Kinda falling in love with my $5 saddle (Spyder)
 

I've been seeing these things popping up on Facebook.

Did a search. Even went as far as to read some reviews of the original Spyder saddle, a Tioga with a different shape.

Depending on where you look, these are $2.50 to $20. Some claim stainless steel rails, others claim titanium. A magnet sticks to them is all I'm saying.

I got mine on eBay for around $3 and another $2 shipping charge. I had it in about 6 weeks. I weighed it (170g) and put it on my road bike. I went on a short ride and didn't like it, put my SLR back on.

Fast forward a few months and I've got this new to me mountain bike that I've been having fun with. I tried the seat again because everything on the bike was so heavy.

I'm impressed. It does the whole butt hammock thing really well. An actual noticeable difference for a hardtail. Like I really feel it softening the terrain. It's just flexible plastic, nothing more. It's just fine for my style of mountain biking (under 3 hours). I expect to kill it, but maybe that's the price influence. Nothing on it seems like it's any worse than most saddles.

Bike shorts are good. I don't ride without them. I don't think this would be a good option without shorts. I don't think any of my other $150+ seats would be either, to be fair.

If I went bike packing or made some attempts at 50-75 mile mountain bike rides, I'd probably switch to something else. Likewise if I was on a ride where a broken seat would leave me stranded. For the flowy short stuff 6 miles from my house, I dig it.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...96d1a8f9c6.jpg

Tioga knockoff is sad : (

I would rather have the real thing than a knockoff though not a Tioga fan, maybe with some extra width it might work for me but too skinny.

It's a dramatically different shape than the Tioga. Enough different that it's it's own thing. Not a copy or bootleg.

It's pretty much the same width as most narrow saddles, SLR, Flight, etc.

No, it's an obvious copy of a Tioga, even down to the model name (Spyder) and branding locations.


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d0025df5d4.jpg

I've considered one for a lightweight climbing road bike. But most of the knockoffs have a reputation for breaking after a few months. Might depend on rider weight and terrain. For less than $20 I'd probably take a chance, though, at least for chasing PRs and KOMs.

Same here. Bought one for $8, rode it, and realized I didn’t notice my saddle anymore. Sold the SLR. OF course, everyone’s butt is different. I get a lot of questions about it from other bike mechanics. I’m 180 pounds and so far no priblems.

So thanks to this thread, I looked up and saw Tioga is making some really sweet new Spyder that are carbon, some with a little cushion, and definitely what's being knocked off.

The old one looks way different. Something to keep in mind the next time I'm saddle shopping.

Rode a thrift store cheapie (Mammoth) for months (years?) that cradled me just right. But, as all cheap stuff seems to do, it developed a tear. Got lucky and found a Cobb Randee for next to nothing on shopgoodwill.... Now THAT saddle is heaven to my tailbones.

Bottom line: sit on it till you need or find better. As you mentioned, price don't necessarily translate into comfort....

If it fits you and you like it, cool.

I've got a box of saddles that prove that cost (in either direction) has nothing to do with what is comfortable to me.

Had one too and really liked it, but someone bought the bike (Nishiki Alien) out from under me. Glad you mentioned it since I'll try again.

I've got one of these on order, somewhere in transit from China. I'll be putting onto an MTB drop bar conversion, and I'm hoping it will be comfortable. And if so, maybe on other bikes where my rear has been sore after a ride or two.

I have been seeing these things online for years, but never heard anything believable about them. Now you guys have piqued my interest.

My Vader saddle cost $13 on Amazon, I've had it for 7 years, and ride it everywhere. It's light and is just the right shape for my sit-bones.

On saddles, I follow the Ken Doherty principle; for those who don't know, Doherty won the World snooker championships with a warped cue he bought for 2 quid off the rack at his clubhouse as a kid. For contact points, you have to get what fits right.

I looked on ebay, hell, for 2.99 price and 2 bucks shipping-sold,lol....its on the way

Me too! Counting the days until the August 27 delivery date.