Morgaw Trian

The Morgaw Trian is designed for comfort, and it is perhaps the most comfortable saddle I have ever used. There is a fair amount of EVA foam used in it, though not as much as I have seen in other regular road saddles, and this naturally helps, but it seems that the shock absorbers are what have really made it comfortable.

Morgaw is a new saddle company from Slovakia that began as a crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo. The idea behind it came from Martin Moravcik and Slawek Gawlik, two ex-pro mountain bikers who wanted to make a new kind of saddle.

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Rather than simply having the rails mounted onto the base of the saddle, they mount through shock absorbers in order to lessen the impact of bumps in the road. It is meant to protect your spine as this is naturally where the shocks radiate.

The shock absorbers mean that rather than getting rid of the bite of a bump, they just take the edge off it. I was riding a steel frame for the majority of the review and for fairness hit the same lumps and bumps that I have become used to after two years of the same commuting route. Rather than the jarring impact that normally makes me stand up when I know they're coming, the shock absorbers took most of the impact and it wasn't really painful at all.

Fitting the saddle is pretty much like any other, although the oval shaped rails aren't compatible with all seat clamps, so it is worth researching if it will work for you. You can also switch out the shock absorbers, plus the saddle can also be customised, with 10 different colours of bolts and either aluminium rails (as on this test model) or carbon rails.

The Trian is a flatter shape than I would normally choose, but the nylon glass fibre-reinforced shell combined with the EVA foam meant I didn't feel uncomfortable at all. The all-in weight of 204g (202g claimed) is very respectable given that the Prologo X Zero II Saddle and Selle Italia SLR Tri Gel Saddle are both more expensive and weigh more.

The top of the saddle is PU leather with non-slip grip, meaning that you don't slide at all. Pretty much anywhere you sit on the saddle you feel fairly secure. It also seems hard wearing and there are no creases or folds that could potentially wear out. There is also a groove down the middle to help relieve pressure on your perineum.

This is a saddle created with comfort in mind rather than out-and-out performance. The slight movement in the shock absorbers, although not noticeable unless you are closely tracking power outputs, would hinder you slightly if you were time trialling or racing on the track. It's described as being well suited to cyclo-cross, and in terms of a sportive, commuter or just general training saddle, it works fine. The movement works both ways, so rather than just absorbing bumps it moves slightly side to side along with your pedal strokes; it's barely noticeable, but seems to help with comfort as it moves with you rather than fighting against you.

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The RRP of £89.99 isn't bank-breaking compared with others on the market, although actually giving a definitive answer on whether it is good value is hard, simply because it is more or less one of a kind. But given that the Prologo Space and Selle Italia Max SLR Gel Flow are £10 more, heavier, and both designed for comfort, the Trian seems about right.

Overall, it performed really well. It's the most comfortable saddle I have used and the shock absorber element really works.

Verdict

A supremely comfortable saddle with innovative shock absorption built in