Repente Prime saddle

I've previously tested Repente's top-end Aleena saddle and I got on well with it. The Prime, overall, is better: I found it more comfortable, it's better value and it's still very light.

• Pros: Light, comfortable, RLS system allows cover changes
• Cons: Expensive, cover options could be extended

The Aleena is a very, very light saddle at 130g, and you pay a handsome price for that. The Prime is over £100 cheaper but it's still impressively light at just 166g. Other similarly priced saddles we've tested recently – the Selle San Marco Mantra Full-Fit Carbon FX and the Fizik Antares R1 Versus Evo for example – are within a few grams of this Repente seat, so it's pretty much bang on the money.

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The Prime is cheaper mostly because the materials used to produce it are. Instead of the full-carbon construction of the top-end saddle, the Prime uses a thermoplastic composite base. The rails are still unidirectional T700 carbon, and they're still taller than they are wide, so they won't necessarily work with seatposts that clamp side to side.

Repente's USP is the Repente Locking System. The base and the cover are two separate units; the cover locates into three holes in the base and is held in place with circlips. It's easy to unclip the cover and remove it, and because all the Repente saddles use the same system it's possible to swap the Prime cover for one of the others in the range. The base stays in place on your bike, so there's no need to fiddle about with your saddle position if you swap between covers.

It's a clever system. Currently the five covers offer a range of levels of padding with and without a cutout, but at the moment they're all quite similar in shape. Repente is obviously tied to using the same mounting positions for every cover, but it'd be possible to build up the sides of the cover for a flatter profile; some people prefer that.

I'm not one of those people. I found the Prime saddle, with its gently curved profile, a very comfortable place to sit. The Prime cover is more heavily padded than the more expensive Aleena, and has a similar cutout to keep the blood flowing to your undercarriage. It did that better than nearly any other saddle I've tried, most noticeably on the indoor trainer where you're holding the same position for a long time. That often leaves me feeling a bit numb, but it was never a problem with the Prime.

Out on the open road the Prime's padding is firm enough to feel racy with enough give in both the padding and the base to keep you comfortable on longer rides. It's nicely positioned in terms of comfort, and doesn't feel compromised for either racing or endurance riding.

> Buyer's Guide: 14 of the best high-performance saddles

Repente offers a 60-day return period for its saddles if you buy one and then don't get on with it. I won't be sending mine back in a hurry, though. Generally test saddles get fitted, and then after testing I take them off and stick a tried-and-tested seat back on the bike. This one's staying on the race bike, though.

It's still an expensive saddle, but the build quality and comfort levels are right up there with the best.

Verdict

Excellent lightweight race saddle that's comfortable enough for endurance riding too