Submitted by
ziggler
a Weekend Warrior
from Concord, CA
Date Reviewed: August 18, 2010
Strengths: Comfort, weight, durability
Weaknesses: None so far
Bottom Line:
For my little butt this thing has been amazing. Combined with my Pearl Izumi shorts and It's been so comfortable. I've used 2 of these saddles. One on the Kona I sold a year ago and one on my Iron Horse. I will buy another. I have not had any problems with the rails or the cover ripping. It has performed flawlessly.
Similar Products Used: Rival, Phenom,Fizzick, WTB, Selle Italia...
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Submitted by
Michal
a Weekend Warrior
from Poland, Katowice
Date Reviewed: May 30, 2009
Strengths: only looks
Weaknesses: its a saddle but you simply cant sit on it for more then 10 minutes
Bottom Line:
This is a pricy high end specialized saddle. It looks good and when you touch it, it feels comfy. But when you start to use it... it’s a disaster... I've been riding mountain bikes for over 17 years now, started with a fully rigid bike with cantilever brakes and my ass has never been hurt so much ! This saddled feels like its hard as a rock after a while, more its even feels like its want to hurt you on purpose. I tried different setting and ridden it in every possible terrain / situation in the past 3 weeks. I have just finished another ride and I'm getting this POS of my bike. Yet another very poor designed product from specialized :(
Similar Products Used: many saddles, recently fizik nisene
Bike Setup: Z1 FR SL (still such a sweet fork), giant vt with a swinger X3
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Submitted by
beeglemania
a Cross Country Rider
from florida
Date Reviewed: March 18, 2009
Strengths: Super comfortable, light
Weaknesses: WEAK RAILS!
Bottom Line:
I've had the steel rail version of this saddle for 5 years and have even bent a seat post while it was mounted. The rails never bent and its still in decent shape. I got the Ti version now and in less than a dozen rides the rails bent after a jump. I'm going back to steel.
Similar Products Used: Specialized Rival w/ Chromo Rails
Bike Setup: Niner SS
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Submitted by
danlorek
a Weekend Warrior
from san diego
Date Reviewed: December 2, 2008
Strengths: Great looks, very comfortable for me due to width being spot on for the 143
Weaknesses: rails bend and come out of rear mount hole
Bottom Line:
On the second ride of my first rival, one of the rails popped out of the back hole and i could not get it back in. speesh warrantied this as they should. last weekend on the replacement, the rail came out again at gooseberry. saddle is back at shop, i'm sure they'll take care of it but i've requested a different comparable saddle as i feel the design is flawed. they should have deeper holes for the rails to mount into so they cannot pop out. expect this saddle to fail.
Submitted by
tlg4276
a Weekend Warrior
from Overland Park, KS, USA
Date Reviewed: June 20, 2008
Strengths: Saddle is well designed and comfortable. Good for all day epic rides.
Weaknesses: Snapped the left rail on a non-technical trail.
Bottom Line:
I love this saddle however this is now the 3rd Specialized Saddle I have broke or have bent the rails on. This may be do to me being classified as a clydsdale and weight a little over 200.
Similar Products Used: Terry, Fizik, Brooks, and others.
Bike Setup: Badger 29'r Single speed with Speed Dream wheels, King headset, Ritchey bar, Thompson seat post and XT cranks.
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Submitted by
Josh Hollman
a Cross Country Rider
from Sydnei
Date Reviewed: February 22, 2008
Strengths: Body geometry?
Weaknesses: Saddle frame is hard, padding becomes very thin in contact with the base of the saddle
Bottom Line:
This saddle becomes thin padded when your bones makes the most pressure. This areas should be the most confortable with a thicker padding yet it becomes deformed and you can feel the saddle frame hard on your pelvic bones.
This kind of 'memory' padding works well for pillows, not for saddles.
When its fully depressed, you can feel how hard it is on your bones.
I've dropped this saddle and replaced with my stock bontrager.
Weaknesses: to be this lite - the rails have to be thin..
Bottom Line:
I really have to chuckle at some of the comments regarding comfort. Has it not occurred to these folks that a seat is a very personal item. Good grief man –its where all you bits and pieces are. Upon which you have a very small area in which to perch all that junk. Now, I’m no medical doctor, but I’m pretty sure every ones butt is not the same as the next. Accordingly, if the seat don’t fit – don’t use it. Get one that does…
As for the rails issue – I’m not exactly inclined to blame the manufacture on this one. As this is a common issue with all seat rails. Lets face it if you want a rail that wont bend, then opt for a tempered sold steel construction – But I better not catch you whining about the weight. Personally I am absolutely puzzled as to why the seat posts designs are so badly designed. Other than the Syntace P6, the clamps on most of these posts only serve as pinch point to bend any rail. Let’s face it who gives a rats ass on how easy it is to adjust. Once I set it I’m pretty much done with it. Lets put some effort in supporting the rail please..
Weaknesses: Tha padding 'bottoms out of travel' becoming very thin enough to feel the saddle's frame. Fortunately I could sell them on ebay.
Bottom Line:
I've tried this saddle because of the so called and famous 'specialized body geometry'. That is a very interesting reading on their website at least. OK, then you have a saddle that has very soft rails, a padding that will be very comfortable for the first 10 minutes of your ride until it bottoms out (you may stand on the bike for a minute and wait the saddle padding recover its shape so you can sit down again. The weight is not very atractive compared to lightweight 'birth control' saddles out there like SLR that are as unconfotable as this one. I think there is only one reason to move from a saddle that weights 160 grams to a saddle that weights 235 grams: CONFORT. Nothing else. With this specialized saddle you will be swithing to a heavier and less confortable saddle, so there is no point at all. Now I'm riding a WTB laser V saddle with Ti Rails. They have the same heavyweight (235g), kevlar padding on both sides, a very soft frame that acts like a suspension and a very confortable padding that won't bottom out or stay deformed when you stand. I had spent only 19 bucks more for the WTB, it is even more expensive, but at least I'm not regret. If you're a weekend warrior riding 1 hour a day you might even like the saddle, specially if the 'S' hypnotizes you. If your riding style is seated, even while climbing, longer rides, there are other options to consider.
Similar Products Used: SLR, WTB Laser V * Best so far *
Bike Setup: Titus Motolite/XTR /36 RC2/Crossmax ST
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Submitted by
Bluerider1
a Cross Country Rider
from Oceanside
Date Reviewed: November 3, 2007
Strengths: Comfortable
Weaknesses: Titanium rails, foam
Bottom Line:
Bought the seat on Aug 4, 07 from Surf City Cyclery. I'm 6'1, 200 lbs not a hucker or a jumper. The seat rail broke after 90 days. I was riding on a flat single track in Rancho Penasquitos when the rear right rail snapped while pedaling on a short climb. Called surf City Cyclery to get maybe a warranty replacement or any assistance but I heard the dreadful answer of " No, we don't warranty those" even though it was less than a 4 months. I liked the seat but the rails are too weak and Specialized or maybe the store is not backing up their products. Switching to WTB laser v (medium wide 143).
Similar Products Used: WTB rocket, Selle Italia SLR
Bike Setup: 07 Epic Marathon.
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Submitted by
Steve
a Cross Country Rider
from Palo Alto, CA
Date Reviewed: September 8, 2007
Strengths: LIght.
Weaknesses: foam padding that loses resiliency after one hour, seat "wings" rub inside of thighs
Bottom Line:
Me: 155 Lb, 6'1" cross country rider. The Product: This saddle is a major disappointment, especially as an offering from Specialized. I generally like Specialized products, but this product is incredibly poor. The first impression on the first ride was that the seat felt hard after an hour and the side "wings" on the saddle rubbed the inside of my thighs uncomfortably. All in the name of ergonomics, I thought. After several more ~2 hour rides, I discovered the foam was so broken down that you could push your thumb into the where your sit bones rest, and it felt like plastic--less than 1/8" of give, and very little flex in the saddle body. After a couple 8 hour rides and trying to get used to it, I was more sore than I've ever been after any ride. And the rubbing of the wings never went away, either, causing serious chafing on those long rides. Maybe the shape is a personal preference thing, but I've ridden on numerous saddles the past 15 years, and none has ever been this uncomfortable. Even if shape is a personal preference, the foam was so poor I would deem this saddle unacceptable on that factor alone. Questioning my sanity, I put a WTB Pure V saddle on the bike--very similar weight and shape--and did (OK, attempted) a 100 mile race, and it exhibited none of the problems of the specialized saddle. I highly recommend the WTB Pure V instead of this saddle. If nothing else, the foam is much higher quality and does not break down after an hour.
Similar Products Used: WTB Rocket V Stealth, WTB Pure V, others
Bike Setup: Yeti 575
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Submitted by
Adolfo Cuadra
a Weekend Warrior
from Gainesville, FL, USA
Date Reviewed: February 25, 2007
Strengths: Very comforatble, tough and looks very cool
Weaknesses: Once again, the rails are cheap. Cromoly rials bend like soft aluminum
Bottom Line:
I've had a number of bad falls that have torn up saddles in the past. I would have expected tears on the side, but, I can barely even make out any scuff marks. The top of the saddle is in great shape, in large part due to the tough protective sidewalls. The rails on the other hand are the last thing I expected to give. Don't know exactly when it bent (may even be slowly, over time). Then I found that I could easily bend them back, while mounted on the post (not particularly confidence inspiring). Real shame, because as saddles go it felt just right. If only I could have the rails replaced.
Submitted by
PJ
a Cross Country Rider
from Perth,WA,Australia
Date Reviewed: October 25, 2006
Strengths: lightweight, very comfortable
Weaknesses: unreasonably weak rails
Bottom Line:
This was by far the most comfortable saddle I could find. Then found both rails were bent after just three rides. I am only 76kg and not a big jumper. I harassed for a replacement and that bent after just one ride on an easy XC course. This would be a great comfy saddle for a pro-jockey spin class, otherwise avoid. I would have replaced it with the cro-mo version, but that has less comfy padding. Despite being so comfortable, it only gets one chilli because the hollow titanium rails were so weak, twice. No bending detectable with the WTB Pure cro-mo after 3 months.
Similar Products Used: Stock cheapo saddle, WTB pure
Bike Setup: Giant ATX 870 hardtail with knobs on
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Submitted by
Holger
a Cross Country Rider
from Heidelberg, Germany
Date Reviewed: August 15, 2006
Strengths: comfort, looks, weight
Weaknesses: durability
Bottom Line:
I was very satisfied with this saddle....good seat comfort, allows for hours of riding without major problems...if there wasn't the problem that one titanium rail broke after just 3 months...although I'm not the lightest (90kg) this shouldn't happen with a saddle of that price...will get me the Cro-Moly version (not "SL") instead for replacement as the functional qualities of this saddle are still very convincing...
