Let's talk Trek saddles

Green Lantern

I just purchased a Trek 4.5 and it came with a Bontrager Affinity 1 saddle. In looking at all the Trek bikes in the store, they all had the same saddle and the same 128mm size. I am not a huge person, but just sitting on the saddle was hard and uncomfortable. My other bike has a San Marco Rolls saddle. Granted these newer skinny seats weigh less, and are smaller, but I found the saddle on the Treks not comfortable as many have said on the forums. In looking at saddles in the store, they had saddles in different sizes. The 154 mm looked more reasonable for the seat that would fit my behind. It was the Bontrager RL which clearly has a little more padding though it has a similar design and look as the Affinity saddle. Even just sitting on it was more comfortable.

If I was a racer and in my 20's, the Affinity saddle at 154 mm or one size smaller might be ok to use for racing. However in my 40's and not racing, it appears to lack enough support for serious recreational rides. I also found the Bontrager R saddle to have more support than the Affinity saddles.

What I learned was
A: Make sure you get the right size saddle.
B. Everyone is built differently and has different sport conditioning. So what is good for you, may not be best for someone else.
C: Clearly the Affinity saddles are light and has less support than some of the other Bontrager saddles that are made. For me, even though the RL is smaller and lighter compared to my prior saddle, it was still a saddles that offered enough support for long rides.

I welcome your thoughts and opinions on this matter.

Grill

1. Padding does not equal comfort
2. 154mm is huge and too big for most people's sit bones
3. There's almost always a breaking in period to get used to a new saddle
4. Manufacturers don't bother with decent saddles until the upper echelon as it's an incredibly personal choice and typically the first thing changed (same reason that not matter how expensive the ski boot the footbed will be rubbish).

ALaPlage

I have the stock Bontrager Affinity RL in 146mm that came with my Madone 5.9.

After having a Selle Italia max flite gel on my previous Madone I was concerned that this was going to be really uncomfortable. The guy who sold me the bike from the Bike Factory in Chester advised to give it a go as he found it to be really good. I took his advice and it's been fantastic and an improvement on the Selle Italia which was good for 100 miles and 6 hours on it.

Saddles are a personal thing but I have no plans to swap my Affinity RL. It is bob on for me.

Green Lantern

Grill wrote:

1. Padding does not equal comfort
2. 154mm is huge and too big for most people's sit bones
3. There's almost always a breaking in period to get used to a new saddle
4. Manufacturers don't bother with decent saddles until the upper echelon as it's an incredibly personal choice and typically the first thing changed (same reason that not matter how expensive the ski boot the footbed will be rubbish).

I am 6'1 and 203 pounds. I have 30 days to try out this seat and decide if it is right for me. 154 may be large, but it seems my older Rolls saddle which has a lot more seat is similar in size. I will hopefully confirm in the next 3 weeks if this size is right for me.

I agree padding does not equal comfort and there is always a breaking in period. I will say the RL is a very nice saddle.

My Rolls sadle is 282mm x 143mm. If that is correct I agree the 154 may be too large for me. Hmmm

ALaPlage

I'm 6'0" and 200 pounds. The Affinity RL is the best saddle I've had and have tried a number in the past on my previous Madone from a San Marco, fizik aliante and finally the selle italia max flite gel.

Grill

Green Lantern wrote:

Grill wrote:

1. Padding does not equal comfort
2. 154mm is huge and too big for most people's sit bones
3. There's almost always a breaking in period to get used to a new saddle
4. Manufacturers don't bother with decent saddles until the upper echelon as it's an incredibly personal choice and typically the first thing changed (same reason that not matter how expensive the ski boot the footbed will be rubbish).

I am 6'1 and 203 pounds. I have 30 days to try out this seat and decide if it is right for me. 154 may be large, but it seems my older Rolls saddle which has a lot more seat is similar in size. I will hopefully confirm in the next 3 weeks if this size is right for me.

I agree padding does not equal comfort and there is always a breaking in period. I will say the RL is a very nice saddle.

My Rolls sadle is 282mm x 143mm. If that is correct I agree the 154 may be too large for me. Hmmm

If you have 30 days to try it then give it a go. If you go to a Spec dealer they can at least measure your sit bones to give you an idea.

Green Lantern

I will try the 146mm seat; the store is out of stock right now, but will have it by Tuesday

Lifeboy123

The bontrager affinity is much more comfortable than my selle Italia gel, it all comes down to your anatomy !

JustinLeeAtkinson

I have two Affinity RL's. I bought the first one over 18 months ago, and it came with a 30 day money back if you didnt get on with it scheme. The shop also measured my sit bones and recommended the size. I obviously didnt take it back, and in fact bought another.

PoorInRichfield

ALaPlage wrote:

I'm 6'0" and 200 pounds. The Affinity RL is the best saddle I've had and have tried a number in the past on my previous Madone from a San Marco, fizik aliante and finally the selle italia max flite gel.

Sounds a lot like my story. I've spent hundreds (maybe thousands?) looking for that perfect saddle. My previous favorite was a Fizik Aliente until I got two new Trek bikes and both had Bontrager Affinity saddles on them.

My first thought was, "The Bontrager Affinity must be a cheap, piece-o-junk saddle because it came with the bike so I must replace it a.s.a.p." However, my rear end seems to like the Affinity more than my two Aliente's! My Aliente carbon saddles has a channel in the middle and the other doesn't. I figured the channel would help alleviate pressure from my "soft tissue", but I actually find it less comfortable than the saddle w/o the channel... and both are less comfortable than the Affinity that has a small 'dent' in the center, probably for pressure relief I'm guessing.

Both of my Bontrager Affinity saddles are 138mm wide. The only thing I don't like about them is that they're pretty heavy compared to my Aliente carbon, but I'm assuming that's because they're the low-end model with Cro-mo rails. I see that there's an "RL" and "RXL" version available that are much lighter, but for considerably more money.

The moral of my story is that the Trek/Bontrager saddles might not work for everyone, but don't write them off as being junk just because they're not made by an Italian saddle company. I think that Trek has been in the bicycling business for long enough and has enough financial resources to start making some pretty decent products beyond bike frames.

kajjal

I found the same with the affinity saddle that came on my Trek. Too narrow and painful after more than an hour. Measured myself and bought a Specialized Avatar saddle in the correct size, can now ride for hours with no problems.