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Home | Product Reviews | Saddle | Koski Engineering Contour Saddle | ||||
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Submitted by
Jon
from Bozeman, MT, US
Date Reviewed: 5/25/2006 3:48:08 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Price Paid: | $10 |
| Purchased At: | JensonUSA |
| Strengths: | Design, materials, fit, PRICE! |
| Weaknesses: | I eventually bent one rail while jumping a staircase and REALLY hurting my tailbone in the process... stupid all the way around. Availability... |
| Similar Products Tried: | Selle Italia Flite Genuine Gel, ISCA Dakar, OE Velo, and some cheap saddle that was as close to it as I could find. |
| Bike Setup: | 2004 Bianchi Mutt hardtail, Deore 9 speed, disc brakes, Raceface crankset/bottom bracket, sette riser bar, kore stem,maxis tires,Alex-Formula wheelset, koski seatpost (also reccomend). Now has a new Koski contour coming in the mail... |
| Bottom Line: | I bought this saddle initially to replace the Velo saddle that came stock with my Trek 4300 in 2002. I wanted something firmer, more trim, that looked cool and fit me better than the generic fabric topped comfort saddle. This was $10 at the time from JensonUSA - whom I've always had a very positive experience with. The seat must have been like an OE saddle, it had kevlar sides, and tubular chro-moly rails with a perforated black vinyl top. I HATED climbing on the old seat that held water, this was great because you could just wipe it down with your hand and ride off. As I mentioned earlier, I managed to land a stair jump very poorly, come down hard on the saddle and bend one of the rails. At some point I decided I didn't want to sit lopsided and decided to replace the seat. I had a cheapo relpacement that now resides on a bike it looks better on, then came the ISCA Dakar - my first leather wrapped, titanium railed flite style wonder. It's very light, very beautiful, but has to be the stiffest seat known to man. After a 20 mile singletrack excursion, it was banished for a future project. The Selle Itaia Genuine Gel was practically a steal on ebay because it's bright red, which fits the color scheme. Then out of fond memories, I searched ebay for Koski recently and found this saddle again, only this time with a black and red leather cover with titanium rails. The Flite Genuine Gel found a new home on the torch red singlespeed road bike townie... just to make room for this saddle. It's not for everyone, and it's not a big brand name, but I love it, and it'll look/feel great on my Bianchi as soon as my broken collarbone has healed! If I'd relocate a Selle Italia Flite Gel, you know this must be nice... and I clearly put some time in my saddles, someday I'll try a brooks. |
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Submitted by
Konstantin Dark
a Cross Country Rider
from Moskow, RUSSIA
Date Reviewed: 6/16/2005 3:16:15 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | cross-country |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Purchased At: | Came with my bike |
| Strengths: | Look nice, cool colour and logo |
| Weaknesses: | Very hard, weak frame. |
| Similar Products Tried: | BBB sadlle |
| Bike Setup: | Atom DH2 full suspension bike with some modifications. |
| Bottom Line: | I have used this sadlle for 2 years. This is uncomfortable sadlle, but this is not turing one and I have got used to it. As this sadlle has titanium rails, it should be very durable but IT DOESN'T !!! After two years using frame has lost its geometry and look like screw now! Besides of this, leather cover is not durable too. After two sidefall sadlle has two holes on each sides. So, I will not advise to buy it. |
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Submitted by
Alex
a Racer
from Pembroke Pines, FL
Date Reviewed: 4/17/2005 7:38:13 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Purchased At: | came with bike |
| Strengths: | This saddle is very durable. I have had it for over 2 years and is still holding up even after all the falling from my first months of riding. |
| Weaknesses: | The seat is very uncomfortable. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Specialized COMP |
| Bike Setup: | Cannondale Jekyll 600 disc highly modified |
| Bottom Line: | If you can afford to upgrade, Do it asap!. Get something that has the love channel for blod flow and titanium rails for durability and weight. It also depends on the rider style. |
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Submitted by
$p0t
a Downhiller
from Moscow, Russia
Date Reviewed: 3/4/2004 6:21:15 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $45 |
| Purchased At: | Velomir |
| Strengths: | Titanium rails, back slide, anatomic groove, small size and weight, comfortable |
| Weaknesses: | A little bit siff. |
| Bike Setup: | I assembled it myself ATOM frame, custom rear suspension and swingarm. Alivio/Deore, Hayes hydraulic brakes, Mavic 321, 525(front) with SRAM9.0/Formula, DNM VTS95 fork, Panaracer Fire FR, FSA Orbit XTreme headset. |
| Bottom Line: | I have no idea what people are thinking comparing an MTB saddle with a touring one. Well, I've bought Koski a few days ago because it has an anatomic groove had titanium rails, was relatively cheap and it looked technologically made (and my old saddle was a ruin). I knew Kosli was a cheap saddle but.. I decided to try it. After I've bought the saddle I happened to read the reviews and I was really disappointed with my choice. I mounted the new saddle and went on some kind of a snowboard mountain nearby to test it's qualities. After making 4-5 meters flights during 1.5 hours I formed some opinion about it. The saddle was good. It is a sport saddle not a touring one. It IS NOT designed for touring, though I never felt tired riding on it to the mountain and back so I guess it is not as bad for touring as well, but surely if I were a tourer I wouldn't install this saddle. Don't mix up different styles. When you're on FreeRide the saddle should have different qualities than a touring saddle, especially keeping in mind that most of the time a free rider or stunt rider has most of the weight on his legs. Especially it doesn't fit an amateur women who has no basic riding skills. May be we're all talking about different saddles. Mine has a cevlar lining, titanium rails (it was checked after some reports suggested it was not a titanium alloy) This saddle worths it's money. I can't say about durability (not much time was spent on it) but it is at least normal as far as comfort is concerned. But it surely doesn't suit for touring and people who has all their weight on the saddle during long tours. My opinion is that it is an average saddle it is neither bad not particularly good and I marked it as four. |
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Submitted by
Qniux Tan
a Cross Country Rider
from Johore, Malaysia
Date Reviewed: 4/12/2003 9:44:40 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Green Earth Project's track |
| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Purchased At: | came with my bike |
| Strengths: | Looks good and nothing else. |
| Weaknesses: | Not soft enough. Heavy. Titanium railings ? It rust ! |
| Similar Products Tried: | SDG and Selle Italia. |
| Bike Setup: | Haro Escape with all the components riders recommended at MtbREVIEW.com |
| Bottom Line: | Sad to say, it's not a good saddle. It's heavy (more than 300 gm) and quite hard. At the beginning, I just couldn't sit long enough on this saddle. My buttock ached and I had to stand on my bike every now and then. It tortured me on long distance ride. After some time, I finally got used to it. But on a friend's recommendation, I got rid of it and bought a Selle Italia's saddle. Now long distance ridings pose no problem to me. |
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Submitted by
Shamrock Bosco
a Downhiller
from Mr Shenise's neighborhood
Date Reviewed: 10/4/2002 11:20:04 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Purchased At: | Came on my bike stock |
| Strengths: | Looked good, matched my bike, cheap... |
| Weaknesses: | Bent almost instantly..............not from crashing, just from RIDING!!! Super thick padding doesn't FEEL like super thick padding and I've ridden thinner saddles that are much more comfy. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Koski Fastback (I liked THAT one!) |
| Bike Setup: | Ironhorse G-spot with a DJ1 fork and Shimano platform pedals for jumping. |
| Bottom Line: | Stay away from the Contour and buy the Fastback. Koski stuff is basically OEM though.........you know, the kind of stuff that comes on your bike, so you deal with it. I mean who really BUYS Koski parts for their bike? |
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Submitted by
Craig
a Weekend Warrior
from St. Louis
Date Reviewed: 9/17/2002 3:03:15 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Strengths: | comfortable, looks good, titanium rails? |
| Similar Products Tried: | selle italia |
| Bike Setup: | 2001 gt aggressor 1.0 frame, old judy xc fork, cantilever brakes, kore, alivio, stx.... a very wierd bike but it gets me to class |
| Bottom Line: | came stock on my Univega, replaced with a selle italia, and moved to my GT. i haven't gone any rides over 20 miles with it but i have had no soreness problems of which everyone claims. does it really have titanium rails? |
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Submitted by
Dan
a Cross Country Rider
from Minnneapolis
Date Reviewed: 5/20/2002 12:21:06 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Purchased At: | stock |
| Strengths: | Nice colors, cool logo. |
| Weaknesses: | Like riding on a birch log. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Giro Fizik, Specialized, |
| Bike Setup: | Giant NRS XTC2 stock...except for this stupid saddle |
| Bottom Line: | Came with the bike. Decided to try it out for a ride or two. Had to apologize to the boys downstairs for making them endure a 1 hour pain cruise on this log of a saddle. Try out one of the Fizik saddles. Not perfect, but 10x more comfortable. Probably a nice weight savings as well. |
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Submitted by
Ben Bilsland
a Weekend Warrior
from Taunton, Somerset, UK
Date Reviewed: 5/5/2002 3:16:32 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Quantocks |
| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Purchased At: | Bonthorone |
| Strengths: | Came with bike, matches my frame's colour scheme. Sorta comfy... |
| Weaknesses: | Naff because it matches my bike, sorta painfull... |
| Similar Products Tried: | SDG are the best. Sorry, but nothing compares |
| Bike Setup: | GT XCR 3000 w/ Psylos |
| Bottom Line: | I hated it when i bought it. I liedk it again for a while. Hated it again after a short break from the bike, boguht some shorts and loved it... You need shorts. If it fits your ass then it is excellent. I think saddle tilt is integral. I pointed the nose up a little. But I want to it break so I can get an SDG. |
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Submitted by
David
a Cross Country Rider
from San Luis Obispo, CA
Date Reviewed: 3/16/2002 10:05:39 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | shooters |
| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Purchased At: | came with bike |
| Weaknesses: | Eats Shorts($$$), hard, damages easily. |
| Bike Setup: | Gian XTX DS-1 |
| Bottom Line: | I rode the saddle for over a year, it is hard but not too bad with a full suspension bike. What really pissed me off is when the stiching on the saddle wore holes in my $60 shorts! |
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Submitted by
Randy
a Downhiller
from morristown Ny
Date Reviewed: 12/30/2001 6:00:01 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Purchased At: | stock |
| Strengths: | NONE It is better than a bare post Just barely |
| Weaknesses: | it gets cut up like me Very uncomfortable and hard |
| Similar Products Tried: | ive switched |
| Bike Setup: | atx 850 psylo xc set up for freeride |
| Bottom Line: | i hated mine it was so hard and it got banged up even when i set the bike down. it does have strong rails though i havent broken it off yet |
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Submitted by
Ronnie
a Racer
from Las Vegas, NV
Date Reviewed: 9/20/2001 11:23:57 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Slick rock, sidewalks, singletracks |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $25 |
| Purchased At: | Nashbar.com |
| Strengths: | My saddle is a KOSKI CONTOUR NOT A KOSKI ENGINEERING CONTOUR! Light, looks great, feels good |
| Weaknesses: | no kevlar bumpers |
| Similar Products Tried: | Specialized, Selle, Cannondale plus a few others |
| Bike Setup: | GT Full suspension, XTR through and through. Mongoose Deore XT hardtail Manitou Magnum Custom-Handbuilt 6061 aluminium, rockshox Psyhlo-XTR through and through. |
| Bottom Line: | Looks great, feels great, worth the 25 bucks even if I will go through it in a year. Ordering a second one for back up. Once again MINE IS A KOSKI CONTOUR-NOT A KOSKI ENGINEEING CONTOUR! |
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Submitted by
Air Bish
a Weekend Warrior
from Washington, DC
Date Reviewed: 8/30/2001 1:04:26 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Strengths: | Looks cool. Matches the Bike. Great... |
| Weaknesses: | Everything else... |
| Similar Products Tried: | Old Crap...still better than this. |
| Bike Setup: | 2001 Giant (Imagine that..) XTC |
| Bottom Line: | This thing is a brick. In fact, I think a brick would be more comfortable and only slightly heavier. My wife laughed herself silly when I told her (an hour into our first ride) that my d*ck was gone! I mean COMPLETELY numb! Needless to say this is not good. I will be replacing this week with a Terry Fly or WTB V Stealth. DEFINITELY have your shop get this thing off before you buy the bike. I wish I had. It should be illegal to sell this seat. (maybe I'll ride it for a few years and sue them for a couple million when my thing finally falls off.) |
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Submitted by
Stuart
a Cross Country Rider
from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Date Reviewed: 8/20/2001 1:35:40 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Purchased At: | CBD Cycles (Melbourne) |
| Strengths: | Looks ok.... otherwise none! |
| Weaknesses: | Very, very uncomfortable - nuff said. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Selle Italia Saddle |
| Bike Setup: | Giant ATX LE |
| Bottom Line: | This saddle came with my Giant bike, as it seems most of the reviewers did too. If you are in this case (comes stock with you bike), do a deal to swap it before you take your new toy out the door. Don't put yourself through the pain, and have another bit of junk filling you closet. 1 weekend and that was enough! Now I know what it is like to spend a night in prison! Thankfully my bikeshop swapped it for a Selle Italia Saddle for free - and I was very happy, and so is my bum! |
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Submitted by
Steve A
a Racer
from Montreal Quebec Canada
Date Reviewed: 7/26/2001 10:05:51 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | go sidewalks! woohoo |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Purchased At: | Cycles St. Laurent |
| Strengths: | Looks pretty cool, and comfortable. Boy, that was decieving! |
| Weaknesses: | I think the feeling the seat leaves you with, is probably worse than prison sex. Just plain Awful. Feels like a a 2X4. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Nothing really. |
| Bike Setup: | Stock Giant XTC AC/2 |
| Bottom Line: | The bottom line is...*drum roll* This seat will wreck you arse. Avoid contact with anybody. If ridden on, please consult a physician immeditately. May cause erectile disfunction. |
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Submitted by
Jon Downey
a Cross Country Rider
from Norfolk, NE USA
Date Reviewed: 6/26/2001 5:25:59 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Yellowbanks |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Purchased At: | Andrew BIcycle and Fitness |
| Strengths: | weight, looks |
| Weaknesses: | comfort, fit, shape |
| Similar Products Tried: | SDG Bel Air, Selle Italia XO Leather |
| Bike Setup: | Giant XTC AC1 |
| Bottom Line: | Not comfortable. Came on the bike and tried it for a while but put the SDG on from my old bike and will not go back. The seams seem to rub and create sore spots. |
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Submitted by
Kathy
from Juan Tomas, NM, USA
Date Reviewed: 6/24/2001 9:17:02 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Mahogany Trail |
| Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only |
| Purchased At: | Ski Systems |
| Weaknesses: | Very uncomfortable, it hurt my bottom to sit on it. Is soon as I bought my bike I replaced it with my old Brooks Pro which fits just right. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Brooks Pro |
| Bike Setup: | Haro ICS 4.0 with Avenir bar ends, Manatou SX-R fork, pedals with toe clips. |
| Bottom Line: | This came stock on my bike and I found it uncomfortable as soon as I test rode my bike. The bike is great so I replaced the saddle as soon as I could with the Brooks Pro I had bought 22 years ago for my Univega Gran Primio road bike. |
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Submitted by
Andy
a Cross Country Rider
from Lancaster
Date Reviewed: 6/23/2001 8:10:23 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Strengths: | nice color, interesting looks |
| Weaknesses: | too soft, nicks easily, poorly contoured |
| Similar Products Tried: | flite, flite gel, air 40, etc |
| Bike Setup: | giant xtc se 2 |
| Bottom Line: | Just not the saddle for me, the seams make this saddle very uncomfortable. Too much padding for a racing saddle. Something about the shape doesn't allow me to easily slip to the back when I'm looking for leverage. This saddle is going straight to the garage sale....I don't think it will sell on eBay! |
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Submitted by
Josh
a Cross Country Rider
from Denton, TX, USA
Date Reviewed: 6/13/2001 8:42:03 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Graprevine LAke North Shore |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $60 |
| Purchased At: | came stock |
| Strengths: | Look good, performs well on descents, easy to get around |
| Weaknesses: | Hard as hell. A magazine review said it best when they said that a cold champagne bottle would be more comfortable between your legs. Also poorly made. A couple a spills and its already cominga part at the seams |
| Similar Products Tried: | serfas, avocet, selle italia |
| Bike Setup: | 2001 giant NRS 1 |
| Bottom Line: | run, run away as fast as you can from this saddle. Unless you've just been riding on it, then you won't run too fast. |
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Submitted by
Gt Lover
a Weekend Warrior
from Baraboo
Date Reviewed: 5/13/2001 12:52:16 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | kettle morain |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $15 |
| Purchased At: | jensonusa |
| Strengths: | looks comfortable |
| Weaknesses: | seat cover ripped after two rides put together very poorly |
| Similar Products Tried: | you name it |
| Bike Setup: | gt zascar le xt groupo |
| Bottom Line: | nice looking comfortable seat made like sh*t dont waste your money |
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Submitted by
SGT ROCK
a Racer
from Drumheller, AB
Date Reviewed: 6/7/2000 12:58:17 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Strengths: | Appearance |
| Weaknesses: | Weight Weak cover material Limited fore/aft adjustiblity |
| Similar Products Tried: | WTB SST |
| Bike Setup: | GIANT ATX890 |
| Bottom Line: | Came stock on my GIANT. Too much padding for a race saddle, wasn't any more comfortable than the more thinly padded WTB. Cover ripped twice at the rear, not very abrasion resistant. Also more difficult to slide forward on this material, more friction than other saddles. Heavier than advertised - Koski claims 270 grams, verified 315 on postal scale. A totally average saddle, definately not in the same league as Selle Italia or WTB. OK for my commuter/touring bike, where it now resides. |
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