It's one of the few points of contact between the cyclist and the bicycle, and it's a highly subjective component. For this very reason, in the past, it was easy to find professionals with custom saddles. But in modern cycling, is there still room for tailor-made? We talked about it with Mirco Porta, Sports Marketing & Product Manager of Selle Italia.
Very wide range
There is no doubt that the evolution of materials, production processes, and bike fitting have led to the development of a much wider range of products than in the past.
«The breadth and variety of the range is so great that 99% of our athletes do not require any modifications compared to standard products – Mirco Porta begins – in the last three years we have only had two riders who requested a customized saddle».
Speaking to understand
But what are the reasons that lead a professional to request changes?These are athletes who used other brands and had been suffering from some problems for years.Once they switched to Selle Italia they asked us to find a solution."
And here different professional figures come into play: «Doctors, bike fitting and above all you have to talk to the rider and understand the source of the problem. Once this work is done, we move on to the lab where we proceed with the necessary modifications."
Possible developments
The close attention to the athlete's needs has yielded excellent results. A question we asked Mirco Porta was whether these indications have led to the development of some new product.
«As far as road is concerned, I wouldn't say so, because we have a very wide range that can satisfy all needs and the few cases of customization were linked to personal problems. On the other hand, in triathlon, where we didn't have a large range, The collaboration with Patrick Lange has allowed us to develop the new Watt saddle».
The short saddles
And it's precisely from triathlon that short saddles originate, a trend that's also catching on in road cycling. But how has the short saddle been received by the pros?
«More experienced riders are wary – Mirco Porta explains – also because many have grown up with our saddles, like the Flite or the SLR, and are so happy with them that they don't want to change. We never force the athlete to use one saddle rather than another, but we explain that the shortening is only at the tip and the seating area does not change».
Benefits?
But what are the advantages of a short saddle?
«First of all it is more compact and allows you to save weightThe tip of the saddle is useless, it's not made to sit on, the important part is the seating area – Porta specifies – a long saddle allows the athlete to move more and paradoxically may not be positioned correctly. With a short saddle there is less possibility of movement and this forces the user to find the right position, then sit in the most correct spot. In practice, a virtuous process is set in motion."
It's not just the saddle that's needed
In essence the short saddle pushes the cyclist to seek the best position, then turn to a bike fitting service, where a whole series of components best suited to the rider's characteristics will be recommended.
«This is why Selle Italia created the ID Match system, because we believe that to pedal correctly you don't just need the right saddle, but also the cranks, the seat post, the frame and a whole series of variables that need to be fine-tuned."
