I have never been really interested in new saddle technology as my back end had moulded to the shape of Selle Italia SLR's over the many years of cycling and find them mostly comfortable but saying that I do have a Brooks C13 Cambium on my Spec Creo gravel bike for the extra comfort when off road.
I looked at the new Specialized S Works Power with mirror saddle when the press released their reviews back in June 2020. They were very mixed but then Fizik has released some similar saddles since then and looks to the way forward?
Anyway when I was down in Harrogate this week we popped into the Specialized Concept store and was having a looking around and they had some in stock. They had loads of 155mm wide ones and only one 143mm wide one. I got talking to the lad in the shop and was asking about "what happens if you cannot get away with the saddle" as it is mega bucks to spend. Well the answer is the following - you have a 30 day trial and if you cannot get away with it, contact the shop and they will swap the saddle for another Spec saddle and any difference in rrp is a store credit or you can have the full amount back as a store credit.
So he recommended I get my rear measured on the machine to see what it come out with. You have to sit on a pad with your back straight and your legs / knees bent to 90 degrees and feet flat on the floor. You then stand up and sit back down and repeat three times. The machine then calculates what the best sized saddle is for your bones. Mine came out at 143mm.
So I decided to splash out and bought the last one in the shop. The lad then asked if I have the carbon rail conversion clamps for the Spec seat post - no. So he had a look in their small parts holder trays and magicked up a pair on carbon clamps foc.
Fitting the saddle is simple enough with I will cover in a future Fresh Goods Sunday. As for the saddle well its very hard to describe. It feels very tacky, softish honeycomb material. It is shorter than my normal saddles which is new to me. The middle section is a see through cut away, again which I have never used before. It feels light enough in your hand but I forgot to put it on the scales before I fitted to check if it was near the manufacturers claimed weight of 144g.
Today was my first proper ride with the new saddle. The finish is very tacky and you cannot slide your bum about on top of the saddle which was strange for me. Once you find a comfortable position the trick is not to move around too much or get out of the saddle. I cannot say that the saddle was not 100% comfortable on the first ride but I did not suffer any chafing or rubbing like some other riders have experienced. I suppose only time will tell with a few more rides/ hours under my rear end as to how I am going to get on with all this new technology / shape etc.
RRP £390 (was £350 when they were launched nearly a year ago) and I paid £390 (inc carbon seat post clamp adaptor kit rrp £37) from Specialized Concept Store, Harrogate.
Manufacturers Blurb - The S-works Power with Mirror technology is the perfect reflection of you.
We’re redefining comfort and performance with Mirror technology to take Body Geometry into the future. The last big material innovation in saddle design happened decades ago with the introduction of foam. To develop a next-generation saddle, we had to look beyond foam and develop a next-generation technology. The S-Works Power Saddle with Mirror is the future.
We developed Mirror technology by 3D printing from a liquid polymer to perfectly reflect your anatomy. This revolutionary process creates a complex honeycomb structure that allows us to infinitely tune the material’s density in a way impossible with foam. The result is a patent-pending matrix of 14,000 struts and 7,799 nodes, each of which can be tuned individually.
And when you combine this technology with our extremely lightweight S-Works Power saddle, with its flexed-tuned FACT carbon shell and ultra-light rails, you get a high-performance saddle that's designed to help you perform at your best. It features all of the Body Geometry design characteristics you know and love, so you can be assured of superior, all-day comfort for your unique position.
- Patented Body Geometry design is lab-tested to ensure blood flow to sensitive arteries.
- Mirror technology utilizes 3D printing from liquid polymer to create a one-of-kind honeycomb structure that offers superior sit-bone support and comfort.
- FACT carbon fibre shell is flex-tuned for support and ride compliance.
- Ultra-light oversized FACT carbon rails.
- SWAT™-compatible mounts moulded into the saddle base allow for sleek and integrated storage solutions.
- NOTE: Oversized 7x9mm carbon rails are not compatible with seatposts equipped with side-load clamp mechanisms for 7mm round rails.
- Size 143mm / Weight 144g
- Size 155mm / Weight: 190g
