Me, me, me!!! Bought my new Cervelo Carbon Soloist last May, and knew immediately that the stock saddle on it (a San Marco something-or-another) would have to go. The LBS that I bought the bike from, carried the much-talked about Cobb saddles that I had heard rave reviews on the triathlon forums that I frequented. I decided to give the Cobb V-Flow Plus a try...boy, was that a big mistake! 300 miserable miles later, and I was begging my hubby to take that torture device off of my bike and put on my old, Terry Tri-Gel until I could find something more suitable.
This fall, I went to a local Specialized dealer looking for a Jett or Ruby...my dealer had neither one in stock and actually stated that he probably would no longer be carrying the Jett. I noticed an interesting looking saddle in the display case, and asked to take a closer look. It was the Phenom...which I ended up buying. The owner of the LBS raved about this saddle...said it was the very saddle that he, himself, used on his road bike. He said he liked it much better than the Toupe...and said many of his customers echoed the same feelings. I figured I didn't have much to lose, since he offered me the opportunity to return it and try any other Specialized saddle if I didn't like it. I've been riding it ever since and it's been working fairly well for me. IMO, it is a very minimalist saddle...firm, not much padding, and it flexes in the sitbone area, so it "moves" with the rider. I haven't yet decided if I'll keep this saddle on my bike for the upcoming season or not...as I got a Selle Italia Prolink Light Gel Flow for Christmas, so will probably give that a trial run to see how it compares to the Phenom.
Linda