Selle Royal Lookin Athletic Saddle

If you like a more upright riding position, the Selle Royal Lookin Athletic is a well-made, comfortable saddle that's great for commuting and touring bikes.

Although this is a unisex saddle, it is designed to sit in that grey area of upright riding style where the necessity for a gender specific saddle becomes slightly less, ahem, pressing.

At 160mm wide, it's not outrageously broad, and Selle Royal's 'Athletic' category of saddles are designed to function best for riders sitting with a 30 degree spine angle. The idea is that this position moves the weight distribution and sit bones further back on the saddle, hence a design tuned to that.

It's a supremely well-made and comfortable looking seat, and boasts all sorts of features promising a world of easy riding, including Royalgel (which sounds like something bees are responsible for) and zoned cushioning.

At 474g (quoted weight 450g) it's lighter than it looks, and isn't going to overburden any bike.

In use, it was extremely comfortable, provided that it was put on the right sort of bike. On anything too sporty, it was just too broad in the central area, forcing the hips forward and the back to arch.

However, on a bike with the right kind of angle, it was very supportive at the sit bones and made café rides and commutes a pleasant and unstressful experience.

It also worked well as a touring saddle, provided again that the tourer in question was a very upright design.

£44.99 is a very good price for such a high tech gel saddle, with Selle Royal's attention to detail and pedigree, so if you have an upright bike, are inclined towards a sore posterior, or would prefer to not always have to wear padded shorts, this is a saddle to consider.

Verdict

A comfortable, well engineered and cost effective unisex option for bikes with an upright riding position.