When you're picking out various bicycle components, you often pay attention to the highly visible parts such as your bike's gearbox, crankshaft and fork. Yet one of the smallest components -- your bicycle seat, technically known as the saddle -- also plays the biggest role in your comfort and long-distance endurance. For men, it's helpful to have a seat with a middle channel to relieve pressure on your groin.
Fizik Arione Versus
You'll never find the perfect saddle, warns Bicycling magazine, but Fizik's seat comes pretty close, with the publication giving it a prestigious "Gear of the Day" award in 2010. The reviewing editor specifically loved the deep center channel, saying it gave effective pressure relief, plus a wider surface area for men who hate the narrow saddles that are often the norm on road cycles. Additional padding with enhanced foam density may also win this saddle points from men, and the magazine notes that the addition adds minimal weight to the final product.
Selle San Marco Regale Racing Team
The Regale saddle has been a staple in the racing bicycle industry for years, and the new 2011 edition attempts to improve it. According to BikeRadar.com, the revamp has been successful, giving it 4.5 stars out of five, making it one of the year's highest rated saddles, as of February 2011. The reviewing editor praised its take on the traditional seat shape, which keeps the flat width but curves it from front to back which helps keep your bottom "nestled into its sweet spot." Basically, that means those sensitive body parts will feel fine, even on an intense ride. Additional features include a carbon-reinforced shell, which helps keep weight down while also improving strength.
WTB Vigo Team Saddle
WTB's saddle won an editors' choice award from Bicycling magazine. For a more comfortable ride, the manufacturer added taller levels of foam padding, which the magazine says helps keep your sensitive back end happy. Additional features include replaceable rails. This will appeal to budget-conscious riders, as that means you can replace the rails after they've become bent with years of use instead of having to buy a whole new saddle.
Selle San Marco Mantra
Selle San Marco's 2010 seat won 4.5 stars out of five from BikeRadar.com, which places it as one of the best-ranked saddles of 2010. The reviewing editor, from Cycling Plus magazine, says that riders shouldn't be scared of the triangular, wide-gapped design. It's "deceptively comfortable," the reviewer says, even on long, fast bicycle journeys. If you're looking for the ultimate comfort saddle, the site concludes that this "radical design" could be just what the doctor ordered for riders with "sore bottoms or chaffing thighs."
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