Selle San Marco Shortfit Racing Iridescent Saddle

The Selle San Marco Shortfit Racing Iridescent Saddle is a supremely comfortable design for short distances, allowing for a lot of flexibility in positioning, especially for those who like more aggressive rides. This iridescent model is a tenner more expensive than a standard black or white/black/red version, but it's a lot more eye-catching too – and you can get matching Selle San Marco Presa Corsa Team Iridescent handlebar tape, if you're willing to stump up £44.99 for the pleasure. 

Before we start this review proper, bear in mind that everybody is different when it comes to saddles, so what might be wonderfully comfortable for me could be incredibly uncomfortable for you. We always recommend testing out a saddle before you buy.

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There has been a trend towards smaller or noseless saddles in time trialling, but Selle San Marco has introduced this to road-specific saddles with its Shortfit range, taking its Racing, Dynamic, and Carbon FX models and cutting them down to size. The Racing that I tested was 250 x 144mm, which puts it noticeably shorter than any of the saddles on my other bikes.

The idea behind this shortening is to provide increased variation for those who like to move closer to their handlebar and adopt a more aggressive riding position. Movement is noticeably easier; I used it a couple of times on a track bike and found this particularly useful.

However, it is not only during short rides that this saddle delivers. I used it for a few long-distance rides and found it fine throughout; there are more comfortable saddles for long rides, but it's not bad at all. There is a cutout that runs the length of the saddle which really helps with relieving pressure on the perineum, and the varying foam densities across the saddle help too, offering just the right amount of support.

> Buyer's Guide: 10 of the best performance saddles

The upper is made from a durable 'Microfeel' material which is hardwearing and grippy enough that I felt secure in position when using it, while the shell is a carbon-reinforced nylon material. This keeps the saddle stiff and allows for good power transfer without too much flex.

In terms of shape, the saddle has a slight 'wave' in it because of the recession caused by the cutout, and is designed for those with both a flat back and accentuated lumbar arch.

Selle San Marco has used Stealth Xsilite for the rails, a material with 'a high percentage of silicon with particles of titanium and carbon'. They offer a lot of stiffness and there wasn't any perceptible flex even when sprinting from the saddle. Textured grip areas help to keep the saddle in place.

The saddle weighs in at 180g, which is pretty good compared with others of a similar type. The £129.99 Fizik Tempo Argo R3 saddle comes in at 244g, for example, while the Fizik Vento Argo R1, which retails at £184.99, is 186g. 

The Specialized Power Expert saddle is cheaper at £110, but it's also heavier at 235g.

> Buyer's Guide: 10 of the best short saddles

The Selle San Marco Shortfit Racing Iridescent Saddle's rrp of £144.99 (£134.99 if you don't feel that you need the iridescence in your life) is about what I'd expect for a saddle of this quality; it offers a comfortable ride, little flex, and a wide variety of potential positions.

Overall, I was very impressed by this saddle. It's light enough for most types of riding, comfortable to sit on for even the longest rides, and allows for a real variety in positioning.

Verdict

A comfortable, innovative saddle that caters for a variety of different riding styles