On both my bikes, I've got Selle Anatomica saddles (see this post); they have the "ass-hammock" design that I like. The saddles have leather covers, which has the best balance of soft and hard that I've found. But leather saddles need to be kept from getting drenched, where artificial materials do not.
Deep in this post, you'll see I tried a Selle Anatomica with the rubber cover. I had hoped it would be essentially the leather saddle, but weather-resistant. It's probably weather-resistant, but it's not a replacement for the leather saddle; the rubber cover is much harder than the leather, so I bought a leather cover and put it on.
So now I cover the saddles when a ride might include a drenching. But I keep looking for saddles that have the flex I like, but might not need as much attention.
In my researches, I came across this Spyder Saddle. It flexes, based on the mesh-y design of the cover. The original is about $80 (down from $140, and you're supposed to replace it every year).
Hrmph.
But, it's Chinese, and one of the truths of the world is that Chinese technology will have knock-offs. The most common for this saddle is the "Vertu", which is available for about $4-5 shipped from China, which means it will take about four months to get here, plus some extra for the COVID-19 crisis. Or you can get one shipped from a USA location for about $14 (still a cheap date). Which is what I did. (That's what's in the picture above.)
It looks like a torture device with all those cutouts, but that's what provides the flex (reviews have said that it chews up your shorts, too). I popped it on the Krakow Monster, and did a short ride around the neighborhood.
The ride was short because the saddle isn't very good for me. There is some flex, but it's about as much as the rubber Selle Anatomica cover, which is far less flex than I want.
Well, for $14, it was worth a try. And it might be OK for you.
If you want it, I'll let it go for $10. It's got about 250' of mileage on it.
No comments:
Post a Comment