Since we are on some saddle topics, anyone use this thing (S.I. “t1” saddle)? If yes, what do you think of it? I already have a racing saddle, but I am looking for a comfortable road (training) saddle. Comments welcome…
Funny you should mention it.
I just got one to replace my unpadded SLR (XP?). Only major difference appears to be substantial padding on the nose.
I’ll let you know what I think over the next couple of weeks.
I’ve ridden one since late last August…
Nice saddle, I give it a thumbs up! Very comfy “butt” position and the nose does allow you to ride it steep. It odd because I think the width of the nose increases the comfort more than the padding.
My only complaint is that the rails are a bit flexy, which may be to your liking.
I’ve recently gotten some numbness, but that’s b/c I’ve been stuck on my trainer the past week.
I’d really like to ride my T1 next to a Fizik Arione Tri…
It is hard to tell: does it have a leather cover or synthetic?
Leather (at least that is what the little tag thingie said on mine…you see in that pix above)
If you like the SLR, you’ll love the T1. I think the key is whether your butt fits well on the rear of the saddle…
I’ve tried lots and that is the best saddle I’ve come across. It’s light and comfortable and designed to be ridden aero.
I like this saddle a lot. We tried some before we gave the specifications of our own TT saddle to Selle Italia, and it seems a lot of people find it very comfortable. What is also nice about Selle Italia is that they are pretty light for a tri-specific saddle. I forget what the T1 weighs exactly, but our custom Selle Italia tri-specific saddle came out to 215-220g actual weight, which if we were a saddle manufacturer would work out to a claimed weight of 199g (but we’re not so we’ll stick to 215-220g).
I raced on this saddle for ten races last year, mostly sprints, but one 1/2 IM and 2 Olympic distance races. I used it on my Cannondale IM2000 frame that I raced on last year.
It was an excellent saddle, so far, my favorite and a tie with the Arione Tri or maybe even a tick better. I loved the wide nose and the firmness struck me as perfect.
My only observation is that some consumers will or may complain about the finish wearing off of the saddle. The front of mine had a scuffed up “matt”, suede-ish rough finish to it after three races when I got on the saddle with a wet tri suit and it appeared to have ruined the finish on the leather.
I don’t mind it, but I think most consumers woud throw their toys.
I have one. If you like a saddle that is pretty flat and wide, you will like it. I have an slr xp on my road bike, and wanted something that has more padding on the nose for my tri bike. This saddle is pretty good. It does slope a little bit. My only complaint is that the rails could be longer. I have mine clamped in the most rearward position. None of the leather has flaked on mine, but I am using a QR cover over the top of it.
Jay
Any chance the Cervelo TT saddle will be available via your spare parts and accessories?
Joe
We didn’t plan to, but maybe that’s not a bad idea although I doubt we have many to sell aftermarket. I’ll look into it.
Very interesting. Another question, what changes did you spec on the T1 for your custom cervelo OE version?
And to confirm, the finish wearing (not a big issue for me) was off the saddle’s leather cover or synthetic cover? The gloss on the photo really looks synthetic, but it could just be the photo.
Greg,
It looks and feels like leather. I took the SLR XP off last night and put on the T1. As I was driving to my Sat morn. ride today, I realized I had no padding under my tights (45-50 degrees here in West Houston this morning!). Needless to say, it was a short ride and whereas I would have noticed no padding on the XP, the T1 certainly mitigated any discomfort I might otherwise felt.
Tim
The Selle Italia T1 has a leather upper backed by a waterproof layer. So even though the leather is perforated, the padding of the saddle won’t soak up water. This is actually a pretty neat feature, as a lot of tri-specific saddles absorb a lot of water which causes your shorts to stay wet longer after the swim and increases the weight of the saddle as well.
Selle Italia-Cervelo TT has a Lorica cover which is also waterproof and has an additional waterproof backing (I don’t see any reason for a leather cover on a tri saddle, quite the contrary), a different base and we use Manganese rails instead of Vanox. We’re not big fans of Ti rails, Manganese basically weighs the same with a lot less trouble. Padding density is the same as the T1.
The tough part with the cover is not only that it has to be abrassion-resistant, it also has to limit abrasion of your shorts. It’s easy to make the saddle last forever, but it is tough to do that without ruining the shorts on a monthly basis.
Thanks for the info. I think there would indeed be a good market for the Cervelo T1 saddle if the price is competitive, if you have enough seats to spare. Does the Cervelo one have the ‘gel’ in the nose?
I would also prefer not to use leather on a saddle, but synthetics are not nearly as tough as leather if you lay or drop your bike on dirt or ground. Also, I seem to perceive a different feel with lorica. It does not feel like it slips as easily under my rear (with shorts or a skinsuit) when I slide around and change position.
Correct me if I am wrong, but are not “Manganese rails” just tubular steel rails (which work fine, by the way)? And is not “Vanox” also a variety of tubular steel, or is actually an alloy of Ti?
Manganese is a steel alloy, it is a higher grade alloy than the FeC rails SI uses. So the base material for both is steel, but there are different metals added to improve its characteristics. This allows them to make therails lighter. Same principle as for example Scandium, a Scandium tube only has trace elements of Scandium in it, by far the biggest ingredient is Aluminum.
Vanox is a tubular Ti rail, their regular Ti rails are solid, the Vanox rails are hollow Ti.
Gerard, I was curious about this material, so according to Selle Italia’s US distributor (ProNet, Inc.), “Vanox” is name that (for S.I. at least) indicates an alloy of steel.
The rep said he thought there was may be some titanium in the material, but that the quantity is very small. It is primarily a steel (or more accurately iron) alloy.
One learns a new thing every day.
Tom, do you sell this saddle? If yes, what is the price? Do you ship?
The problem lies with the bicycle industry using casual nomemclature vs specific. Most of the terms used to describe metals can be taken with a grain of salt.
The biggest misuse is the word “alloy”. In bicycles this commonly is used to describe “aluminum alloy”. An alloy is just any metal with other elements (usually other metals mixed in). Virtually every modern metal part used for bicycles are alloys.
Manufacturers typically with use a minor alloying element to name a more common metal, hence “scandium” gets used to describe an aluminum alloy, “vanox” and “manganese” get used to describe variuous steel alloys.
One other thing to keep in mind is that the various alloys of a base metal differ very very little in weight per volume, meaning that a “scandium” is not necessarily any lighter than an “aluminum frame” unless it uses thinner or smaller diameter tubes (and then it will be more flexible).
Styrrell