Selle Italia Shiver saddle

Selle Italia’s Shiver sounds fairly bland on paper with its manganese rails, faux leather cover hovering around 250g on the scales but variable padding, elastomer damping coupled with excellent detailing mean it’s a real contender and not just for the mountain bike and cyclo cross fraternities.

Faux leather covers are no longer synonymous with vegans/strict vegetarians or a manufacturer looking to cut costs and the hardy Rylsan upper is impervious to water, requires little more than a periodic once-over with a damp cloth and will resist the rigours of sweat soaked turbo trainer slavery better than genuine hides.

287mm gives ample length to shuffle about on, especially on longer rides and the texture is perfect, not too slippery but not akin to sitting atop a sheet of fly-paper either. Discrete Kevlar corners safeguard against premature wear when leaning the bike against walls, street furniture and of course, the occasional spill.

Flip it over and there’s not a staple in sight, just a tidily screwed base and nicely finished manganese rails with clearly etched increments for quick and easy adjustments. One up from Cro-moly, some may cock a snoot and I’m sympathetic to the suggestion that some manufacturers exploit consumer confusion with the more exotic magnesium. However, manganese is highly unlikely to fail and coupled with the clever elastomer damping, gives remarkably smooth passage over rougher asphalt and even bridle path.

Variable padding thickness, especially around the winged base provides ample support to the Ischial Tuberosity (sit bones) and feels narrower than its 153mm width suggests while the pressure-relieving groove combats numbness. Better still, unlike the cutaway designs this won’t leave the soaked crotch souvenir on wet rides sans mudguards.

However, the additional width became noticeable on longer rides-especially alternating between my regular saddles, by no means uncomfortable or detracting from the Shiver’s performance but reinforces the point that saddles are extremely personal choices.

Verdict

Good saddle for general riding but some may find it too broad