[Smoomn]

Hi, I'm currently looking for a saddle for XC and some trail riding. I'm between the WTB volt chromoly medium and pure chromoly medium. I tried the fit right system and it recommend the volt if I put medium padding and the rocket(similar to the pure?) if I chose thick padding. The pure has a dropped nose, will that mean I will tend to slip forward? Given I care about the padding and not the weight (hence chromoly) which one will be the most comfortable for 2-3 hour rides?
Thanks in advance.

 

[wayold]

I've ridden a bunch of WTB saddles. My previous bike came with a Volt which I replaced with a Pure. My current bike came with a Silverado which I replaced with a Rocket. In both cases I found the replacement significantly more comfortable on longer rides. I would say the Pure is more plush than the Rocket, but the (team) Rocket weighed a lot less and was almost as comfortable so I'm happy with that choice. When angled properly neither saddle makes me feel like I'm sliding off the front.

All that said, saddle choice is totally personal. What works for one butt won't necessarily work for another and you'll probably just need to try a few out.

 

[Harold]

yeah, you can't take those fit system recommendations as hard gospel. you gotta try them out to learn if they work for you.

I find a dropped nose useful for occasions when I need to slide forward on the saddle, such as when climbing steeps. That doesn't have any bearing on whether I slide forward on the saddle while seated. What does is the shape of the back of the saddle. I don't like a lot of upward flare to the rear of the saddle. The Volt is about as much as I like, but the Volt doesn't work for me on all bikes. I'm using a totally flat SDG saddle on my mtb now that works better. Tried the Volt on that bike and hated it, even though I love it on other bikes. Go figure.

 

[*OneSpeed*]

A similar saddle to what's being discussed that has worked well for me is the SDG Bel-Air. It's my go-to saddle and it's on most of my bikes. Great all-around shape for MTB, it works for a lot of riders. (I've tried dozens over the years, took a long time to figure out what to look for and what works for me)

None of the WTB saddles ever worked well for me, though I do like most of their products in general.

Bel-Air V3 | Steel

Ultimate comfort and performance, based on two decades of the proven Bel-Air profile, enhanced with contemporary aesthetics, geometry, and the latest technological advancements.

sdgcomponents.com

 

[Smoomn]

My bike is a humble Giant XTC 2012, do you think the pure won't blend in well with that?

 

[Tinshield]

Really love the SDG Bel-Air 3.0 but the rails can be a bit soft.

 

[*OneSpeed*]

My bike is a humble Giant XTC 2012, do you think the pure won't blend in well with that?

It's not about what type of MTB you have, any of the saddles are appropriate. It's just about finding one that's comfortable for you.

 

[monsterinthewoods]

I've ridden a bunch of WTB saddles. My previous bike came with a Volt which I replaced with a Pure. My current bike came with a Silverado which I replaced with a Rocket. In both cases I found the replacement significantly more comfortable on longer rides. I would say the Pure is more plush than the Rocket, but the (team) Rocket weighed a lot less and was almost as comfortable so I'm happy with that choice. When angled properly neither saddle makes me feel like I'm sliding off the front.

All that said, saddle choice is totally personal. What works for one butt won't necessarily work for another and you'll probably just need to try a few out.

As was said here, saddle choice is totally personal. Wayold doesn't like the Silverado, whereas I find it to be one of the most comfortable saddles I've ever used. It's totally a personal decision.

As far as it going on a humble Giant: who cares? The saddle is one of the three places you touch your bike and is probably going to have the biggest impact on your total comfort. Get the saddle that works best for your anatomy and don't worry about how it matches up to your bike.

 

[jimPacNW]

In my experience, you have to try a bunch, from different brands too. For me, comfort is a little less about padding and more about the shape, it's got to have at least little bit of padding. My favorite of the more padded saddles have been Specialized, I still have a heavier well padded Spec on my cyclocross bike, with the pounding that bike sometimes takes it's nice to have a little more cushion.
I have found I need less padding on the xc bikes, and my favorite for the past 2 or 3 years has been one I found for $22 off ebay. It does have carbon rails, so if you try one, be cautious about crushing the rails, - I haven't broken any and I've got these on 2 xc bikes and my road bike (link below), but a guy I know broke one shortly after he got it.
Re nose down and nose drop, I don't think you really benefit from a bent/droopy nose, you probably won't be sliding that far forward, ever. I have tilted my mtb saddles down very slightly in the front, like mentioned above, when climbing the steepest hills it can be helpful to be able slide forward.
full carbon fiber bow EVO sponge mtb road bike Seat cushion bicycle saddle | eBay

 

[hkmeup]

Like Harold said, the dropped nose is there to give you a little bit of relief when you are on the nose of the saddle for steep climbs and will have no effect on sliding forward when the sit bones are on the wings of the saddle. That said, personally, I've never been able to get along with any WTB saddle (Volt, Rocket). With the hammock shape on both, angle the nose up to prevent sliding forward, and that nose becomes very invasive, especially on steep/extended climbs. (This is exacerbated by the very flexible nature of the middle of the saddle shell.) Tip the nose down for relief, and I end up sliding forward.

I tend to gravitate towards saddles that are flat at the front with just a little upward swoop at the back. My rides are climb heavy and this style allows me to tip the nose of the saddle down 1 degree for more comfort, without sliding forward. My favorite saddle is the now discontinued Ergon SMC 3 saddle. Incidentally, I tried the more padded Ergon SMC4 Comp Gel for a short period and while comfortable for rides up to an hour, longer than that and I would sink in the saddle too much causing more pressure on the sit bones as well as the soft tissue.

If you are riding 2-3 hours per ride several times a week, you may find that a saddle with more supportive padding to be better as it won't break down on longer rides. It does take a bit of trial and error to find the Goldilocks shape and padding profiles that suit you.

 

[Cary]

I have ridden the Volt for several years and it was good, but recently switched to the Koda which I like even better. The Koda is strange, felt weird when setting up, very sensitive to tilt, then when riding, it just dissapears. As others have said, it really doesn’t matter what works for us, everyone’s butt and sit bones are different, you must find what works best for you. One person’s perfect saddle is another person’s painful saddle.

 

[Smoomn]

I pointed out the bike thing, because I assumed that a trail bike(unlike my xc giant), which tends to throw rider weight on the rear end of the bike, is more suited to a trail/enduro saddle, as is the pure. Good to know it's of little consequence. I guess I'll try and find tou as you said.

 

[mactweek]

Does your bike shop have demo saddles? I'm not sure that they still offer it, but WTB used to have a demo saddle program where you could take a saddle for a test ride.

 

[Smoomn]

They don't but the bike owner said he'll let me try one, on pavement that is, so yupee.

 

[crank1979]

Really love the SDG Bel-Air 3.0 but the rails can be a bit soft.

I love the BA3. I'll have to keep an eye on the rails.

 

[CEB]

SDG. Great fit for me!

 

[Cary]

No affiliation and no experience with them, but may be worth exploring:

Products – BIKE FIT BOX

This is where you can browse products in this store.

bikefitbox.com

 

[TTTURNER]

Saddles are very subjective, but the Fizik Aliante Gamma is one of the highest rated saddles of all time on mtbr. The Aliante Gamma XM with kevlar sides was an award winner on the reviews years ago. I scoured the internet to find what may have been on of the last ones available a few years ago. You can still get the Aliante Gamma. The nose is soft enough for steep climbs. I rode the SDB Bel Air before the Aliante.

 

[Joe Handlebar]

Honestly, you'll only get personal experiences with saddles anytime anyone asks this question. That said, I love the Volt in the medium size. Mine is the cro-mo version which has their "HLX+ Gel" padding...WeTF that means...but it's a damn comfortable saddle for literally all day rides. I'm super average height, pelvic width, etc... It's a saddle that just works. I just tried the SDG 2.0 (lighter ti-alloy rails) and it was juuuust a little off in the shape, so the Volt is back on and the SDG is in the parts box for the moment. FWIW, I'm riding a 120/130 bike on the Colorado Front Range.

 

[BrianU]

Hi, I'm currently looking for a saddle for XC and some trail riding. I'm between the WTB volt chromoly medium and pure chromoly medium. I tried the fit right system and it recommend the volt if I put medium padding and the rocket(similar to the pure?) if I chose thick padding. The pure has a dropped nose, will that mean I will tend to slip forward? Given I care about the padding and not the weight (hence chromoly) which one will be the most comfortable for 2-3 hour rides?
Thanks in advance.

I have and ride both those saddles, with the Volt on my Honzo and the Pure on my Karate Monkey. The Pure has been used on two different bikes and have had it about twice as long as the Volt. I like the Pure, find it very comfortable and when I first started using the Volt, definitely noticed that it is a much firmer saddle with less padding. Despite the differences, both are comfortable, just different. In fact, now I really do not think about the saddle when switching between bikes. If I absolutely had to pick one for 2-3 hour rides, it would be tough to choose. Since you seem interested in padding, I say give the Pure a try.