It's been a week, and I'm still testing this one. The verdict is: promising, but undecided. I have been stuck indoors riding the trainer in the basement, and so far have had a couple of really good rides, a couple of okay rides, and one really bad ride. The bad ride I cross off to an inadequate chamois for a saddle this firm. You definitely need good padding to ride this saddle. You also need to experiment some with tilt. I've done flat, some nose up, a little less nose up, & a little down. Flat & down are out, just a little nose up seems to be the most comfortable. You need to play with it until you get this cradling feeling. It's hard to explain more precisely, but when you get it right, you will know it.

I need to get outdoors & try it. I'm hoping to get out this weekend for maybe a 40-mile hill ride, which will tell me a lot. I have a couple of concerns. One is that the tapering in towards the nose is a little wide, even on the skinny Stratos model, so I'm concerned about getting rubbed. Second, the rails around the cutout are quite firm. They don't hurt, which is why tilt is so important to get right, but I am always aware of them. This might go away if I'm riding outside & busy thinking about other things. Don't know just yet, will write more when I have more to report. So we'll see....