Bontrager saddles

[rpm]

Lance and the boys are all riding new Bontrager saddles. Trek seems to be really trying to meet Specialized head on with these. Anyone have any experience with them?

http://bontrager.com/features/saddles/en

[Climb01742]

i've been using the RL saddle and really like it. they come in widths, something that helps me. i ride the 146 wide RL. so far, my butt is quite happy. shape is good: relatively skinny nose, but wider supportive tail. flat nose to tail, but a nice curve side-to-side that feels good. not a ton of miles on it yet, but enough to indicate that they will wear/stand up well. very happy so far.

[93legendti]

i've been using the RL saddle and really like it. they come in widths, something that helps me. i ride the 146 wide RL. so far, my butt is quite happy. shape is good: relatively skinny nose, but wider supportive tail. flat nose to tail, but a nice curve side-to-side that feels good. not a ton of miles on it yet, but enough to indicate that they will wear/stand up well. very happy so far.

Good to hear, 'cuz you were an Aliante guy, right? I saw the new saddles from Bont. and wondered if they were comfortable.

[Climb01742]

Good to hear, 'cuz you were an Aliante guy, right? I saw the new saddles from Bont. and wondered if they were comfortable.

i was. the slightly wider 146 gives sitbones a bit more support, and the bonty is a bit firmer than the aliante. aliante can be too soft sometimes. and i'm finding that the flat tip-to-tail profile of the bonty (versus the hammock of the aliante) lets me position my hip angle, instead of the saddle "encouraging" a particular angle.

i also rode a regal for awhile. it felt too wide and just a bit too hard. the bonty really is the happy medium for me between the aliante and regal.

the 3 widths of the bonty really helps a rider find his/her sweet spot, too, i think.

[jbrainin]

I've been using an RL for five months. It's comfortable, well padded and a little bit heavy compared to the Specialized Toupe.

Currently I find neither totally satisfactory so I'm searching for a new saddle, one lighter than the RL (or RLX), as light as the Toupe but more comfortable. Any suggestions out there?

[LegendRider]

How does the Bontrager do on the "soft tissue?" There is no cut-out, correct?

[Climb01742]

How does the Bontrager do on the "soft tissue?" There is no cut-out, correct?

correct, no cut out. i find the width of the tail enough to support my sitbones, so my "soft bits" are ok.

[93legendti]

i was. the slightly wider 146 gives sitbones a bit more support, and the bonty is a bit firmer than the aliante. aliante can be too soft sometimes. and i'm finding that the flat tip-to-tail profile of the bonty (versus the hammock of the aliante) lets me position my hip angle, instead of the saddle "encouraging" a particular angle.

i also rode a regal for awhile. it felt too wide and just a bit too hard. the bonty really is the happy medium for me between the aliante and regal.

the 3 widths of the bonty really helps a rider find his/her sweet spot, too, i think.
How did you decide on a width?

[rpm]

Thanks, Climb. I walked over to my Trek dealer this noon, looked at the saddles and sat on the assograph to determine that I was a 146. I'm not riding much on the frozen tundra right now, so I'll think I'll wait until about March 1 to buy it. With the 90-day comfort guarantee, there's no reason not to try it.

[Climb01742]

How did you decide on a width?

i wanted something a bit wider than an aliante (which is 142 i think) and bit more narrow than a regal (which is 150ish i think). so it wasn't scientific, more trial and error.

[93legendti]

i wanted something a bit wider than an aliante (which is 142 i think) and bit more narrow than a regal (which is 150ish i think). so it wasn't scientific, more trial and error.
Thanks, I was curious if you tried the but graph and it worked out.

[mikki]

Thanks, Climb. I walked over to my Trek dealer this noon, looked at the saddles and sat on the assograph to determine that I was a 146. I'm not riding much on the frozen tundra right now, so I'll think I'll wait until about March 1 to buy it. With the 90-day comfort guarantee, there's no reason not to try it.


"Assograph"? That's the funniest thing I've heard all day!!

[pdxmech13]

I have also logged some time on this saddle. It's much firmer than most newer styled saddles and offers exceptional support. The assograph is fool proof for sizing The quality of the product is acceptable for a $100 saddle and better than most in this price range. I have ridden an arione for the last 3 years and have always thought it sagged too much in the center and felt like a hammock. Try one out if your interested as they have a satisfaction guarantee.

[LegendRider]

"Assograph"? That's the funniest thing I've heard all day!!

What's the difference between a Bontrager "assograph" and a Specialized "assometer?" ;)

[Ray]

What's the difference between a Bontrager "assograph" and a Specialized "assometer?" ;)
I don't know what the Trek ass-reader is like, but the one Specialized uses is just a little ruler with a couple areas of memory foam next to it and you sit on the memory foam. Which maintains the shape of your butt for roughly long enough to figure out approximately how widely spaced the centers of your sit-bone indentations are. Its rather far from a precision instrument! But it showed me that my ass graphs out to about 130mm, which explains why I've never been comfortable on a saddle narrower than about 140. So I went with the 143 Phenom and am as happy as the proverbial clam (which probably would have a tough time getting a reading out of the ass-machine).

The Bonty looks like a very similar shape to the Phenom / Toupe but without the butt crack. I'd probably try it if I wasn't already well set with the Phenom.

-Ray

[rpm]

What's the difference between a Bontrager "assograph" and a Specialized "assometer?" ;)

The Bontrager one is higher tech. It's white and when you sit on it different colors appear according to your pressure points. The Specialized one just has indents in the foam and you toss some bb's in to see where they land, and you measure the distance between them. Both pegged me as a medium width.