Longer PRO Stealth? Flatter Spec Romin?

[rice rocket]

In the neverending saddle quest, looking again for some options.

Two months in on the Stealth, I'm not sure I enjoy the whole short saddle thing, but I would like a little more room to move back and forth. The saddle itself is very comfortable though.

I rode the Romin for 8-10 years, which has the nose width to move forward semi-comfortably, but having ridden other saddles now, I don't really enjoy how heavily swept up the back is.

So is there a flatter Romin? Or a longer PRO Stealth?

I tried a PRO Turnix which on paper is similar to the Romin but with less upsweep, and had two issues, the saddle edges dug into me pretty good, and the nose is too narrow to use comfortably.

[deluz]

Selle Italia SLR is pretty flat but I am guessing you already tried one

[hobbanero]

Spesh Phenom might work. It is marketed as an XC saddle, but basically a flatter Romin. I like the version with Mimic up front, which gives a nice platform to slide up on.

[Nomadmax]

What width is the Stealth? Would you like to try a Power Expert?

[tellyho]

I quite like Fizik for long and flat.

[nooneline]

Originally Posted by rice rocket

In the neverending saddle quest, looking again for some options.

Two months in on the Stealth, I'm not sure I enjoy the whole short saddle thing, but I would like a little more room to move back and forth. The saddle itself is very comfortable though.

I rode the Romin for 8-10 years, which has the nose width to move forward semi-comfortably, but having ridden other saddles now, I don't really enjoy how heavily swept up the back is.

So is there a flatter Romin? Or a longer PRO Stealth?

I tried a PRO Turnix which on paper is similar to the Romin but with less upsweep, and had two issues, the saddle edges dug into me pretty good, and the nose is too narrow to use comfortably.

I just started using the Bontrager Verse Pro about a month ago and I think it might check your boxes. I just got it to replace a Romin and I had similar issues to you - not really liking curved saddles that require a flared-back/nose-down setup, not juving with short saddles, etc - and wanting a long fore/aft sweet spot for different rising positions and styles.

The Verse is a little shorter than traditional saddles, but definitely longer than short saddles. It's not super flat (like the Fizik Antares was), but it's no where near as curved/saddled as a Romin. And, crucially, it seems to have a really long front/back sweet spot - really comfortable sliding forward onto the rivet, and really comfortable sliding back into the cruising zone - almost reminding me of the old Arione in that regard.

I always fiddle with saddles a lot when I set them up but found this to lock in very easily, and I have a wider range of comfortable positions than the Romin I had been using.

Comes in 3 different tiered models and a ton of different widths. Bontrager has a 30-day guarantee, which is cool.

Everyone's ass is different but when I read your post I thought about the situation I was in right before buying a Verse, and I'm really really happy with it.

[zmalwo]

The flatter Romin would be Toupe. There are a lot of similar saddles to Toupe such as Fizik Antares or Prologo Scratch 2

[Steve in SLO]

A second on the Phenom. I didn't like the Romin for the upsweep.
The Phenom seems the sweet spot between the Romin and the Toupe.

[rice rocket]

Thanks all. I've seen the Phenom in the past, but also suffers from a fairly narrow nose, which doesn't lend to comfort when riding in a forward position. I had the SLR 15 years ago, and remember it being very flexy, but maybe that was the specific version I had (nylon shell, Ti rails).

Originally Posted by nooneline

I just started using the Bontrager Verse Pro about a month ago and I think it might check your boxes. I just got it to replace a Romin and I had similar issues to you - not really liking curved saddles that require a flared-back/nose-down setup, not juving with short saddles, etc - and wanting a long fore/aft sweet spot for different rising positions and styles.

The Verse is a little shorter than traditional saddles, but definitely longer than short saddles. It's not super flat (like the Fizik Antares was), but it's no where near as curved/saddled as a Romin. And, crucially, it seems to have a really long front/back sweet spot - really comfortable sliding forward onto the rivet, and really comfortable sliding back into the cruising zone - almost reminding me of the old Arione in that regard.

I always fiddle with saddles a lot when I set them up but found this to lock in very easily, and I have a wider range of comfortable positions than the Romin I had been using.

Comes in 3 different tiered models and a ton of different widths. Bontrager has a 30-day guarantee, which is cool.

Everyone's ass is different but when I read your post I thought about the situation I was in right before buying a Verse, and I'm really really happy with it.

Looked up a bunch on the Verse, I remember seeing it earlier but faded from memory, thanks for bringing it back up. Looks like it comes in 4 sizes too, which I'm glad to see, I thought <140mm saddles were fading away.

How did you size vs your Romin?

[nooneline]

I was on a 143 Romin so chose a 145 Verse. I think a 135mm could probably work for me too.

[hobbanero]

Originally Posted by rice rocket

Thanks all. I've seen the Phenom in the past, but also suffers from a fairly narrow nose, which doesn't lend to comfort when riding in a forward position.

the Mimic version makes the nose a much more comfy place to be.

[deluz]

Based on this thread I decided it would be good for me to try the Phenom. I tried to find the Mimic version but they are sold out so I got the Expert version.
I have two custom MELD saddles which I like but need a third saddle and wanted something less expensive and different. I like flat saddles and rounded saddles do not work for me. I have tried a dozen saddles and did not find any to be tolerable. The best one was the Power with Mimic but the edges rub the back of my legs too much, I ended up giving it to my wife who really likes it.
So I decided to try the power Arc but it was too rounded. Most saddles I knew after one ride or even a few minutes that they were not going to work.
The Phenom never came on my radar maybe because it is marketed as a MTB saddle. It arrived yesterday and I mounted it on my Cannondale and did an easy 18 mile ride with my wife. My initial impressions are that this saddle could work. It feels flat enough and there are no annoying pressure points. The padding is quite firm which is fine because I find soft saddles do not work for me. My butt was really sore from riding three days in a row so the fact that I could still tolerate it is a good sign. Here are some pictures comparing the Phenom to the Power Mimic on my wife's bike. To my eye the Phenom is slightly more rounded (less flat):