Submitted by
Sam
a Cross Country Rider
from Burbank, CA
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2003
Strengths: Durable, light, dropped nose is great for climbing
Bottom Line:
This is still the saddle all others are compared to. I have now tried a number of saddles with cutouts and "anatomic" designs, and some are pretty good, but I was surprised to find that none do a better job than this one preventing numbness on on long rides. Everyone has their preferences, but the relatively wide rear and soft nose work for me. Works equally well on road and mountain bikes.
Similar Products Used: Specialized Comp and Pro saddles, Koobi Silver, Brooks B-17 narrow, Avocet, etc.
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Submitted by
Jervis
a Cross Country Rider
from Illinois
Date Reviewed: October 31, 2002
Strengths: VERY comfortable. Good and light. Cheap enough I can get two or three at a time.
Weaknesses: The "leather" cover started coming off on the first ride.
Bottom Line:
Great saddle. Took some time to get my ass used to it, but when you switch saddles that's gonna happen. After one good sized ride I was set. I don't even use padded shorts and this thing doesn't chafe at all. They also have the ti railed version, which I imagine would be much lighter and still just as comfy. 5 for the value and 4 because the covering is starting to come off after the first ride.
Similar Products Used: Body Geometry, cheap schwinn and pacific saddles
Bike Setup: Trek 9900 Custom Duke XC
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Submitted by
Jervis
a Cross Country Rider
from Illinois
Date Reviewed: October 31, 2002
Strengths: VERY comfortable. Good and light. Cheap enough I can get two or three at a time.
Weaknesses: The "leather" cover started coming off on the first ride.
Bottom Line:
Great saddle. Took some time to get my ass used to it, but when you switch saddles that's gonna happen. After one good sized ride I was set. I don't even use padded shorts and this thing doesn't chafe at all. They also have the ti railed version, which I imagine would be much lighter and still just as comfy. 5 for the value and 4 because the covering is starting to come off after the first ride.
Submitted by
Mangk Rut Eater
a Downhiller
from Manila, Philippines
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2002
Strengths: im one of the few weird downhillers who prefer a small seat than a big love seat. this seat ha a real comfy ride. the rails are also very stiff (my seatpost was the one to break). thick leather. cheap (at least here they are). bad ass looks! (looks like gonzo)
Weaknesses: there isnt one i can think of.
Bottom Line:
This seat is the best seat ive had so far. I have no plans of changing it till I break it. Ive already destroyed 3 seats in less than a year, probably because of a bad habit of sitting down after doing drops and wheelie drops. so far, this seat still looks brand new. rails are still straight. I think it broke the saddle curse I have.
Similar Products Used: Titec Berserkr (wrecked it after 1 ride), Velo, Tioga, Gel. Wrecked them all!
Bike Setup: GT Hardtail.
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Submitted by
john
a Cross Country Rider
from east berlin,ct
Date Reviewed: May 13, 2002
Strengths: comfort(individual preference),able to move around on saddle when nesessary
Weaknesses: a little flexy (ti version)
Bottom Line:
As an earlier reviewer wrote, once used to it it is hard to be comfortable on anything else. I prefer the drop nose. Seat preference is definitley an individual thing. This one works for me.
Favorite Trail: california trail, harrisonburg, va
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$30.00
Similar Products Used: - don't remember brand
Bike Setup: diamonb back racing, manitou ti, xt,
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Submitted by
Gordon Ghenter
a Cross Country Rider
from Flagstaff AZ
Date Reviewed: January 27, 2002
Bottom Line:
This is really the only saddle I have ever used. I have only been into cycling for about two years and I am still using the WTB SST saddle that came on my first bike. I see no reason to change. This saddle is just plain nice. I have never experienced any pain or numbness with this seat, even on a couple of five or six hour long rides that I have been on. I got a new bike with a squishy seat that I found unbearable (it just hurt everthing in the pelvic region), so I took this saddle off my old bike. I dont see how a saddle could be better for me than this one is. I've got probably 15,000 off road miles on this saddle and it's still in great condition. Finding the right saddle is a personal business, but I'd recomend this one. Don't take my word for it, the WTB SST is only $15 at pricepoint.com right now (or two for $25). I think I'll buy a couple while they're this cheap (and available) so I'll have a replacement whin this one wears out.
Weaknesses: Can't withstand skidding on the pavement after a crash on black ice. Oops ... can't withstand skidding on pavement after I was stupid enough to ride my bike when there was black ice around and then crashed.
Bottom Line:
I agree with Graham here. I made the mistake of switching to a Selle Italia seat and it hurt like you wouldn't believe. I had to stop every few miles to get my baggies readjusted. That lasted all of a week before I went back to my original and trusty WTB. Now, after crashing a week ago and ripping it up, I am getting yet another one of these (Price Point for $15). Over time I have upgrade everything on my bike except the frame, handlebars and seat. When I finally swap out the handlebars and frame, I'll still keep this seat!
As for the value on this, at $15, I wish I could rate it higher than a 5!
Bike Setup: The only thing that applies to this seat: Cane Creek Thudbuster. Otherwise, GT Backwoods with some upgrades.
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Submitted by
Graham
a Weekend Warrior
from Perth, Australia
Date Reviewed: October 2, 2001
Strengths: Good, solid, sound design. Value for money.
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
An excellent and inexpensive saddle that keeps pressure off the 'delicate' bits by design. I made the terrible mistake of switching to a swanky leather-covered, ti-railed Selle Italia Flite for a few weeks. What a piece of nut-busting, perinaeum-pounding load of arse that was!
Similar Products Used: Selle Italia Flite with titanium rails
Bike Setup: Mount Vision XT Manitou Fox
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Submitted by
Dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Mechanicsville, VA
Date Reviewed: September 2, 2001
Strengths: Works for me. Tough enough. Cheap enough
Bottom Line:
Saddles are a personal thing. Works for me like nothing else interms of performance and comfort. Who cares if the rails are steel or ti. Did not work for me as a road saddle, but good for the more upright mtb.
Submitted by
James Henry
a Cross Country Rider
from West Jordan, Utah
Date Reviewed: June 26, 2001
Strengths: Very light, comfortable, once you get used to it.
Weaknesses: Uncomfortable until you get used to it.
Bottom Line:
Awesome saddle. IT was uncomfortable until I got used to it, now I don't like any other saddles. Kudo's to their support people. I screwed up the rails driving into a carport, and they replaced the rails.
Similar Products Used: Terry liberator. Specialized no name
Bike Setup: Gary Fisher Mt. Tam. XTR/XT mix. Bontrager seatpost/handlebar. Manitou fork. Avid brakes. Ibis goodies.
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Submitted by
Rod Angler
a Weekend Warrior
from NOLA
Date Reviewed: December 14, 2000
Strengths: I reviewed this saddle on 9/23/00 and this is an update.
* Can be had at "blowout" prices of $20-$25 if you pay attention to sales at Pricepoint, Supergo, etc.
* Is offered in a "comfort zone" model which has some softer foam (but no groove or cutout, good!) for numbness relief. Same comfort zone model has a flexier base (not rails, overall saddle stiffness) that gives it some give, a sort of mini-suspension.
* offered with Kevlar side panels (colored)
Weaknesses: None, except maybe weight... but I think they make a Titanium railed model if you must spend for grams.
Bottom Line:
I reviewed this saddle back on 9/23/00.
Since that time, I've ridden a Selle Italia Flite Gel and a Koobi Au Enduro, and I sat on an SDG BelAir for a while at a shop. All of these three have been rated highly in one place, or by more than one magazine writer (these guys get to ride a lot of different gear and often are pretty good judges).
The Selle Italia is a cool looking saddle, but just isn't shaped like my butt, so it hurt.
The Koobi is a decent saddle, but didn't prevent numbness despite the split saddle design. Durability came into question ... the leather near the nose was chafed after only a few rides. Koobi has a good return policy. Good people. And may be just the saddle for some people. Not me.
The SDG wasn't promising enough in a shop test to warrant a field test, for me anyway.
I'm back to the WTB is the best I've found so far, and a helluva bargain if you catch a "blowout" price around $20+/-. I think it boils down to three things: 1. The rear of the seat just happens to support most of my weight on my butt bones in a way that is shaped right and yields reasonable comfort. 2. The WTB's have a distinct dip in the center of the saddle, the "soft" or "taint" or prostate area. This helps to keep weight ON your butt bones and OFF your prostate, and keeps numbness and discomfort at a reasonably low level, i.e. it doesn't rub you raw or smash that nerve that causes the naughty bits (as Monty Python would say) to go numb. 3. The nose shape is great... it is very rounded and dips down further than most, such that baggie shorts don't seem to catch after a reasonably comfortable session riding the nose of the rounded saddle in a climb. I have found that keeping the top of the nose about 1/2" below the top of the rear of the saddle yields optimum comfort...i.e. nosed down a few degrees.
The WTB "Comfort Zone" version appears to be worthwhile. Nothing dramatic, but directionally it is right. The top of the saddle is still like the regular WTB, one continuous leather covering, no split saddle. You can see a different type of blue foam, oval shaped, is inserted into the main saddle foam in the prostate area. It is softer than the rest of the saddle, and so, well, does help a bit. The whole "comfort zone" saddle is noticeably flexier also, a sort of mini-suspension, yet it never feels funny or overly flexy, you don't notice while riding except that directionally it seems to be part of the comfort equation.
I'm pretty much finished searching for saddles. This one wins for me. It isn't perfect, but I've found no better. Saddles are like shoes, only worse. You just gotta find one that fits your particular arse geometry.
Therefore, my second score is the big five blow torched mutant groundhogs. Worth a look if you hurt.
Similar Products Used: Selle Italia Flite Gel (looks cool, medium comfort), Koobi Au Enduro (not bad, overpriced), SDG BelAir (worth a look/sit), Selle Italia Royale SRG (the OEM seat on my K2, and just a complete piece of $hit, just terrible)
Which one is comfortable, for around the same price I can order one of those online.
The SST what I like is the nose dip and the measurements are almost the same as my now bent Pu Read More »
