Home > Saddles

The launch of Giant’s new performance saddles and saddle-fit system

Giant's new Contact SLR performance saddles. The models, from left, are Forward, Neutral and Upright.
Giant’s new Contact SLR performance saddles. The models, from left, are Forward, Neutral and Upright.

At the 2014 Tour de Suisse, Bill Miller, Giant global category manager for components, sat across from the team doctor of Giant-Shimano. Miller and his team at Giant Bicycles were in the midst of developing new performance saddles and a saddle fit system. With saddles on the brain, Miller asked the doctor about fit.

“’I’m just curious,’” Millar recounted from the dinner, “’as a doctor, how do you determine what saddles the guys need to be on? What’s important from your perspective in terms of saddle fit?’ Then, the doctor started going off.

“‘The No .1 thing about saddles is to support skeletal structure and keep from crushing the soft tissue because that’s where the damage comes from. But the thing is, it’s really hard to understand how they sit on the saddle when they’re actually riding. I’ve been thinking about if for years, and I can’t figure out how to measure it.’”

Miller, who was also sitting next to one of his engineers, gave his colleague a look. Because their new system for looking at a rider’s position on the saddle was still with intellectual property lawyers, they couldn’t speak about its details.

The engineer gave Miller a look, but Miller said he added, “’Well, we actually know how to do that. It’s proven and we’ve already fit a couple hundred riders to confirm it.’” The doctor wanted to know more, but Miller said that he couldn’t say anymore.

The saddles and the fit system have finally been released, so Miller will be following up with that doctor soon. Giant’s system is actually quite simple. The company has identified three pelvic contact positions: forward, neutral and upright. The positions describe where the majority of the rider’s body comes into contact with the saddle. A rider who has a forward position contacts the saddle closer to the middle. An upright rider connects predominately to the rear of the saddle. Neutral is in between. Giant has a saddle fitting tool that takes an imprint of your contact area.

That tool makes the fitting process quick and easy. At Giant’s recent launch in Mallorca, I got on a bike, attached to a trainer and outfitted with the fitting saddle. I pedalled for about five minutes and then stopped. I raised myself off the saddle carefully, climbed off the bike and got a bit of a surprise. According to Miller, about 70 per cent of riders have a forward riding position. My test indicated I was a neutral. Really, it didn’t matter what the result was. While I have been fitted for saddles before and know the width of my sit bones, the resulting imprint on the test saddle was new to me.

I found the fit totally dialed on the flats and the descents, very comfortable. On the Puig Major, a 14-km climb with an average grade of 6 per cent, I felt a bit of discomfort. That’s not to say the saddle isn’t for me. It’s not often I’m treated to such a long climb. Also, I may have been trying to maintain my neutral position, when I should have shifted a bit for the extended climb. Before I say yay or nay on a saddle, I find I need more than just two rides.

I rode the new Giant SLR Contact saddle for two days on the 2016 TCR Advanced SL 0. The Advanced SL 0 and Advanced SL 1 ship with the SLR Contact saddle. It has a carbon composite base and carbon fibre rail. It weighs in at 180 g. The Advanced SL 2 and all the Advanced Pro models in the TCR line (0, 1 and 2) come with the SL Contact saddle. It also has a composite base, but its rails are metallic. The SL Contact weighs 210 g. All saddles use what Giant calls particle flow technology well below their micro-fibre covers. The company says the particles match and support the rider better than foam. Canadian pricing is not yet available, but the SLR is US$225 and the SL is US$110.