Bontrager women's Inform saddles now available

[ny biker]

I just got an email from my LBS manager telling me the Inform women's saddles will be in store tomorrow.

I know Bontrager saddles generally have a bad rep, but I'm curious to see what all their research has led to. So I plan to check them out. There is a 90-day comfort guarantee.

Of course the timing is not great for me right now since I've been training all summer for a 70 mile ride that will take place in just over two weeks and I don't want to mess with a new saddle until that is over. So I will try the new saddle starting in late August/early September (maybe for the Civil War Century?).

But if anyone is saddle shopping right now and they want something without a cut-out, this might be worth looking at. They come in different widths and a Trek dealer should have a measurement device to determine which width is recommended for your sit bones.

The background on their research is here:

http://bontrager.com/inform

They still list the Inform saddles under "Men's/Unisex" but maybe that will be updated soon.

(No I don't work for Trek or Bontrager, I'm just intrigued by their research and willing to give it a try. )

[mimitabby]

very interesting. the inform RL comes in 3 sizes. the R model looks like a torture device.

I hope someone tries one of the bigger sizes out soon, I am most curious to hear what they are like. (and they do have a nice narrow nose)

[mayanorange]

Very interesting..... my little biomech mind likes to see dots and force graphs!

"One interesting result of this pressure mapping was the realization that the highest points of pressure do not correspond to the sit bone structure; cyclists do not sit on their sit bones."

This is sort of what I was thinking on my last ride- trying to find where I belong on a road bike still- and whenever I thought 'wait, I have to sit on my sit bones', I'd tuck my butt under and be really uncomfortable. Instead, I wanted to tip my pelvis forward a bit (this of course makes me remember that my current saddle squishes my girly bits, but that's another issue). I can't even imagine actually sitting on your sit bones in the drops and sure enough, they're graphs in the drops show the huge increase in pressure, especially in the ladies, when you go into the drops. Also, I still think the sitbones should be supported even though we're not always right on them. My only question from this would be is the SMP design more what we need- the pressure seems to be all centrally located, maybe because we have round pelvises and saddles tend to be flat?? I'd LOOOOOVE to see similar graphs from Selle on the SMP to see if they get a more even distribution of force in the entire 'cup' shape. They have quotes that it proves good circulation, but don't show the pressure proof.... which usually means it isn't there. I'm very intrigued nonetheless as a biomechanist and as someone who hates their current saddle!

PS- there's an article in last month's Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise journal that has similar pressure data from a Bontrager Race and Fizik. If anyone wants to see it, email me and I'll send you the pdf- it's one of those journals that requires a subscription so I can't just link to it.

[Fujichants]

I bought one of these saddles today...I will post a review after a couple of long-ish rides. I got it in the 154 mm after being fitted on the Bontrager measurement thing.

I must say...it looks really nice, and I got a lot of compliments on it already. But it also looks like it is going to hurt. I'll let you guys know!

[Fujichants]

NEVER MIND. The store sold me a men's one! I am going back there tomorrow to order the women's one. Seriously...GRRR this frustrates me.

[Zen]

I was just at my Trek dealer today and bought a Terry Butterfly.
He never mentioned these.
I guess he knows how I feel about Bontrager saddles

[ny biker]

I'm planning to go in tomorrow to have my butt measured and pick out a saddle. I've got a couple of short (20-30 mile) test rides planned for this weekend and if they go well I'll test it on the Civil War metric next weekend.

[Zen]

How do you pronounce Bontrager?

Bont-rage-er?
Bon-tray-grr?
Bon-tray-jer?

[emily_in_nc]

How do you pronounce Bontrager?

Bont-rage-er?
Bon-tray-grr?
Bon-tray-jer?

I was told it was pronounced "Bon-trahh-grr", with the emphasis on the middle syllable (ahhhh sound). German, I guess. Not sure that's right, but the person who told me was rather informed about all things cycling.

Anyone know for sure?

[VeloVT]

I have not seen the women's version of this saddle yet. However, earlier this summer, bf was looking for a new saddle and I was scoping out the local shops for him. I handled the men's version of this saddle and it looked to me like something I would be able to ride (and I have had some pretty bad experiences with the older generations of Bontrager saddles). I think these new Bontrager saddles are much better -- I am willing to give Bontrager saddles a second chance based on how these look.

They have a much flatter profile, unlike the older ones that had a pronounced curve from tip to tail. That curve **killed** me... But apparently it works for some people. It's kind of like the difference between the Fizik Arione, which I find very comfy, and the Fizik Aliante, which I haven't actually ridden but it looks like a torture device to me, with that big contour. However, it's one of their best selling saddles, so go figure...

[VeloVT]

I say it "bahn' tray-ghur" but I probably sound like I don't know my stuff ...

[OakLeaf]

http://www.bontrager.com/faqs/general_faqs/en

[ny biker]

I'm planning to go in tomorrow to have my butt measured and pick out a saddle. I've got a couple of short (20-30 mile) test rides planned for this weekend and if they go well I'll test it on the Civil War metric next weekend.

Well after 20 miles on my new saddle, the Inform RL, I'm not sure what to think.

First I should note that my old saddle was pretty comfortable. Sometimes it would hurt on long rides, usually on flatter terrain, which I guess is because I don't move around on the seat as much when I'm not climbing. The pain was clearly due to too much pressure on the narrow part in front. But the saddle is old and getting worn out so I figured it's time to look into a new one. The old one (a Juliana, which they stopped making about 5 years ago) is t-shaped with no cutout. I measured the widest part and it's about 155 mm wide.

So I did the sit-bone measurement at the LBS and they said I was "in between" and therefore recommended I try the narrower saddle, which is 140 mm. Okay, so it's narrower than the old one, but I'm keeping an open mind here. It's also more pear shaped. But I'm willing to test it.

I did a quick ride (10 minutes or so) yesterday when I first got it and it was okay. It feels harder than the old saddle, but there is definitely more weight on the sit bones and less pressure on the front, which is good.

After today's ride I felt a little chafed, which might be because of the pear-shape. Or maybe it's because the weight is distributed differently on this saddle compared to the old one? Anyway overall I felt okay.

So the jury is still out. Tomorrow I'm hoping to ride for 30 miles or so, and this time I'll use chamois butt'r. So maybe I'll know more then.

I am kind of wondering if I'd be better off with the wider version (150 mm), but if chafing turns out to be the main issue than I don't think wider would be better.

To be continued...

[Andrea]

I just tried one last night. I measured exactly in between the small (140) and medium (150) sizes. I tried the 140 to make sure it wouldn't love it, but it felt too small (not too surprised since the saddles I've been most comfy on are at least 150mm). So, I did 25 miles on the 150.
The good:

• It's got a stiffer base than the Ruby that I've been on for a couple of months, which I like.
• The "dent" rather than cutout thing is pretty sweet. Even with the squishy padding, my soft tissue was very comfortable riding on both the hoods and the drops.
• That "bump" of padding in the front was also really nice when I was doing some hard pedaling in the drops, where I tend to rotate forward towards my pubic bone (not comfortable at all on the Ruby).

The not-so-good:
It's got pretty squishy padding that started to chafe my side-taint about halfway through the ride (similar to what I've experienced with a Terry Butterfly and the SI Shiver).

I'm going to try again today with some Assos creme, but chafing in that spot has been the downfall of many saddles before this one...

[Zen]

The not-so-good:
It's got pretty squishy padding ...

Then it's off my list.
Padding does nothing but irritate me.