Sweetmel, thanks for the interest in our arm rests. I have not yet removed them, and am personally reluctant to do so, hoping wifey will eventually accept them. I am procrastinating, delaying, ignoring, etc. Her son, a two-wheeler, is telling her removal is a mistake. Her big complaint is not discomfort, but only that her arms "slide off" when wearing her mesh jacket. That bugs her. I'm trying to convince her that perhaps a cloth 'sleeve' over the arm, or bit of velcro, might solve the 'slippage' problem. And, yes, hillbilly, we have tried opening out, etc, experimenting with positions. I'm pretty sure that if I pull them off, in about two weeks she'll want them back on again......