I got a Specialized Power saddle late last week and slapped it on my spare tri bike (a Cannondale Slice). I have been using the Sitero for a year and like it to the point that every time I switch from my P3 to Slice I move the saddle back and forth (I often do this because one bike is in a bike case, and I don't want to unpack it before the next time it has to be transported). In any case, I was going to get another Sitero, until I did a test ride of the new Power saddle on a spin bike at the IM South Africa expo. I just have not been able to get the saddle locally here in Canada until I stumbled upon one in an LBS in Mountainview CA last week.
You can read all the marketing hype about the saddle at the specialized website:
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/ftb/saddles/roadtriathlon-saddles/sworks-power
It's supposed to be a cross between a Sitero and a road saddle which is what I felt when I did the test ride on the spin bike in Port Elizabeth.
Based on the Specialized "sit-o-meter" pad, I should be on a 143 so I got the 143mm Expert version
I set it up at my usual 68 cm saddle height and tried to figure out what the fore/aft should be, but that is pretty useless because you really don't know where you will end up on a new saddle. As it turns out, I had to move the Power around 3-4 cm further forward than the Sitero to get my hips in the same point in space. The Power has me sitting substantially futher back in the saddle than the Sitero in and out of the aero position. What I find with both saddles is that there is literally only one place on the saddle that I sit, both sitting up and aero. The rest of the saddle i don't use.
At this point, I have put around 6 hours of riding into the Power, almost all in the TT position. I barely notice that the nose is there in the same way I don't notice the nose on my Bonetrager Hilo currently on my trainer bike. I found the Power saddle a bit more supportive than the Sitero, and "softer/more cushioned". 90K largely in the TT position and I felt fine, but I felt some pressure on my sit bones.
I re evaluated the saddle position and then measured back to where I was actually sitting which is more rearward (vs the middle of the saddle or towards the front of most saddles) and found that the height was more like 68.5-69 cm range to where I had the Power set up, so I lowered it a half cm for today's ride and things felt perfect.
So far the saddle largely lives up to the way the Specialized engineering and marketing guys describe it. I can see all my bikes be equipped with his saddle in time (I think), but I probably need a good 500-1000K on it to really know. This saddle takes the Sitero up another few notches. I can't actually see every purchasing a Sitero, given the existence of this new saddle, but as I said, I need more time to make that definitive case....but the trend points that way.
I do think it is imperative that one gets the correct width. If you end up with the wrong width, (too wide) and the sides are going to put pressure where they should not and too narrow and you won't be properly supported.
I put this one in a win column.
Disclaimer/fine print....I bought this at full retail and have no commercial link to Specialized. The store that supports me locally does not even carry Specialized products
You can read all the marketing hype about the saddle at the specialized website:
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/ftb/saddles/roadtriathlon-saddles/sworks-power
It's supposed to be a cross between a Sitero and a road saddle which is what I felt when I did the test ride on the spin bike in Port Elizabeth.
Based on the Specialized "sit-o-meter" pad, I should be on a 143 so I got the 143mm Expert version
I set it up at my usual 68 cm saddle height and tried to figure out what the fore/aft should be, but that is pretty useless because you really don't know where you will end up on a new saddle. As it turns out, I had to move the Power around 3-4 cm further forward than the Sitero to get my hips in the same point in space. The Power has me sitting substantially futher back in the saddle than the Sitero in and out of the aero position. What I find with both saddles is that there is literally only one place on the saddle that I sit, both sitting up and aero. The rest of the saddle i don't use.
At this point, I have put around 6 hours of riding into the Power, almost all in the TT position. I barely notice that the nose is there in the same way I don't notice the nose on my Bonetrager Hilo currently on my trainer bike. I found the Power saddle a bit more supportive than the Sitero, and "softer/more cushioned". 90K largely in the TT position and I felt fine, but I felt some pressure on my sit bones.
I re evaluated the saddle position and then measured back to where I was actually sitting which is more rearward (vs the middle of the saddle or towards the front of most saddles) and found that the height was more like 68.5-69 cm range to where I had the Power set up, so I lowered it a half cm for today's ride and things felt perfect.
So far the saddle largely lives up to the way the Specialized engineering and marketing guys describe it. I can see all my bikes be equipped with his saddle in time (I think), but I probably need a good 500-1000K on it to really know. This saddle takes the Sitero up another few notches. I can't actually see every purchasing a Sitero, given the existence of this new saddle, but as I said, I need more time to make that definitive case....but the trend points that way.
I do think it is imperative that one gets the correct width. If you end up with the wrong width, (too wide) and the sides are going to put pressure where they should not and too narrow and you won't be properly supported.
I put this one in a win column.
Disclaimer/fine print....I bought this at full retail and have no commercial link to Specialized. The store that supports me locally does not even carry Specialized products
Last edited by:
devashish_paul: May 10, 15 16:26
