New Saddle | Specialized Alias
There is one thing that I know w/o a doubt; take care of your butt and your butt will take care of you. This is true for toilet paper as it is for bike saddles. Unfortunately the saddle sold w/ my Trek Madone was absolutely horrible. Ok, there are probably worse bike saddles than the unknown Bontrager, but I couldn’t suffer any longer (neither would Napoleon and his generals).
I’ve learned in cycling the equation is simple: discomfort = speed OR comfort = slower. So goes the equation w/ saddles, if you want speed you have to endure discomfort, or go w/ comfort and have a huge seat that adds unnecessary grams to your bike. This is why I bought the Specialized Alias, it’s not the uber-racing-toupe saddle, nor is it grandma’s spring supported bubble butt seat. At 250 g it’s light and comfortable.
The comfortable in this saddle is not the gel or padding, but in Specialized’s own words, “Combined with our medically tested Body Geometry blood-flow technology to reduce numbness, the Alias redefines the crossing point between ergonomic comfort and pro-level performance.” In less marketing speak they’ve cut out the center of the saddle so your generals don’t sit in your throat while your ride.
Another feature Specialized offers in their saddles: 3 sizes. My previous seat was to narrow, so I went w/ the 143 mm. They also offer 130 mm and 150 mm.
I haven’t broken in this saddle, but on the short rides I’ve already felt the difference, and so has my bottom.
Rant: I’m not sure who’s to blame Trek or the reseller. I blame Trek, because they should never allow any of there bikes to be sold w/ crappy seats. Even a starter bike should be sold with a decent seat b/c the rider will judge his early biking experiences on the seat and not whether has the lightest crank or derailer. Just as important don’t sell a Madone w/ a crappy seat w/ the notion that the customer should upgrade. That is wrong on many levels and should be obvious. If a customer wants a cheap seat to lower the price of a bike than let them ask for a crappy seat. It’s just good business.
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