The saddles that came with my 3 current bikes and plus other saddles I’ve bought for them.
Marin Comfort (from 1996 Marin)
A wide saddle with thick padding (described by Marin as having “soft foam”). Manufactured by Velo.
My 1996 Marin Bobcat Trail was supplied with this “Marin Comfort” saddle which seemed to be what they fitted to the bottom 3 of their MTB range and the bottom 3 of their City Bike range (with the Marin Sport on the next one up, and then the Ritchey Vector on the rest). It was fine for shorter rides and trail rides where I’m moving around lots, but on longer road rides it would become uncomfortable – I’m not sure if it was down to the shape, the padding, or both (I gather that excessive padding on a saddle can be problematic once you start to ride longer distances).
PRO Griffon (142mm)
A saddle with a flat side profile, normal nose-length, rounded back and a pressure-relief cut-out. It’s 142mm wide and has a PU covering with EVA padding and cromoly rails.
Once I started doing longer rides on my 1996 Marin MTB (after my return to cycling but before I acquired any other bikes) the afore-mentioned Marin Comfort saddle wasn’t up to the job. Having seen a few bike fitting videos on Youtube I decided to try a PRO Griffon. It claims to be designed for riders with less flexibility and who move around a lot. As you can see from the photo although it’s classed as having a flat side profile it does have some rise up at the back – there’s also plenty of flex in the base so it curves even more when sitting on it. That flex in the base also does help cushion a little with rougher surfaces. I certainly found it better than the Marin Comfort saddle on longer rides, and I prefer it over the Ryet Ultimate and Selle Italia X3 Boost mentioned below, but it does still feel like I’m feeling concentrated pressure points on longer sustained rides (i.e. rides with fewer junctions breaking them up). I now suspect the Turnix may be a more suitable saddle for me from PRO.
2015 Pinnacle Neon (Velo VL-1205)
A saddle with a wave profile, normal nose-length and no pressure relief channel. It’s 145mm wide and the covering is likely PU. It was produced for Evans Cycles by Velo.
My 2015 Pinnacle Neon Two hybrid came with its original saddle. I’ve actually found it to be a saddle which suits me well – once I got the height set correctly I found it to be comfortable on long rides (and I’ve tried it on the gravel bike too). The only negatives for me are the covering is a little on the shiny side so with some shorts it can be a little too easy to slide around (although on the plus side it doesn’t wear the garment surfaces when I do move about, which can be an issue with gripper saddles) and the lack of pressure relief channel (less of an issue on the Neon Two as the hybrid’s riding position isn’t low, but could be on the gravel bike where I do use the drops at times). According to google it’s a Velo VL-1205 saddle customised to Evans Cycle’s specification for the 2015 Neon range. That specification appears to be to have stitching for the rear triangular valley and around the edges of the saddle and a neon orange section on the rails (which are cromoly). Apparently the Velo VL-1205 was used as a base for saddles for a number of different bicycle manufacturers as well as being used for the Charge Spoon. Modern alternatives I could use to replace it would be the Madison Flux Classic or the Fabric Scoop (with the latter giving a few different profile variations), but my preference has been to see if I can find a saddle I get on with that has a pressure relief channel.
Selle Italia X3 Boost
A short-nosed saddle with a flat profile (the “Boost” is Selle Italia’s indicator of a short-nose design). It is 142mm wide. This isn’t a “Flow” version so has no central cut out, but it does have a pressure-relief channel.
This saddle was fitted to my gravel bike by a previous owner and I’ve given it a decent try (including trying a few tweaks to angle and set-back). I can tolerate it but just don’t find it comfortable enough on longer rides on the Cannondale – it feels quite firm and not in a supportive way and the profile may well not suit me (given the X3 is supposedly well padded).
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Ryet Ultimate (Carbon, 3d-printed)
A short-nosed saddle with a flat profile. It is 140mm wide and has a pressure relief cut-out. It has a carbon shell, carbon rails and a 3d-printed TPU covering (claiming to have “differentiated cushioning zones” in that covering).
As I wasn’t finding the Selle Italia X3 Boost to my tastes on the gravel bike and having watched a few videos from bike fitters on YouTube about saddles I took a punt on a Ryet Ultimate Carbon Fibre 3d-printed saddle via AliExpress (which is the narrower of two Ryet saddles one bike fitter on Youtube said worked really well for many of his clients). There seem to be a couple of different shapes of saddle that Ryet have term the Ultimate – I think the one I got is an older 2024 variant. They do an option of a plastic or carbon shell, a couple of different rail options and then either PVA or 3d-printed TPU covering – I went for the carbon+3d printed variant. I’ve not found it suits me though. Initially I did have it set a little too high which caused discomfort on my sit bones after only 5 miles of sustained pedaling and it wasn’t as bad when lowered a little but still not great. I did try tweaking angle, setback and wearing padded MTB shorts but for rides with stretches of continuous seated pedaling (i.e. not broken by junctions) I just can’t get to the point of it feeling comfortable. Clearly it suits some people well, but since I haven’t really gotten on with this, the PRO Griffon nor the Selle Italia X3 boost but find the more waved profile of Pinnacle saddle works for me I suspect flat side-profile saddles just don’t suit my pelvis.
MIXED Pack Light 5D
A short-nosed saddle with a wave profile. It is 143mm wide and has a pressure relief cut-out. It has a carbon shell (T700) and carbon rails with a PU (“microfibre leather”) cover over EVA padding. It’s the lightest out of the saddles I have.
Having found that none of the Ryet Ultimate, Selle Italia X3 Boost and PRO Griffon quite work for me and yet the older style of the Pinnacle’s saddle seemed to I wondered if the issue is that my anatomy is more suited to a “wave” profile saddle compared to a “flat” one. Before ordering a saddle similar to the Pinnacle’s (as noted above the Madison Flux Classic or Fabric Scoop seem to be options) I thought I’d try another AliExpress saddle recommended by a YouTube bike fitter. The MIXED 5D was one he recommended in the same video as the Ryet Ultimate – it was suggested as an option for those with narrow “sit bones” and noted that it has a more significant rise (i.e. wave profile) than the Ryet saddles.
It felt a bit odd to sit on at first – I can actively feel that rise at the back (whereas I don’t notice it on the Pinnacle’s saddle). However on my first few longer rides it seemed to be more comfortable than the various flat profile saddles and I stopped noticing the rise so much. I recently did 40 miles with only a couple of short breaks and wasn’t feeling uncomfortable in the saddle at all.