Listened to this at the weekend, Found it really interesting.
We are definitely seeing a trend to steeper effective seated position, Especially in triathlon.

Would truly love to try one of the saddles. If only the price was more comparable to other, might bite the bullet. Have never found one that works perfectly for me. Currently on a Specialized Sitero but the nose still feel a little wide for my inner leg’s (think its 60mm).

Do you think you could get some test saddles to some UK bike fitters?

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Full-time Engineer / Part-time Pro Triathlete
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As for comparison to other saddles, we did try to make a saddle that is not disposable - see our warranty. Bottrill has a test saddle and we have demo saddles floating around the UK. Feel free to email me at nlehecka@wovebike.com

Glad you enjoyed the podcast - I think it turned out OK! Ronan’s work over there is really impressive. His interview with Rob of Factor was so good, and Wade’s 5-part series on the bike industry through Covid is so good that I won’t be surprised if it wins awards.

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

It was an interesting podcast. The one bit that wasn’t clear to me was your take on cleat position. I have fiddled with my position for years and it is probably very similar to what was discussed. My cleat position is basically directly under the ball of my foot. Where does a mid-foot cleat position fit within your fit philosophy?

I’m definitely careful not to label it my philosophy but more so just phrasing things differently: making the saddle the focal point during the fit to maximize biomechanical advantages and minimize the cost of switching from left to right.

With that, biomechanical advantage is applying force directly downwards onto the pedal between 1 and 4 o clock during the pedal stroke. Your knee being over the pedal helps with that, and a cleat position that is slightly rearward to reduce engagement of lower leg muscles and transmit force more vertically through the tibia/ankle is going to be more biomechanically efficient. Now, I’m also personally a big advocate for arch support whether through orthotics or custom shoes to reduce plantar fascia flexion also for the purpose of biomechanical efficiency.

These are things Cobb taught in FIST workshops and I do suggest attending those workshops.


From my blog post that served as the basis of the podcast:

“When we stand up while riding our bikes, we can better transfer our mass onto the pedals. The problem is, there is a high metabolic cost to switching from one pedal to the other. What a saddle does is reduce that switching cost - a saddle is a fulcrum that we can use to make transferring our mass from one pedal to the other more efficient.

A good bike fit finds the balance – with the saddle as a fulcrum – between maximizing the transfer of mass to the pedals and minimizing the switching cost of changing from one leg to the other.”

https://wovebike.com/blog/bikefit

I do have a lot of people coming to me to help get situated on their saddle, and I find myself providing similar advice: where to sit on the saddle (many ram themselves to the very rear of the saddle, and simultaneously apply force to the pedal in a downward and forward angle), and how to use the saddle so their hips are not posteriorly rotated, but so their hips are in line with their forward leaning torso. This is a combination of learning how to ride biomechanically efficiently, and being on the correct saddle - we can put someone on a better saddle, but if they are slamming themselves rearward and still posteriorly rotating their hips, that is something they have to unlearn. I understand that teaching people how to be more efficient and rotating through 4 to 5 saddles multiple times is very time-consuming for bike fitters, but I do think it is worthwhile and necessary.

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

I have yet to find a road saddle where I don’t feel it anymore….and tried a bunch of TT saddles and Wove was far and away the best. It is expensive - and this may be my privilege - but not having saddle pain is worth a lot of $ to me.

What is good about Wove is that you can return the saddle if you don’t like it. Perhaps they will be upset that I share that….but it made a difference to me

Definitely not upset 😂

Yes, 30 day return policy and also available to jump on WhatsApp to help sort things out by video.

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram