Bontrager women's Inform saddles now available

[Biciclista]

I can't believe the LBS took a gal (Ny biker) who was in between and put her on the SMALLER Saddle. That means, it is too small.

sigh...

NY BIKER, aside from the pear shape and the foam squishiness, maybe you can try the bigger one?


I'm not surprised that this is Bontrager's best effort at making something for women..

[ny biker]

I am planning to try the wider saddle, I just haven't had time to get to the shop yet. TS Hanna got in the way last weekend.

I have no reason to blame Bontrager for anything. I did the Civil War metric on my old saddle on Sunday and was reminded of how much pressure is on the nose of that saddle when I ride with it. There was no such problem with the Inform.

[JaneE]

How do you pronounce Bontrager?

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

From the Bontrager website:

"Q: How do you pronounce Bontrager?
A: We get that a lot!

Bon as in bonfire
tra as in traffic
ger as in grrr"

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

Slowly but surely I'm learning how to pronounce things so I don't sound like quite such a noob.

[Miranda]

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...

Amen to that sister...

I wish I could cut a hole in that "side-taint" thing. Just when I think I've about got it nailed on a saddle, this ugly beastly spot rears it's head for a hello.

I measured for a 150. I ordered both a 150 and 160. I rode the 150 last night and the lovely spot made itself known. I haven't put the 160 on, but we will see if that's any better. The center dip is pretty good I will agree. And the platform is pretty flat.

Wish I could take my kitchen knief to it and cut the sides of the "side-taint" thingy spot off the saddle. I'm getting pretty deranged in my saddle search... ya never know...*laughs like evil* oooo aaahhhh hhaaaa hhaaa.

My saine side will be sure to take police pics of the saddle homicide at the crime scene.

For now... that is all.

[Andrea]

Amen to that sister...

I wish I could cut a hole in that "side-taint" thing. Just when I think I've about got it nailed on a saddle, this ugly beastly spot rears it's head for a hello.

I measured for a 150. I ordered both a 150 and 160. I rode the 150 last night and the lovely spot made itself known. I haven't put the 160 on, but we will see if that's any better. The center dip is pretty good I will agree. And the platform is pretty flat.

Wish I could take my kitchen knief to it and cut the sides of the "side-taint" thingy spot off the saddle. I'm getting pretty deranged in my saddle search... ya never know...*laughs like evil* oooo aaahhhh hhaaaa hhaaa.

My saine side will be sure to take police pics of the saddle homicide at the crime scene.

For now... that is all.

Just in case you haven't tried it- the Specialized Ruby is the first cutout saddle I've ridden that has never bothered my side-taint. I hate how flexible it is, though.

[Trigress]

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

I'm Norwegian, I say Bånn-trager. That didn't help much did it? For those of you hating the Bontrager saddles it might amuse you that "bånn" (pronounced as in James Bon'. ) means "bottom" as in very bad indeed, not as in buttocks. OK, I'll see if I can get a life.

By the way, I bought a Bontrager men's saddle 128mm the other day and I absolutely love it, but then I appear to have unbelievably narrow sit bones.

[Aggie_Ama]

Anyone still riding this? What do you think? I saw one at Mellow Johnny's last weekend and was quite intrigued but unfortunately broke because it was 20% off. I hate my Selle Italia Lady Gel because it is too wide and chafes, otherwise I like it. If it just wouldn't chafe I wouldn't be having this problem! Have a narrow commuter saddle I like but it is too narrow and too firm for long distances. I need sorta squishy, I like cut out but willing to give this one a go.

[dex]

I'm still riding the inForm RL on my Litespeed (the more "aggressive" of my two road bikes--i.e. more saddle to bar drop than the other). I've gone back and forth between the 140 and the 150, more out of curiosity than anything else. I can't say that I've noticed much difference between the two in terms of comfort, so I think I'm going to keep the 150 and call it good. (The LBS that I bought it from has been great at letting me switch out the saddles on a whim.)

The saddle on my other road bike has a cut-out, but I find that the channel/groove in the inForm RL gives my bits all the room they need. And, I just like the look of it, to be honest.

To be fair, it seems like most of the complaints/concerns about this saddle that I've read involve chafing at the sides. That's not a problem I've encountered with any of the saddles I've tried, so I can't comment on that. (Hrm...except the Terry Butterfly that came on my Litespeed. The nose on that was just a bit too beefy for me, and I thought it had the potential for chafing and annoyance on longer rides, so I replaced it pretty quickly.)

[Andrea]

Anyone still riding this? What do you think? I saw one at Mellow Johnny's last weekend and was quite intrigued but unfortunately broke because it was 20% off. I hate my Selle Italia Lady Gel because it is too wide and chafes, otherwise I like it. If it just wouldn't chafe I wouldn't be having this problem! Have a narrow commuter saddle I like but it is too narrow and too firm for long distances. I need sorta squishy, I like cut out but willing to give this one a go.

Check out the SI "lady" SLR. It's not quite as wide or padded, and has a pretty nice cutout. It hasn't chafed my side-taint, even though I still get numbness in both my seatbones and soft tissues if I don't stand up every 10 minutes or so after an hour of riding. It's not quite as flexible as the Specialized Ruby which caused the same type of numbness, but it does have more padding, so I'm still in search of a wide, brick-like saddle with a cutout.

[tzvia]

The search for THE saddle is never ending with me. So I bought the RXL in 154 after a sitting on the sit-bone thing measured me as wide boned. Looks well made, but as it's been raining, I've only rode on the trainer with it. Let me start by saying, I like firm saddles with just enough padding to prevent soreness from the jarring of our imperfect roads. Been riding an Aspide Glamor and like it, but the shell flexes a bit much for my taste; if it were stiffer, I would just buy one in white and be done with it.

The first 5 minutes on the Bontrager were uncomfortable. The sit bones complained - pressure points. Then it stopped being a pain. The next 40 minutes were ok. On the next several trainer 'rides' it did not feel comfortable or uncomfortable; it was just there. Granted, I use a cheap pair of FOX Lycra shorts with minimal padding on the trainer and even the Aspide feels less comfortable than when I am on the road. Hopefully, today will remain rain-free so I can really give it a shake-down ride.

I have been looking for a sub 200 gram saddle that fits women and is designed for performance and not for a beach cruiser and frankly, there's not much out there. If this saddle feels good on the road I will be thrilled.

[tzvia]

Finally got out to ride a bit between the raindrops yesterday. Not a very long ride- with the rain threatening the whole time, and having to walk through some muddy areas with lots of tree branches. The saddle was a lot like it was on the trainer. At first I thought "oh gosh, this was a mistake..." and a few minutes later it was fine. After a few more minutes I stopped thinking about it and just rode the bike and enjoyed the rain-cleaned air. It is definitely stiffer than the Aspide, and really supports me well but does not create any pressure anywhere even without a center hole or channel. It's still to early to tell, with just one ride outside and not a very long one, but it looks promising. If you are looking for the living room couch, it's not for you, but if you want a lightweight performance saddle for wide sitbones it is worth a try and besides, it has that 90 day return...

[Andrea]

I was taking a look at the Inform saddles... just to clarify, the one that I was trying and did not like b/c of too much padding is the WSD saddle with the soft tissue "dent." I think the one that Tzvia is using is the unisex version- which I have not tried because I'm convinced that I need soft tissue relief of some sort

If the WSD one was less padded like the unisex one, I'd probably go for it

[tzvia]

Yes Andrea, I think it is the unisex one. As it is available in wide sizes I thought I would try it. Yes it has no 'dent' or channel. But the center area is a softer but supportive material. I actually like it. On saddles with a cutout/channel, the middle has nothing holding me up and the edge of the channel becomes a pressure point. Like all my weight is concentrated there. That bothers me, so I stay away from saddles with holes. My MTB saddle is the WTB Diva, which feels fine in the dirt, but if I ride it on the pavement, I can feel the pressure from the edge of the channel; it actually hurts. Thankfully I found out it was no good on the road before I bought one for my road bike.

Well, rain again tomorrow and Sunday. I hope it clears up enough for me to get a few hours of riding in.

[tzvia]

Update on that saddle-the RXL is awesome! I've been able to ride quite a bit on the road and on the trainer, and it seems to get better with every ride. I don't know if it is 'breaking in' or if it's my rear that is getting used to it, but it feels firm and supportive without hurting even after several hours. I don't miss the center channel at all, and as it's only slightly curved, it is easy to shift from the nose to the back, and center myself as I ride without feeling lumps and bumps and craters. Granted, it's not for everyone; some people want cushion, or holes or whatever, but it may not be needed if the saddle supports your frame correctly to begin with. The trick is finding one that does that. Now let's see if it holds up with lots of use... The days are getting longer and soon it will be light enough to ride when I come home from work.

[bike4ever]

I had my first ride on my Inform RXL size 150 today. I need to tweak it a little, but I didn't have any issues. I went with Bontrager since we sell these and it would be easier to sell if I ride one.