A Cyclist's Life in Tenerife (Canary Islands)

Saddle choice is a very personal thing indeed. Regardless, I’ve tried dozens of saddles over the years, so I thought I’d share a brief recommendation with readers. You need to sit on as many different ones as possible to figure out what works best for your body size & shape. Often you can’t get a good impression about saddle comfort until you go for a proper test ride for a few hours, so trying them out before you buy is never easy. Hence it may take years to find the right saddle… for some it’s a life-long search.

Enter Selle Italia. Selle Italia is one of those design-oriented companies that never stagnates. Each and every year, they revitalise their entire product line. One of their budget models -the Selle Italia X2 Trans Am Kevlar saddle- is probably the best value for money saddle on the market which (for me) is also comfortable. With its black cover and matching black-finished rails, the Selle Italia X2 is one of the better-looking budget saddles. It features a cut out centre and sufficient padding. Most importantly, they got the shape right with this one. At 290 grams, the seat is neither lightweight nor overly porky.

Another great feature: it is very durable because of the kevlar reinforeced edges. Normally what happens is that you scratch your leather or carbon seat whenever you lean your bike up a wall (they’re invariably ceramic aren’t they?). Selle Italia often tricks unsuspecting cyclists with their rail materials. Don’t be fooled; FeC is nothing other than the chemical composition of an intermetallic steel compound (Iron + Carbon). It only costs 20-30 Euros if you shop around. For what it is, it’s a veritable bargain. Be careful when ordering, because they don’t all look like this particular one…

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