Selle Italia’s SP-01 Tekno Superflow Saddle manages to be both ultra-light and super-comfortable. This is a 130g saddle that a 90kg adult—that’s 198lbs for Americans—can sit on and feel relief as well as a solid foundation for pedaling. The nose is solid because with all your weight on it when you’re going 100%, you don’t want any movement. The back is split to add a little more give when you’re deep over the back.
Superflow is the saddle maker’s channel technology, where they open up the middle of the saddle so your nether regions experience next to no pressure. But comfort is not just about cutouts and padding. It’s also about having a firm base with just the right curve and flex, so that you’re not distracted by movement on the saddle and so most of your energy goes into pedaling.
The saddle has a Fibra-Tek microfiber synthetic leather cover that looks good and lasts long. It’s covering thin padding that gives just enough to feel comfy. And the padding itself sits on top of a carbon composite shell.
Supporting everything are high-modulus 7mm by 9mm carbon-fiber rails.
There are two versions of the saddle: the Large, L3 in Selle Italia’s id match system, is 286mm long by 145mm wide, the Small is 286mm long by 130mm wide, aka idmatch S3. Weight for the small is 125g.