatpost.  I can change the angle of the support bar, though not the seatpost.  I could weld on better seatstays, but with a 7/8" post, it probably still wouldn't be strong enough without something like the support bar.
Looks like there might be welding in your bike's future.  A competent welder might be able to attach some better seat stays that terminate below the clamp.  Then you'd use a normal saddle on a normal seat post.

BUT there will be a lot of unsupported seat tube poking up.  As a tall rider, I have over-extended seatposts leading to bent seatposts and cracked frames.



Your other option is to get your welder to make a bridge between the existing seatpost and the existing stays, and then mount a normal saddle on that using an old-school saddle clamp but rotated down.   

The risk here is the saddle will fall sideways if the bridge tube is round, so perhaps your metalworker can find some half-inch box section and mangle the bike clamp so it goes around a square profile.  

Edit:
Here's a spin bike with something vaguely similar.  The seatpost can adjust up/down, and the horizontal box section sits in a channel, and can't move sideways.  It can move fore-aft if the hold-down bolt is released.  On top of that is a short vertical round tube, where a normal seat clamp fits.