“Welcome to a new age for the saddle,” says Selle Italia in the press release for its new SP01 saddle which it claims offers “futuristic design, superb comfort and outstanding performance levels.”
Sounds like the marketing team has gotten carried away a little, but what is causing such excitement? Well, Italian saddle specialist Selle Italia has developed a carbon fibre saddle weighing 125g with a split design that allows the two halves of the saddle to move during pedalling.
It says this split design, which it calls “suspension link movement” can support the movement of the pelvis without compromising stability while pedalling. It offers no more insight into the supposed benefits of the design than that, so we’ve contacted them to try and find out a little more detail.
Selle Italia doesn’t say much about the actual suspension properties of the SP01, instead, going for the improved pedalling efficiency angle in its press release. We do wonder if the unique shape of the rear section of the saddle could provide obvious seated compliance benefits for dealing with rougher roads.
Aside from the split design, the saddle is made from carbon composite materials with the rails moulded to the upper to create a lightweight product. A microfibre cover conceals a slim layer of foam padding.
It’s not going to be cheap, this new saddle, but then you already guessed that. It will cost €349 and won’t be available until July 2017.
– 18 of the best saddles — the seats that improve cycling comfort for men and women
16 thoughts on “Selle Italia’s futuristic SP01 carbon saddle with “suspension link movement””
Was the lightning strike
Was the lightning strike really necessary. As bad as the Americans with their explosions.
unconstituted wrote:
The birth of Franken-saddle
I’m reminded of the Merek
I’m reminded of the Merek Mega SQ1 that used a yoke or leaf spring to remove the two wide rear mounting points for the rails and had a single central pivot point to the seat allowing the two sides of the saddle to flex independent of the rails.
A great little saddle. Lightwieght and extremely comfortable.
billymansell wrote:
This.
i used that SQ1 and couldn’t believe it’s actually comfortable.
you’d definitely need a rear
you’d definitely need a rear mudguard with that
beezus fufoon wrote:
Nah… just a saddle bag.
Can’t see this working that
Can’t see this working that well. When it’s clamped onto a seatpost the front pivot point will be isolated by the clamp and so the only flex will be from the clamp to the back of the saddle.
usedtobefaster wrote:
Isn’t that the point of the leaf-spring arrangement at the rear of each side of the saddle?
adamthekiwi wrote:
OK so that video isn’t great at demonstrating that which is what I missed, it concentrates on the two halves moving relative to each other along the long axis
usedtobefaster wrote:
The video is misleading.
I imagine the rails would be pretty rigid when clamped in the post with most of the flex occuring through the leaf springs allowing independent movement of the two halves of the saddle.
I’ve used a similar saddle with rails fixed centrally inboard of the ischial bones so the rigidity of the all carbon seat meant you were still ‘sitting on’ rather than ‘sitting in’ the saddle but the added independent flex of the saddle afforded by the design made it extremely comfortable.
I’m surprised more manufacturers of carbon saddle haven’t adopted these principles as they exploit properties unique to a carbon fibre saddle. Having said that I’m currently riding an all carbon Specialized Toupe Pro, so wide fixed rails at the rear, and have no issues with comfort.
Didn’t they do this with the
Didn’t they do this with the SLK saddle, which I have. It isn’t a bad saddle, slightly too much padding for my taste. I can’t say I detect much movement between the two halves on the SLK though
Looks like a nut cracker to
Looks like a nut cracker to me.
So essentially it’s a Selle
So essentially it’s a Selle SMP design, but in reverse. Instead of SMP’s long split and eagle beak nose effectively dropping the front of the saddle away from the rider’s crotch, here we have it pointed the other way around.
Nice try, and the carbon leaf spring concept is intriguing, but I’m not sure if it’s going to offer the comfort it claims to do. On an SMP saddle, you’re effectively pushing anything that can squash your genitalia and its blood flow away, so you can adopt deeper forward hip rotation and keep a low aero position longer compared to a more conventional design.
On Selle Italia’s design because the suspension effect is almost all the way at the back, where you’re going to be sat in anyway when riding more upright. Maybe one for upright-riding touring cyclists?
This is ideal for getting
This is ideal for getting gravel and mud smack up the starfish.
Good if you suffer from
Good if you suffer from ‘Plymouth Argyles’
This saddle gonna crack in
This saddle gonna crack in half as soon as you crash
Bad idea!!!