If you hadn't worked out from the clever title, this is my attempt to review products that I have bought and used, or in some cases, bought and sent back before I even used them.
Clearly, unlike magazine reviews, conducted under controlled conditions across a wider range of products and tested by experts, here there is no science, no wide spread of products in a 'group test' style, no expert opinion, no wind tunnel.....no payments received to say something good.
What I aim to do here is just give some feedback on a something I bought, why I bought it, what research I did, was I influenced in choice (magazine review, friends recommendation etc), where I bought it and if it replaced something I already had and used regularly - was it worth it.
Although there is no 'expert' input here, like most people, I don't have an unlimited pot of cash, or a sponsor, so when I buy, it has to be once and it has to be worth parting with my hard earned cash for. As such, I dither other things, I research, I ask friends, I take ages to decide, so hopefully that adds some credibility to what I put here and at least provides some useful background for anyone who might be considering purchasing something similar.
I've started Triathlon from scratch and even as an existing runner and keen cyclist, I have had to buy most everything I use to train and race with. Some purchases are almost 'must haves', others are things you can do without, so are probably 'nice to have's' but all are worthy of a few words of review.
So, I've got a long list of things I can review, in no particular order of importance, cost or relevance. I'm starting with a saddle.
Fabric Tri Flat Elite Saddle
After I decided that I couldn't justify a TT bike after I'd bought a new Road bike (to be reviewed) I suddenly decided that I really wanted one. Alas, it wasn't going to happen so I embarked on a mission to bolt things to my roadie that would make it more TT like and that I could then remove in between races, or in the winter months. To give some context to the saddle, I'd already bought a set of clip on Tri-bars (more on them later) and when using these in my first race, I found I was too far away from them on the road set-up and could feel a slight pull in the hamstrings. Looking at TT bikes I realised the saddle needed to be much further forward and also the design of a TT saddle is totally different to my road saddle. So the research begun, whilst on holiday in Greece. 220 had a review I found on-line covering 'the best' tri saddles. I had plenty of time to read and review. The Fabric seemed to be the best value and got some decent reviews. I made up my mind I would try this. I went for the one with the chrome-mo rails. The premium and weight saving for the Titanium railed version didn't seem to be justified to me.
So the new saddle arrived and sat in the garage for weeks. I couldn't be bothered to swap the existing road saddle to try it, and then put the road saddle back. Also, I realised, putting it on the existing seat post wouldn't bring me closer to the TT bars so a new seat post was the way to go. A friend suggested the profile design fastforward. I'd made my mind up on that but then found out (cant remember how) that my TREK had a seat mast, not a post. I'd never heard of this. But basically, turns out that the carbon tube of the bike frame continues up forming a post that the 'seat mast cap' slots over. So the Profile design was out of the frame. I had no choice but to use the existing post I had. Again, thanks to some great advice, I was told I could just turn the post round, bringing the saddle closer. I decided to buy the same seat post again, but this time with a 20mm offset, assuming that, in addition to the adjustment along the rails, that should suffice.
So, the saddle. When I eventually got it mounted to the new post and set up on the bike, I was ready for the first ride. I was amazed at the comfort of the new saddle. It was comfy from the off, unlike the Race-lite saddle that came with the bike which must have taken me over 200 miles to get used to. The shorter profile and snub nose design mean a much more aggressive position and I was much better positioned over the bars. The central relief channel added to the comfort (and also provides drainage after the swim apparently). In fact, when I got onto the TT bars and into that tuck position, I realised that I was barely on the saddle at all which I think the design of the saddle is meant to encourage. There is a built in cage hanger on the saddle (removable if you want) and this forms part of a hanger to rack your bike in transition.
I did a few test rides and was really pleased. The first time I used it for a TT sort of ride, I rode from Southwold back to Badingham. Virtually a straight flat road with only a couple of turns. This allowed me to try and keep on the TT bars for longer. The ride was great, the saddle was comfy and it allowed me to ride comfortably on the TT bars for the whole ride. I averaged over 20 mph for the first time ever. The saddle puts you in a more aggressive position and any time you try and slide backwards, you realise there is not much behind you and so are 'forced' forward again and naturally seem to pedal quicker.
So overall, I am thoroughly pleased with the saddle. It was comfy out of the box, gave me the position I was after and for the price it was a worthwhile purchase. That I had to buy a new seat post I guess was a 'nice to have' (I could have used the existing one), although given the existing one only had 5mm offset, I think the 20mm offset was justified in terms of the better position I got over the bars.
I think one good piece of advice here, if you are 'converting' a road bike, is to be wary of related purchases ! I bought the TT bars first, but on their own, on a road bike geometry, I was never going to get the most from them. Adding the saddle was another step in the right direction, but again, without the greater offset on the new seat mast and reversing it on the post, I wouldn't have got the most from the saddle. So all in, the bars, post and saddle cost me over £300 ! I probably haven't got the perfect position yet but it feels comfortable. A proper bike fit is probably the way to go really.
The saddle is widely available and comes in a multitude of colours. I bought mine from Triton Cycles as they seemed the best priced at the time(Fabric Tri Saddle). I am really happy with it and wouldn't hesitate to recommend, with the caveat of potential add-on purchases if you are using it on a standard road bike, to get the most from it. I'm not sure how much I could ride it outside of races, so would probably revert back to the road saddle for training rides.
If you are after a decent quality and reasonably priced Tri/TT focused saddle this should be on your list to consider.
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| Saddle Fitted to reversed seat mast (rear bottle mount removed) |
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| Front view (lucky the bathroom was clean) |
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