I just got a new Cervelo Soloist and attached a set of aerobars. After just a few rides – I LOVE IT – but I know that I’d like a longer saddle that is better suited to getting down in the aero position. The “stock” saddle just leaves a little bit to be desired.
What are the group’s suggestions?
THANKS – Ray
This is a really hard question to answer because it’s so personal. What works for many people might not work for you. Personally I use a Wove V8+ and have been very happy (be prepared for sticker shock). I also have a dusty box with the 6-7 saddles that came before, worth 3-4x of what the Wove costs. If you don’t have a fitter or local shop with a try before you buy policy then it’s probably a good idea to scour the classifieds.
ISM’s are still quite popular, Gebiomized are popular with the Euro crowds, and Wove has been cleaning up recently, with more affordable saddles coming later this year. All of those models are designed to sit in a more aggressive position on your pubis bones.
Why do you want a longer saddle?
It’s less the saddle length than the split nose/center channel. ISM saddles work well, but tend to be hard to dial in (there is really only one position on them that works). Split saddles like the Gebiomized and Fizik Transiro are good bets.
ISM PN1.1
Fizik Transiro Long Distance
As someone said, trying and finding the right saddle can be expensive.
If unsure finding deals in the classified can be a cheaper way to try things.
I tried ISM’s before and it really did not work for me - way too wide at the front. Seems like this works out for MANY people.
I have a JCOB DeltaP in the classified, cheap and virtually new if you want to try a split nose saddle that’s a lot narrower. It used to be called Cobb Plus saddle - that’s the model that worked for me for a long time.
Like Thaddy, I took a chance and tried the (expensive) Wove saddle T v8 and REALLY love it.
While the sticker price can seems steep on the surface, when you consider it has BTS hydration options built in for 1-2 bottles pretty much natively (you might want to buy a cheap accessory to offset the top bottle) then the value is looking much better.
I bought 2 more saddles from them afterwards - one for my backup Tri Bike (felt too good on my race bike) and their road version for my road bike.
There’s a reason they’ve been gaining a fair amount of momentum. And Nick and Matt are awesome to deal with.
Good luck with your search!
Where are you located? We may have a dealer nearby so that you can at least try a Wove in person, and we also have a 30 day no questions asked return policy.
and a side-by-side comparison to other saddles that might be helpful: Shape Matters: A Comparison of TT Saddle Shapes — Wove
Something I forgot to mention that you touch on, is mounting options. These days you kinda have to look at a saddle as a “system”. The Wove has the best integrated bottle cage mounting, IMO. Gebiomized, Fizik, Specialized, and Bontrager do have pre-drilled mounting options underneath but they require a model-specific adapter or custom 3D-printed solution to mount a bottle cage.
West-central PA… middle of nowhere in the woods!
If you have a local shop, just let us know and we can reach out! We need to get a shop over in Pittsburgh, and we currently have a dealer just starting out in Philadelphia, and I have a good friend up near the New York border, who has a saddle in hand also.
The cost of the Wove saddles is certainly more. That said, I’m about to buy my 3rd here as soon as the metal rails are readily available and shipping quickly for my gravel bike. I’m currently on the Mags on the road bike and V8 on the TT. In truth, I’ve considered the V8 for the roadie as well.
I’ve got a bit of a problem pelvis and this last 18 months or so is the best I’ve felt on the bike in 20 years
Just saw the M8 is released for the public. Can’t wait to try this!
