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One Year Later: The WTB Saddle

05.12.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 7 Comments

One year ago, I reported that I had put a new saddle on my bike. After less-than-stellar experiences with hard racing-style saddles, I decided to go a different direction, and get something that offered more cushioning. I settled on the WTB Speed V.

It’s time for an update.

After riding the saddle for a year, I can report that it has done what I expected. The added cushioning  makes for a more comfortable saddle (for me, anyway — I know that saddles are very personal things, and what works for one person might not work for another).

I have come to a conclusion about saddles, though. I think they all start to get uncomfortable after a couple of hours. I noticed when I did the LBJ 100 ride in March that no matter what saddle people were riding, many of them stood on the pedals while coasting — often switching the foot at the bottom of the pedal stroke. They were obviously doing what I have been doing — shaking out the mild soreness that takes over after sitting in the same position for awhile.

Fair enough. Otherwise, what I like about the saddle is its wider profile. It offers the platform for my bottom that had been lacking with my earlier choices.

What are the downsides to the Speed V? Take a look at this picture from today.

I took a fall back in September, and while it didn’t do any major damage to the bike or the saddle, it did cause some cracks in the vinyl cover. Those cracks have grown in number and spread a bit since then. In addition, the vinyl is starting to pull away from the embossed “Speed V” logo on the saddle’s nose. Neither of these problems affect the saddle’s comfort at all. They just don’t look good, and I can see that I might need to replace the saddle down the road sooner rather than later if they get much worse.

I’m not able to say if the surface cracking is the cause of my recent rash of saddle sores, since I get them on both sides, and the cracking is only on the left.

But it’s also important to remember that this saddle set me back a whopping $25 last year. I believe the advertised price at Performance is now up to $28. In any case, it’s a cheap saddle, and by that, I mean inexpensive — not shoddy.

Would I buy another WTB Speed V?

It depends. My friend David was intrigued by my original review, so he went out and bought the WTB Rocket V — what WTB calls an “enthusiast” saddle rather than a “recreational” saddle like the Speed V. He likes it. I might consider going that route, although it’s narrower than the Speed V, and I don’t seem to get on with narrow saddles. WTB saddles have gotten good ink in other venues, too, like Kent Peterson’s popular blog. So if I have to replace my saddle sooner rather than later, it will probably be with another WTB.

But if this one holds together for a little longer, and I can save a few more pennies, I might consider trying a Brooks B-17.

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Categories // Review Tags // saddle, WTB Speed V

WTB Speed V Saddle (Review)

05.13.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 12 Comments

It’s been a familiar pattern: Ride, get sore bottom. Ride, get sore bottom. What to do about it?

I’ve fiddled with different saddles.

Three years ago, there was a Trek gel saddle of some kind, that I appropriated from my wife’s bike when she got a new saddle for herself (an Avocet gel — too bad Avocet is no more). I knew the Forte Classic from Performance would be a big improvement. Nope. Then, the Specialized Alias that came with my new bike seemed to hold some promise. Until I did some really long rides on it, and started looking for an alternative. The Selle San Marco Ponza was the answer to my prayers — for about an hour.

Most of these saddles had one thing in common: Little padding. So when I decided to spring for a new saddle, I looked for something with a little more cush. A couple of lines in particular offer saddles with more padding than I’ve been used to: Serfas and WTB. I liked the looks of the WTB Speed V, so a couple of weeks ago, I paid a visit to the local Performance store, and bought one. The fact that it was on sale for $25 helped in the decision-making process, too.

The Speed V is wider across the back than the Ponza, which I figured I must need. I liked the feel of the Ponza’s narrow seat, but maybe a slightly wider platform would offer better support. The Speed V also has the distinctive WTB “Love Channel” (how could you not like that name?) — not a complete cutout, but not flat, like the Ponza.

It’s a comfy saddle, no doubt about it. I immediately liked the feel of the seat on my butt. The wide part of the seat has padding that gives, without being overly soft. The nose of the saddle is also padded more than I’ve been used to, which was welcome when climbing.

The first couple of rides were great. I actually went 16 and 18 miles without thinking about the saddle. But I knew the acid test would come on a long ride — something well over one hour.

That came last weekend at the Armadillo Hill Country Classic. I rode the 50-mile route, and was on the bike for over three hours, with only two short breaks. And I’ll admit it — there was some discomfort. However, I’m coming to the conclusion that the problem is not so much with the saddle as it is with my riding position.

The part that gets sore is my taint — that area between the boys and the uh, exit. On the Armadillo, I found myself standing on the pedals while coasting, just to take some weight off the taint. And it occurred to me that I shouldn’t be putting weight there anyway. After all, when getting fitted for a saddle by companies that use an ass-o-meter, or whatever it’s called, the key measurement is the distance between the sit bones — not where your taint hits the saddle.

I started deliberately putting more pressure on my sit bones, and sinking them into the Speed V’s padding. It helped. Ah ha! so this is the pelvic tilt I’ve heard about from time to time. Pressing down on the sit bones causes the pelvis to tilt forward, and relieve pressure on the taint.

Problem is, I’ve been riding the other way so long, it’s going to take some effort on my part to get the tilt down to where it’s second nature.

I figured I’d help it by adjusting the tilt of the saddle. I’ve always been meticulous about keeping the saddle level. After the Armadillo, I dropped the nose about half a bubble on the carpenter’s level. No definite conclusions yet.

For the time being, I’ll keep the Speed V. One of the reasons I bought it at Performance was their no questions asked return policy, so I do have other saddle options if the Speed V isn’t the answer to my saddle woes.

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Categories // Equipment, Review Tags // Review, saddles, WTB Speed V

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