Has anyone bought a "Kontact" road bike seat ?

jay197
jay197 Posts: 196
edited April 2016 in Road buying advice
The website is :

http://www.kontactbike.com/

The inventor is a phd in biomechanics etc, but has anyone bought one or ridden on one ?

It is only 190 grams so quite light etc.

Regards,

Jay.
http://www.tryasaddle.co.uk

Comments

  • jibberish
    jibberish Posts: 151
    My mate just got one of these and thinks it's very good

    http://www.rido-cyclesaddles.com/sensat ... 00064.html
  • jay197
    jay197 Posts: 196
    jibberish wrote:
    My mate just got one of these and thinks it's very good

    http://www.rido-cyclesaddles.com/sensational-new-r2-c100064.html


    This one looks a bit better :)

    white.jpg
    http://www.tryasaddle.co.uk
  • Ravewar
    Ravewar Posts: 208
    It took a few rides to get used to, but I am very happy with it. I got mine from Hubjub.

    Gaui6d
  • crankycrank
    crankycrank Posts: 1,830
    The only way to know if a saddle is good for you is to try it. Probably not what anyone wants to hear but recommendations from others are like setting you up for a blind date when looking for a spouse. Just about every mfr claims to use the best science available and if you look around there are hundreds of different shapes enjoyed by many different riders. Some of the fitting services work well for some riders but not all and can be way off at times. I would try to test ride as many saddles as possible and with some luck you'll find one that works for you. Ask friends if you can take a spin on their bikes, test ride some bikes in shops (with the understanding if you like a particular saddle you'll buy from them), some shops offer test saddles to mount on your own bike, buy cheap used versions from Ebay, etc., and you can resell for little or no loss if it doesn't work for you.
  • Ravewar
    Ravewar Posts: 208
    The ergonomics of any product (not just saddles) generally takes some getting used to. And there is a different between a seat that feels comfortable at first blush and that which will feel right after a long tour. Test riding several models will certainly sort out the chaff from the wheat. But for guidance as to which saddle is worth committing to long term the reputation of the manufacturer is a good guide. Reading the firm's website we are told that Kontact is the creation of its master designer, a certain Joshua Cohen, armed with a Masters Thesis. So quite a bit more credible than the "pseudo-science" that abounds in this industry. Of course its quite possible that you would get off the thing after the first ride having never experienced anything worse, and in that case it is safe to say it is not the right seat for you!

    Furthering my argument that you have to commit to ride a particular seat for the long term to discover if its going to work, I also own a Brooks. Comfort on one of those things is a moving target - whilst you are getting used to the saddle, the saddle is getting used to you! Nobody gets on a Brooks expecting a comfortable backside after the first long ride.
  • crankycrank
    crankycrank Posts: 1,830
    I would also agree with Ravewar^^^. The longer you can test it the better but if all you can get is a short test ride at least you can weed out some of the saddles that are clearly not suited to you. I'm not sure that having a credentialed scientist as the designer means their products are better than others though. Plenty of PhD designed saddles that don't work for everyone but plenty of Old World Craftsman types that are very popular (Brooks). It's still as much art as science and trial and error seem to have the final say for most people. Just saying don't just go by the mfrs. claims of superior design.
  • Ravewar
    Ravewar Posts: 208
    The other thing that occurred to me regarding your advice to try saddles that come up on eBay and the like is almost by definition these are saddles that people haven't get on with. Mind you I've not checked to see if bike jumbles, online or real world, are groaning with Kontact saddles going for a song.

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