Fabric is a now established name to the components market, and they’ve made quite an impression – especially with their line of saddles, I’ve spent the last couple of months putting as many miles into the Titanium railed Line model to see if it lives up to its claim of being “supremely comfortable for longer days in the saddle”.
Looks wise, it’s cut away sides and pared down, minimal styling coupled with Titanium rails make for a good start for an all day comfort saddle, especially with its pronounced central cutaway to relief or prevent tenderness on that area.
The unique look of the Line is the depth of the central cut away segment from the split single piece cover. This groove is around 10mm deep and shows the nylon base of the saddle that keeps muck from working through from underneath, but whilst water can drain out, over time when its wet and muddy, the groove fills with loam and crud.
Whilst most of the time you are sat on the cutaway, which stops most muck landing in, I had a few times where I was scraping the mud out. It has to be noted that this was on exceptionally wet rides. A more rounded shape of the groove may have helped, but then the level of comfort could have been compromised.
Despite saddles being unique to everyone, I was really impressed by the level of comfort from the start with the Line. My first ride was 30 hilly miles, with lots of sitting down climbs and undulating sections. Spending most of my ride seated, I’d usually be finding myself standing up every so often to keep comfortable, but this was a lot less with the Line. The central groove is effective from the start.
Materials wise, the Titanium rails help with reducing weight and a degree of trail buzz, there are Cro-Mo and carbon versions available for less and more money. At 239g it’s respectably lightweight too.
The nylon base has proved pretty robust, but there was a degree of wear on the nose of the saddle, more cosmetic than physical, but spoiling its good looks a little. It’s available in two widths, and several colour ways, from bright to the more understated.
Whilst riding, I found the shape great – staying out the way when moving your weight off the back, and not snagging shorts when moving around the bike.Its true calling is endless singletrack and a distant horizon rather than big hucks and uplifts – I suspect its lifetime would be reduced with that level of (ab)use.
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