Description:-The SDG Bel-Air RL is one of the most recognized saddles of all time. From DH to XC to road to BMX racing, it works extremely well for a wide variety of riders and applications. The Bel Airs are raced by top factory teams, including Maxxis, ITS/Santa Cruz, Global Racing, Ironhorse/Madcatz, Answer/Pro Concept and many others around the world.
Submitted by
phildevils@hotmail.com
a Racer
from sherbrooke, QC Date Reviewed: August 16, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Baie St-Paul race track
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$45.00
Purchased At:
sports 4 season
Strengths:
style style style only if you buy it with the leopard cover
Similar Products Used:
wtb of a vertex 50
Bottom Line:
some will say that the aluminium rail are really cheap and you absolutly need the titanium rail. that's not true, I'm a hard rider and my rail stay streath... buy it (leopard only)
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Submitted by
ProStacks
a Cross Country Rider
from Tasmania, Australia Date Reviewed: August 16, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
Geard Cycles - On Gi
Strengths:
Comfortable, good looking, decent rails, good cover (water and tear resistant, easy to clean). Good for moderate Xc racing, or trail riding.
Weaknesses:
Too heavy for hardcore XC
Similar Products Used:
Bel Air Titanium Rails
Bike Setup:
Recreational XC type.
Bottom Line:
Great seat for riding the trails and going on long rides. Good and comfortabe, but without all of the fat cuchioning that you see on some saddles. Looks good. I wouldnt have this saddle it I was looking to do Hardcore XC Racing, But for just cruising the trails and entry level XC its pretty good. Easy to clean and damage resistent. All together, a good buy.
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Submitted by
Nick Price
a Weekend Warrior
from Birmingham, UK Date Reviewed: December 26, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Coed-ye-brennin
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$80.00
Purchased At:
Chainreactioncycles.com
Strengths:
all day comfort, without all the lardy padding, light, alot of styling choise.
Weaknesses:
materials differ depending on what colour option you have.
no womens version
Similar Products Used:
WTB, selle royal
Bike Setup:
i have these saddles on my xc bike and my trail bike
Bottom Line:
i settled on this saddle after working my way through several other brands, i personally find it comfy, it offers a good range of positions, it doesnt snag your shorts easily, its light (Although not XC light, but XC light doesnt = all day comfort)
my only issues you may have are materials, some colour options (mainly fury models, zebra, tiger stripes etc) soak up water like a sponge, whereas slicker models (cammo, cork, cow print etc) are pretty much water proof - bare this in mind when considering which to buy.
i personally have a limited edition blue cammo on giant trance trail bike, and a zebra stripe finish on a kinesis maxlight hardtail.
value 3 - a little pricey
overall 5 - i love em!
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Submitted by
scott
a Downhiller
from canada Date Reviewed: December 10, 2006
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
looks cool, not to hard
Weaknesses:
rails on bottom are weak
Bike Setup:
2006 norco wolverene double wide rims hussefelt stem and crank snafu jump seat howitzer bb drop off comp dmr grips
Bottom Line:
this seat sucks i got home with my new bike rode for 15 minites the next day it was bent and i dident even wipe out and im not fat ether im 120 pounds so i had to ride with a broken seat for a month entel i had enuf money to get a new one.if i were you i wouldent buy this seat its a waste of money.
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Submitted by
Al
a Cross Country Rider
from North Yorks, England Date Reviewed: October 5, 2006
Favorite Trail:
North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$75.00
Strengths:
Build quality, design, most importantly - very comfortable!
Weaknesses:
None
Similar Products Used:
Specialized BG Pro, DMR
Bike Setup:
Ellsworth Epiphany, Fox Talas 130, Mavic XL wheels, XO shifters, XO rear mech, FSA carbon cranks, Thompson x4 stem, Thompson seat post, FSA carbon bars, Hope M4 with floating disks and braided hoses, Crank Bro' Candy SL pedals, Panaracer fire XC's
Bottom Line:
This saddle is so comfortable. If it wears out I will replace it with another Bell Air RL straight away without trying anything else.
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Submitted by
Marcel Linne
a Downhiller
from Littleton, CO, USA Date Reviewed: August 14, 2006
Favorite Trail:
New trails at Keystone Resort
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Fit and finish are second to none - light and strong - tough as nails, cased a double and left no marks - nose and sideguards work as designed - not sure what others were talking about but this is a comfortable seat!
Weaknesses:
After about sixty total hours of hard DH, still looks brand new even after some brutal rock garden tumbling -nothing weak to report yet!
Similar Products Used:
Marzocchi Karve (former favorite), Titec Beserker, Azonic Love Seat.
Bike Setup:
SDG in pimpin' Tiger print, Giant DH Team with Swinger six-way, Super T Pro with DJ springs and direct mount stem, low pro mag pedals, Sram drivetrain, O.S. Big Earl bars with Dangerboy levers and ODI Rogue lock-ons, HFX-9's, Azonic Outlaws matched to Minion super tacky front and High Roller 3c back - Hell Yeah!
Bottom Line:
You want a top shelf seat, give this one a try. tons of flavors to choose from too. If you are a weight weenie, most models are offered in Ti. I have already ordered another saddle for my Mtn Cross/DS bike - these seats are tasty!
Not sure what seat the other fellas are talking about.
Oh yeah.......Cheeseburgers....YUM!
Way better than bangers and mash!
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Submitted by
Mikhail Panasyuk
a Cross Country Rider
from Novosibirsk Date Reviewed: May 26, 2006
My saddle (black/red) came with bike wich I've bought last week. On the first ride home from shop (about 30km) red paint wore out and coloured my pants :(, not funny, red ass... And the saddle now looks as bad as my pants.
Not to say that this saddle is not comfortable (I've ridden about 130km on it), on the same level with my previous WTB Speed V Race.
I'll give this saddle 1/5 because of poor quality.
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Submitted by
Greg
a
from Armidale Date Reviewed: March 19, 2006
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
light
Weaknesses:
Uncomfortable!!
Similar Products Used:
WTB Rocket V; Bontrager Race Lux
Bike Setup:
STP
Bottom Line:
I don't know if my arse is a different shape to the other reviewers, or if you yanks eat too many cheeseburgers, however, this is the most uncomfortable seat I've ever used. That's while wearing nix!
Don't buy this saddle on reputation, try it out first. Additionally, there is no such thing as "breaking in" a quality saddle. You should be able to find out pretty quickly if this saddle is for you.
I say, "horses for courses."
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Submitted by
Guy
a Weekend Warrior
from Manchester, CT Date Reviewed: February 18, 2006
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$60.00
Purchased At:
pricepoint
Strengths:
comfy, light, super strong
Weaknesses:
none at all
Similar Products Used:
some cheap saddles, some expensive ones, none that were as good.
Bike Setup:
mountain cycle san andreas set up for aggressive trail riding
Bottom Line:
I needed a good saddle that was going to be light weight and durable. Those two are not a combination you find very often, especially in a saddle that's only $58. I bought it with some reservation. During the first few rides I was careful, not wanting to bend the rails (as I have on a few other saddles). Then the "accidents" started happening. I've smashed this saddle against rocks while bailing out; I've landed very short, and hurt myself bouncing off the saddle; I've ridden off plenty of little drops while remaining seated. Absolutely nothing has happened to the saddle. If it weren't for the lable becoming slightly flaked, you wouldn't know this saddle had a hard year's worth of riding on it.
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Submitted by
jeff
a Weekend Warrior
from south africa Date Reviewed: January 3, 2006
Favorite Trail:
downhill
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
comfortable,light,looks,everything
Weaknesses:
none yet
Similar Products Used:
none
Bike Setup:
stock stp2 (ozzi version)
Bottom Line:
its great saddle for freeriding ,dj ,xc
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Submitted by
Keith Dunne
a Cross Country Rider
from St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada Date Reviewed: November 5, 2005
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$40.00
Purchased At:
Canary Cycles
Strengths:
Lightweight, comfortable, ti rails, "love channel"
Weaknesses:
None yet
Similar Products Used:
SDG Grand Prix
Bike Setup:
Kona Kula Primo, XT / XTR
Bottom Line:
This is a great saddle. Although I have used it for a brief period, it is comfortable (still breaking it in so I think it will only get better). It is very lightweight which is nice for XC. I will write back with an update ina few months (well, at least after winter). First impression is very good.
$
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