Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Flux

Last week I changed my saddle on the road bike for a test run of a new one made by Bontrager - the inform RXL. I learned about it the week before, and became interested when I discovered the 90 day comfort guarantee. That's a first in the saddle biz for me. Try it for 3 months, full refund if not satisfied??? Wow. Sure, why not. I ordered one and tried it for the first time this weekend.

The saddle is well made, lightweight at a claimed 200 grams, and has plenty of space for fore/aft movement on the rails.

I immediately noticed I had nearly zero pressure in the ABC region, much less than the Aliante, which I've noticed seems to be slightly greater than some saddles, but, for me, not so bad that it causes any numbness. Even in the drops, I could wail away for an hour at a time with no feeling of cutting off my blood flow.

The second thing I noticed was the firmness of the saddle in the rear. This is definitely not a saddle for cruising around at 10mph on a leisurely Saturday morning ride. I prefer the firm padding, which is one of the reasons I picked this saddle over a lesser model. I've progressively gone to less and less padding to now where I prefer hardly any. The Aliante is a bit too squishy for my tastes I've decided, which is a shame because it's the most comfortable saddle I've ever been on. During long rides the mushiness creates some discomfort in certain areas better left out of this post.

So, if you are in the market for a saddle, I think this is one that is definitely worth checking out, especially with the 90 day trial period.

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