3D printed saddles
 

Anyone riding on a 3D printed saddle? I am looking at putting a new saddle on my Aerolight in the spring. I took a quick look at the 3D printed saddles from Specialized and yoooza! Those bad boys are expensive. Worth it though? What makes them so great compared to the standard Specialized saddle offerings? Thank you.

i have a couple, with maybe 10k miles on them. they aren’t magic, but they do have a very nice combination of support and give with the “give” tailored very specifically to the different areas of the saddle. that said, the shape/size and fit still matters more, one of the two types (the mirror) was much less good for me than the other (the romin).

I am currently riding the specialized mirror romin. I also have a fitzik 3d printed one if you want to try it. Both are manufactured by the same company but designed to the specs of spec or fitzik.

the fitzik is great if you like a more rounded profile the 3d printing is pretty comfortable. It didn’t work out for me and the mirror Romin has a more flat shape similar to the Toupe I loved from years ago but that they no longer make in the same shaping.

so far I’d say it’s worth every penny, heck if it lasts for 5 plus years like some of my other saddles absolutely. I’ve done the gamut of saddles and for my personal shape the Specialized Mirror Romin is pretty phenomenal.

just PM me if you want to try the Fitzik one, I’ve sent saddles to members all over the place to try and you can either buy it if it works for you or send it back and buy brand new, etc. this one was used by me for about 3 weeks before swapping.

I (mistakenly?) thought the point of 3D printed saddles was to get a fit custom to your own ass? In which case, what would be the value of trying someone else's saddle?

Which Fizik saddle is it? I’ve been looking for the Antares Evo Adaptive R3 in 149mm.

Yes you are mistaken.

robbyville PM sent! Thank you.

mschwett Good to know. Sounds like the 3D printed saddles might be worth the extra cake. But wow, they are costly.

They are not made for the individual. The point of the process is that the firmness of the saddle can vary from one area to the next to provide the type of support needed in each area.

I have the Fizik saddle and like it a lot. It conforms to my shape in a way that simply works.

Thanks for the info. Though wouldn't this be one of the inherent advantages of 3D printing? Ie. couldn't programming yield every saddle coming out of the process customized on 1-1 basis with who ordered it and their dimensions?

You sure could. How much do you want to pay?

theoretically yes, practically, i'm not sure how you'd ascertain all the correct dimensions. the methods used to measure sit bone width are pretty primitive and give you just one bit of data - the center to center spacing of the sit bones, which corresponds roughly to the width of at least one part of the saddle. but the rest of the butt is soft tissue, and i'm not sure what various dimensions, could they even be obtained, would say about the saddle geometry. and, of course, building a parametric model of the many-layered honeycomb structure of the 3d printed seat would be no joke, especially with more than a few parameters. then you have printing to order, idling time on very expensive machines, increased returns, i bet such a thing would cost thousands of dollars with the current tech.

i have the R1 in 149mm with the carbon rails. For the extra cost it was worth it for me as the carbon rails seemed to allow a different flex when seated. That being said the overall shape (more rounded) still wasn’t quite right for me.

i thought there was at least one company doing this; or at least a custom variation based upon some type of fit kit that would be sent to the consumer and then returned to the saddle maker. I don’t believe the saddle was 3d printed but a custom saddle nevertheless. I never tried it though.

NoWhammies , response sent!

That was what I was thinking, and have thought, as I've stumbled across 3D saddle conversations in the past.

I did bookmark this site a couple years ago, but haven't relooked at it since. I figured something like this though was what the 3D thing was about:
MELD_3d

Simple question. Is your current saddle causing any sort of issue? If yes, then maybe it could be well worth the money if you don't have a sore ass after every ride (assuming it is actually more comfortable). But if you don't have any issues, then where is the benefit? This is what I ask myself when it comes to new saddle choice - especially super expensive ones!

I am not really convinced that this is necessary. What saddle are you riding that fits comfortably now?

I agree they are not necessary for many people. But it was a huge help for me personally. I had a Specialized Power saddle that was professionally fit but I still did not last for more than an hour without needing frequent long standing sessions for the rest of the ride. So I got the Mirror version, the Power Mirror. Voila, no more standing required.

I hope it lasts a long time given the price. It still looks like new after about a year of use but if something caught on it it could rip. For transporting it could be handy to have a cover for the mesh to protect it.

I have a Specialized Power Pro with Mirror. I've tried basically every variation of the Power. I currently have Power Elaston, Power with Mimic, and Power with Mirror saddles on different bikes.

The vanilla Power shape works for my sit bones but is too firm especially the ridge around the cutout. Power Elaston is slightly more supple but cutout still too sharp. Power with Mimic has the best support at the stub nose and in place of the cutout but the support feels too soft after a long time in the saddle. Power with Mirror has more consistent support; it's not worlds better than the Power with Mimic but is kind of the best all-around for me. The 3-D printing means they've theoretically thought about and can tune different support at different locations on the saddle. Might be more noticeable on a Romin because the Power design is less geared toward sitting in different positions compared to the Romin.

I've been using the Fizik Vento Adaptive R3 for several months now; I also have the regular Fizik Vento R1 in use on another bike.

It's not life changing but is marginally more comfortable in comparison. Honestly you're better off finding the right shape and getting a good bike fit. The 3D printing allows for variable cushioning in specific parts of the saddle e.g. the middle perineal area is very soft and compliant vs. where the sit bones are much firmer.

So now I'm confused again.. these are custom variably produced for each customer, or not?

That particular model is not specifically made for each customer. The 3d printing is used to vary the cushioning in specific areas better than other ways of making saddles (more stiff in some area, softer in others).
There are definitely some companies that are making custom saddles for individuals using 3d printing, but for a mass-market product like the fizik saddle, customizing it for each person is a little expensive.

Meld is one company, Posedla is another. The full customization is the true benefit of 3D printed saddles, but I don't think the mass supplied ones are made with any customization other than being able to have a variable "density/cushion" at any particular location.

which model?

Antares Versus Evo R1 Adaptive.

Thanks for the link. It would be far easier for me to justify spending $500 on a custom 3D print saddle than $450 on a Specialized generic two sizes fit all saddle.