Note: Today's post is a review of a Tioga Spyder saddle that was provided as an evaluation sample to bicycle retailers by Tioga. Since the weight limit is 185lbs, and I haven't weighed 185lbs for like....almost 20 years now, I passed this saddle on to fellow blogger Captain Bob to evaluate since he is less mass challenged than I. Still, even he is above the weight limit, as you will read. C'mon Tioga! Not everybody is a whippet! Anyway, read on and enjoy!
Tioga Spyder Saddle First Impressions and Review by Captain Bob
What's this? A cheese grater? With rails? Yeah right! No really, what is it G-Ted? A saddle....& you want me to test ride it? Okay. I'll do it. I'm a lot like that kid we use to watch on the Life cereal commercials.
Well, it didn't go down quite like that but, I was intrigued by the appereance of this Tioga Spyder saddle. This is a road only saddle. They call the color "Raw White". A lower end model is black and has "Hollow Composite Alloy" rails. These rails are blue anodized Titanium and (according to the literature that comes with the saddle) are stronger than the black/alloy saddle. The shell of this saddle is made from what Tioga calls, "Carbonite Composite Carbon". Flexy & conforming to your underneaths (is that a word?). To me that's just a fancy name for plastic. I did not see anywhere in the literature where the weight was posted but it is light. I was a little nervous about riding the saddle since the weight limit is 185 lbs & I am hovering around 215 lbs. Friends tell me I carry my weight well. I think they are lying. Okay, back to the review.
At the time all I had for a road bike was my time trial machine. So, I pulled off the air stryke saddle (which looks more like a couch in comparision) and installed the Spyder. Went out for a 15 mile spin in my comfy tuck position. A few miles in I had to pull over and tilt the saddle down a bit. The nose is not as padded as my other saddle. Oh yeah, there is no padding at all. The first thing I noticed was that I can move to any position on this saddle with very little effort. It's because the plastic is slippery. Not too slipery though. Just right, I think. By the time I was done with my ride I had mixed emotions. I noticed that the edges of the saddle were a little sharp. Not like a knife sharp but in a way that kind of digs into your legs a bit. I think with me being over the weight limit that causes the shell to flatten more than it was designed to which causes the edge to not round downward any longer. So, I found me a scrapped cross bike and built up a single speed and slapped on the saddle. Right away I noticed it was more comfortable. But, it bottomed out on the front bolt of my Bontrager seatpost. So, I swapped that out for a single bolt post. Problem solved. I do need to mention that Tioga provided a Q&A with the saddle & this issue was touched on. They said it is not uncommon for bottoming out to happen but it is more noticeable with this saddle since there is no padding to muffle the noise of the bottom out. I ended up getting about 120 miles on this saddle with some gravel rides totalling 30 miles in length. With me being over the weight limit I was still surprised at how comfortable this was. Padded shorts for me was a must though.
Like all products there always has to be something wrong. For me, it's the two little rubber bumpers on the back edge. I am still not sure what they are there for. The only thing they did for me was cause issues getting on & off the bike. They grip your shorts & won't let go until you dismount & try again. So, I grabbed a knife and picked them off. They did come off easily without damaging them or the saddle. So, if you are looking for a lightweight saddle or trying to stand out in a crowd this saddle may be for you. For me.....I like it, but have to give it back. Will I buy one for myself? Not yet. I have to wait for them to make a clydesdale version. I also need to save my money since it comes with a pretty steep price tag. $140 msrp for the alloy railed and $165 msrp for the Ti version tested.
Captain Bob
Well, it didn't go down quite like that but, I was intrigued by the appereance of this Tioga Spyder saddle. This is a road only saddle. They call the color "Raw White". A lower end model is black and has "Hollow Composite Alloy" rails. These rails are blue anodized Titanium and (according to the literature that comes with the saddle) are stronger than the black/alloy saddle. The shell of this saddle is made from what Tioga calls, "Carbonite Composite Carbon". Flexy & conforming to your underneaths (is that a word?). To me that's just a fancy name for plastic. I did not see anywhere in the literature where the weight was posted but it is light. I was a little nervous about riding the saddle since the weight limit is 185 lbs & I am hovering around 215 lbs. Friends tell me I carry my weight well. I think they are lying. Okay, back to the review.
At the time all I had for a road bike was my time trial machine. So, I pulled off the air stryke saddle (which looks more like a couch in comparision) and installed the Spyder. Went out for a 15 mile spin in my comfy tuck position. A few miles in I had to pull over and tilt the saddle down a bit. The nose is not as padded as my other saddle. Oh yeah, there is no padding at all. The first thing I noticed was that I can move to any position on this saddle with very little effort. It's because the plastic is slippery. Not too slipery though. Just right, I think. By the time I was done with my ride I had mixed emotions. I noticed that the edges of the saddle were a little sharp. Not like a knife sharp but in a way that kind of digs into your legs a bit. I think with me being over the weight limit that causes the shell to flatten more than it was designed to which causes the edge to not round downward any longer. So, I found me a scrapped cross bike and built up a single speed and slapped on the saddle. Right away I noticed it was more comfortable. But, it bottomed out on the front bolt of my Bontrager seatpost. So, I swapped that out for a single bolt post. Problem solved. I do need to mention that Tioga provided a Q&A with the saddle & this issue was touched on. They said it is not uncommon for bottoming out to happen but it is more noticeable with this saddle since there is no padding to muffle the noise of the bottom out. I ended up getting about 120 miles on this saddle with some gravel rides totalling 30 miles in length. With me being over the weight limit I was still surprised at how comfortable this was. Padded shorts for me was a must though.
Like all products there always has to be something wrong. For me, it's the two little rubber bumpers on the back edge. I am still not sure what they are there for. The only thing they did for me was cause issues getting on & off the bike. They grip your shorts & won't let go until you dismount & try again. So, I grabbed a knife and picked them off. They did come off easily without damaging them or the saddle. So, if you are looking for a lightweight saddle or trying to stand out in a crowd this saddle may be for you. For me.....I like it, but have to give it back. Will I buy one for myself? Not yet. I have to wait for them to make a clydesdale version. I also need to save my money since it comes with a pretty steep price tag. $140 msrp for the alloy railed and $165 msrp for the Ti version tested.
Captain Bob
Notes: The Tioga Spyder concept is to be expanded for use by "Clydesdales" and will also be offered in off road versions in the future. Tioga is fully commited to this technology, so look for future iterations of this saddle. In fact, it was these promises that prompte3d me to have it reviewed for this site in the first place. If Tioga had only intended to make this model I would have passed, seeing it as a useless racer product and not ever useable by the average trail rider. Well, unless you are a 140lbs soaking wet, like Team Dicky!
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