Bike Setup: schwinn hardtail with front suspension, icon 90 degree t-stem, bontrager race lite lux ti seat, upgraded pedals
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Steve K
a Cross Country Rider
from Columbia Falls, MT
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2007
Strengths: ULTRA LIGHT! Super shock absorption. Looks great.
Weaknesses: Weaknesses?
Bottom Line:
What a huge relief to my pelvic bones! I can't believe a 205 gram saddle could be this comfortable. The shock absorption is amazing! The San Marco Blaze Gel I was riding should be classified as a weapon of a$$ destruction and banned! Lucky for San Marco there is no category to review that medieval torture device. I bought the Titanium rail version of the Bontrager Race Lite CRZ, and it was worth very penny of the $85 price tag. Highly recommended if you want a high comfort ultra light saddle.
Similar Products Used: Vetta Trishock TT (great saddle, despite the reviews), Selle San Marco Blaze Arrowhead Gel (OH the horrible pain!)
Bike Setup: 03' Jamis cro-mo hardtail, Manitou R7 Super, XT drivetrain, Avid SD-7 rim brakes, Bontrager Race Lite CRZ Ti, Eggbeater SL pedals.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
CJ Parker
a Cross Country Rider
from NY
Date Reviewed: April 24, 2007
Strengths: light and well designed for technical manuverability, looks nice also. comfortable.
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
Saddles are personal preference IMO but I was surpised at the negative reviews here. This is a race saddle on a race bike. The best Mtbike racing saddle I have ever used. I would even buy it as an aftermarket product. Never catches on technical situtations and provides easy manuverability. It's strong with the ti rails (a tad amount of flex) and is reasonably light at 220grams. I ride this on race day and 3-4 hour epic rides. It's comfortbale to me. I can't ask for more in a saddle. For road use, will keep my Flite Trans Am though.
Similar Products Used: multiple selle italia models road and off road, WTB SSX
Bike Setup: Fuel 100, mostly stock except CK headset,egg beaters, and whatever tire choice is for the day.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
loonyOne
a Weekend Warrior
from Waterloo, IA, USA
Date Reviewed: November 20, 2005
Strengths: Nice design with definitive accents meant for a reason. Titanium rails. Very light.
Weaknesses: Very 'slippery' and very narrow.
Bottom Line:
First off, I'm a bonified WTB saddle guy. They fit me well. I have had quite a few of them and have never strayed...til now. Had some bikes stolen and this saddle came on one of the bikes I have replaced. Me no likey! Very slippery! It always felt as though I was in a different spot on the saddle, nothing like the 'grounded' feel a WTB gives. I am willing to give it some more chances, but as winter approaches, time in the saddle must be valued and appreciated, not fought with. Maybe I'll give it another shot next year. I slightly downgraded the rating to reflect my personal opinion of the fit.
Weaknesses: That bontrager dont advertise there products! wish id found it sooner
Bottom Line:
Just a well made good saddle, its really cheap so i was weary but its been really good, so comfy and when combined with the titanium rails and a carbon post takes the sting out of my hardtail.
Similar Products Used: Titec armour, specialized body geometry
Bike Setup: Fisher hardtail, sram x9, rockshox reba race with poplock, fsa and bontrager carbon parts.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ken
a Cross Country Rider
from Kent, WA USA
Date Reviewed: March 4, 2003
Strengths: The length of the saddle let's you really move around. Comfort, Shape. Styling.
Weaknesses: It took awhile to get it adjusted right for me.
Bottom Line:
Saddles that feel great to some people don't to others. Obviously they are very personal. But for me this is a great saddle. Note that this is the Race model without the extra padding/gel and all the extra stiching. I would rather not have all the bells and whistles in a saddle. It did take awhile to get the nose angle adjusted properly, once I did the comfort level went up, Big Time.
So the lesson is take the time to make minor adjustments to your saddle and it may pay off. Also you need to break in the saddle as well as your body.
If you only ride occasionally you may never be comfortable on ANY saddle.
Similar Products Used: FS2000, San Marco Concur, Sella Italia TurboMatic
Bike Setup: Klein Palomino Race, Stock
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Sprocketeer
a Cross Country Rider
from Narashino, Chiba, Japan (native of New York)
Date Reviewed: January 19, 2003
Strengths: Ti rails--If I knew before now that titanium rails made such a difference, I would have been using them for years and years by now.
Gel insert--it's not too mushy. It does the job just right.
Fantastic design--lots of stitching, just enough give, shaped just right for to be comfortable but perform better than any other saddle I've used.
Weaknesses: That I didn't find out about it earlier.
Bottom Line:
This is one of those saddles that, years later, your going to hang like a trophy on your wall or keep on the mantle just for show.
I paid the difference on this saddle as a warranty replacement for a Bontrager FS2000 which ripped on it's own. It was a real shame too, because I thought that was the best saddle ever. But forget the FS2000; THIS is the best saddle EVER! Everything outside of comfort which is great about the FS2000 is far better on the Race Lite.
When I first put it on my bike and rode it I thought it was actually longer than any other saddle I rode before. It isn't, but there's certainly more space to play around on with this saddle. I never rode a saddle before which allowed me to adjust my position mid-ride so much. And once you get it set just right for yourself it's very comfortable.
Performance wise, it's like it's not even there. It's that easy to move both on it and around it.
I like the colors, but I went with black because it fit the overall design of my bike well. I'm going to get a yellow one to go on my other bike.
Similar Products Used: Bontrager FS 2000--which the Race Lite was a replacement for. 1995 Selle San Marco--I think that was the model as well as the brand; a real torture trap which came stock on a 1995 TREK. TFI Liberator--made in Italy, extremely comfortable, but I completely wore it out. And a Vetta Gel, back in the day.
Bike Setup: 2002 Trek 8000 with Shimano 959 pedals, Shimano XT bottom bracket and crankset, titanium skewers, Bontrager Race Lite titanium rail saddle, and Panacer Fire XC tires.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Kevin Woodward
a Cross Country Rider
from Soquel, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: January 11, 2003
Strengths: This is for a Race Lite Ti ... much superier to the standard Race Lite. Solid, bombproof. A little expensive retailing for $120, but you can find online for less. Hey, it looks *great* too.
Weaknesses: It's hard as a rock if you're in it for longer than an hour, but my butt is way out of shape and all skin & bones. It's pretty comfortable overall, tho.
Bottom Line:
Far better than I deserve. Pretty much a high-end product. Oh, don't buy the non-Ti version. It's a completely different saddle and basically, it sucks.
Favorite Trail: West Ridge, Forest of Nisene Marks
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$90.00
Purchased At: online
Similar Products Used: Lower end Bontrager.
Bike Setup: 2000 Sugar 2, Thomson post and stem, Monkeylite bars, XT crank and bottom bracket, Panaracer FireXCPros, Eggbeaters, sucky stock wheelset (next and final upgrade)
To the rider below my post. i wrote the reviews here and bought it for a try, yes this saddle are great as it is rated. to da dukester, No, u have to get the ti version with the gel padding and kevlar sides as it's more comfortable . and not the crappy cheap chromoly version with no extra gel padding and kevlar. Or you might be a heavy rider because i have a nephew too who are quite heavy. light racing saddles like many ranges of selle italia and many more does not suit him and it seems he have to go on for a downhill kind of saddle or pretty heavy SGD saddle.
Submitted by
DG
a Cross Country Rider
from Lake Zurich
Date Reviewed: October 6, 2002
Strengths: Lite
Weaknesses: comfort
Bottom Line:
This saddle sucks! The people that have given this product a thumbs up must have purchased the buns of steel video! I have been ridding for over 10 years and have never had such a terrible experience in my life! If its so important for you to take a small amount of weight off your bike then get this saddle. If you would like to have a lite seat with some comfort then get something else. After reading the reviews from the other riders on this web site I went out and got this seat. What a mistake and waste of money!!!!!
Have been testing many kinds of saddles over the years, although this is not the best of the saddles i have ridden but i reckon to give it 5 hot chilies in terms of design,price and comfort.
