We heavily referenced some Slowtwitch messageboard threads in some recent Instagram posts, so I'll link to them here with snippets of captions pasted here.
#SADDLEBATTLE POST
We’ve included #saddlebattle in a number of our posts. This hashtag comes from a 2018 messageboard post on Slowtwitch by kileyay, in which he contended, “your most important piece of equipment in triathlon, by far, is unquestionably your saddle. rappstar made this statement some years ago and it has stuck with me ever since, even as I have not learned how true it is until recently.
I contend that this single piece of equipment, properly configured, can mean 30 watts in terms of performance, which is 10x or 15x the delta between Zipp and Yolo, or Enve and Flo, or whatever.
But to believe my contention, you must accept the following as axiomatic: the rotation of the hips (on a time trial bike), which is a function that is critically dependent on the part under your ass, has a causal relationship to power production and aero that is unsurpassed by any other component on the bike. Who vouches for that statement? I do.”
SADDLE $/gram IN THE AGE OF PEAK AERO POST
The Wove V8 TT/tri saddle was conceptualized out of a wanting for what was not available in the market: a TT saddle that...
-is well cushioned.
-provides ample soft tissue relief.
-has a nose that stays narrower longer to reduce thigh rub
-holds the rider in place.
-has a squared off nose to prevent rolling off the front.
-feels good to sit up on for long periods of time.
-includes an integrated water bottle mount.
-is low weight.
Three saddles that were close to meeting the above needs, but lack two or more of the above attributes, are the PN3.0, Stride and Hilo Pro. The V8 is designed with all of these desired attributes in mind. Looking solely at weight, the averaged weight of those three saddles is more than double the weight of a Wove V8 saddle, and the V8 has no rider weight limit and surpasses ISO testing for strength.
In 2017, kileyay from the Slowtwitch messageboards did a crowd funded windtunnel test. He ended up titling the report, “Triathlon Bikes in the Age of Peak Aero”, because only 100g of drag separated the six bikes tested (see report in our linktree). kileyay later concluded that, if one had to choose, money spent on reducing overall bike weight might be money better spent than seeking to reduce aero drag, if the athlete is on the right saddle and already using high-level TT/tri equipment.
If we take the average weight and price of the three comparison TT saddles mentioned earlier and compare them to the weight savings of the Wove V8, the increase in price of the V8 compared to these other TT saddles comes out to $2.30 per gram saved. For comparison, if we look at a set of NSW 353 wheels and the same company’s 303 S wheels, the reduction in weight comes out to $12.70 per gram saved. We’ll let you decide if during a TT/triathlon, where accelerations are rare, a reduction in rotating mass is worth 5.5x more than the price/gram value the Wove V8 offers.
We’ve created the V8 saddle to check boxes for attributes missing in the current TT saddle market, and we propose that there’s value in the price per gram saved for those seeking that performance advantage.
wovebike.com | Wove on instagram
#SADDLEBATTLE POST
We’ve included #saddlebattle in a number of our posts. This hashtag comes from a 2018 messageboard post on Slowtwitch by kileyay, in which he contended, “your most important piece of equipment in triathlon, by far, is unquestionably your saddle. rappstar made this statement some years ago and it has stuck with me ever since, even as I have not learned how true it is until recently.
I contend that this single piece of equipment, properly configured, can mean 30 watts in terms of performance, which is 10x or 15x the delta between Zipp and Yolo, or Enve and Flo, or whatever.
But to believe my contention, you must accept the following as axiomatic: the rotation of the hips (on a time trial bike), which is a function that is critically dependent on the part under your ass, has a causal relationship to power production and aero that is unsurpassed by any other component on the bike. Who vouches for that statement? I do.”
SADDLE $/gram IN THE AGE OF PEAK AERO POST
The Wove V8 TT/tri saddle was conceptualized out of a wanting for what was not available in the market: a TT saddle that...
-is well cushioned.
-provides ample soft tissue relief.
-has a nose that stays narrower longer to reduce thigh rub
-holds the rider in place.
-has a squared off nose to prevent rolling off the front.
-feels good to sit up on for long periods of time.
-includes an integrated water bottle mount.
-is low weight.
Three saddles that were close to meeting the above needs, but lack two or more of the above attributes, are the PN3.0, Stride and Hilo Pro. The V8 is designed with all of these desired attributes in mind. Looking solely at weight, the averaged weight of those three saddles is more than double the weight of a Wove V8 saddle, and the V8 has no rider weight limit and surpasses ISO testing for strength.
In 2017, kileyay from the Slowtwitch messageboards did a crowd funded windtunnel test. He ended up titling the report, “Triathlon Bikes in the Age of Peak Aero”, because only 100g of drag separated the six bikes tested (see report in our linktree). kileyay later concluded that, if one had to choose, money spent on reducing overall bike weight might be money better spent than seeking to reduce aero drag, if the athlete is on the right saddle and already using high-level TT/tri equipment.
If we take the average weight and price of the three comparison TT saddles mentioned earlier and compare them to the weight savings of the Wove V8, the increase in price of the V8 compared to these other TT saddles comes out to $2.30 per gram saved. For comparison, if we look at a set of NSW 353 wheels and the same company’s 303 S wheels, the reduction in weight comes out to $12.70 per gram saved. We’ll let you decide if during a TT/triathlon, where accelerations are rare, a reduction in rotating mass is worth 5.5x more than the price/gram value the Wove V8 offers.
We’ve created the V8 saddle to check boxes for attributes missing in the current TT saddle market, and we propose that there’s value in the price per gram saved for those seeking that performance advantage.
wovebike.com | Wove on instagram
Last edited by:
milesthedog: May 24, 23 15:54