Ritchey WCS Contrail saddle

It's well known that saddles are very much a personal thing, but there are some saddles that, in general, offend the buttocks less than others. In that category should be included the Ritchey WCS Contrail saddle.

A rounded section with the gentlest of curves and generous padding makes it an extremely comfortable saddle. I found it agreeable right from the first moment I sat on it, and even a couple of hours later I was pleasantly surprised. Sometimes an initial setting in period is needing with saddles, to find the sweet spot, but that wasn't the case with this one.

The slight rise at the back ensures your sit bones are well placed on the padding for optimum comfort, and there's a slight recessed channel to relieve pressure in the sensitive area. The dipped nose is reasonably well padded, which helps on the climbs steep enough to force you right on to the end.

But the real key to its comfort is Ritchey's patented 'Vector Wing'. This design isolates the rails from the saddle base and does well to dampen the vibrations from poor road surfaces that can take their toll. It's a clever design, because by eliminating the two traditional rail connection points and placing a suspended connection between, the pressure is spread over three points at the rear of the saddle.

The carbon injected shell strikes a good balance between weight and stiffness, and the Chromo/Ti rails keep the weight down and allow a little flex too. The micro fibre upper has so far proved durable, with no sign of wearing yet.

At 261g it's some way off troubling the very lightest saddles on the market but it's far from heavy. I've never worried too much about the weight of the saddle, instead preferring to focus on the comfort. Comfort isn't something I'm prepared to skimp on in the pursuit of saving a few grams.

Verdict

An impressively comfortable saddle that is well suited to long-distance and sportive cyclists.