by Jay Jones
The latest bicycle component that I have purchased is the Specialized Romin SL saddle. While it is designed for the road, mainly Time Trialing or Triathlon, I thought it's design would lend itself well for the needs of my backroad rocket ship the Specialized Tri-cross single speed.
The Specialized Body Geometry components are designed for comfort which in the end will equal performance. The saddle is medically proven to assure blood flow to senstive areas, while I am not a doctor, one ride on this saddle proved to be one of the most comfortable saddles I have ever had the pleasure of throwing a leg over. The cutout in the middle of the saddle is not felt in the least bit, which is probably the intent of the design, no pressure points or areas, just pure comfort.
With the nose of the saddle almost inch longer than a regular saddle like the Toupe it gives you valuable real estate to slide fore and aft to gain valuable traction or get aero. The titanium rails keep the weight down and the tough Micromatrix cover is water resistant.
You may ask yourself what difference a saddle would make on a bike primarily used on the gravel and dirt roads of rural Michigan. With one gear, you are forced to a different riding style than normal. With a long sustained climb where you can stay in the saddle, I am usually sliding forward on the seat to throw more power down on the pedals. With the Romin SL, I am able to do this more effectively. I can get a more comfortable position, thus holding it longer or if its a longer race, I am able to do it more often and not get fatigued.
When it's all said and done, the comfort of this saddle and it's ability to provide me a more efficient ride far out weigh (no pun intended) any weight weenie saddle I have had previously. The Romin comes in two versions, the Romin SL with titanium rails and slightly higher price tag and a cromoly railed version and smaller price tag, but same great qualities!
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