WTB saddles...more for mountain or road?



bianchi10

New Member
Oct 28, 2009
293
2
0
42
I have been looking into a couple different saddles since my currect selle italia and I have come to it's final painful ride and I am done. I have heard people with WTB LOVE THEM and swear by them. the reviews I can find are all geared towards downhill/mountain riding but not much if anything is towards road riding.

Anyone able to comment on this? I was looking at the silverado or the devo models of WTB.

I will mosty likely end up testing out the specialized phenom, but was curious as to what the general thought of WTB was for road was.
 
bianchi10 said:
..my currect selle italia and I have come to it's final painful ride and I am done. I have heard people with WTB LOVE THEM and swear by them. the reviews I can find are all geared towards downhill/mountain riding but not much if anything is towards road riding.

Anyone able to comment on this?
I believe WTB stands for "Wilderness Trail Bikes", which by definition would make it a MTB saddle and not a road saddle.

But IMO performance is much more important than definition. Ride what fits your butt, and don't worry about what the image implies. They might be a tad heavier than the regular road saddle, but unless you're riding competitively in mountainous regions this is a non-issue. If it takes a heavier saddle to keep your behind happy, then it's probably always worth the trade-off.
 
Got a WTB saddle on the cheap a while back when building up a road frame. Was WAY too narrow for my posterior and not suitable for road use IMO. Swapped it for a Brooks Swift (bought new on eBay for less than 1/2 of retail price), and couldn't be happier. Swift was comfortable day 1 and more so every day since. Have just recently noticed the extent to which it flexes to take up road shock. And with titanium rails, it weighs a lot less than the WTB.

Irrespective of what saddle you may now be considering, suggest you go to your local LBS (one that carries Specialized stuff) and sit on their sitz-bone-measurement pad and get your butt measured. Then take a look at the guidelines printed on the pad and determine how wide a saddle you need. Make your selection accordingly.
 
Yeah I have already sat on the sit bone Thing. But that really only gives you minimal information. After sitting on that i bought a seller Italia max flight saddle. Felt good for a while, but after breaking it in it does nothing but cause me pain now. I am looking at the specialized phenom i'll give me more support considering it looks to have a flatter surface. I understand the basics of searching for a saddle, i'm just looking for any kind of feedback about the WTB saddle in terms of durability, flex, and whether it was too much of a mountain bike style seat.
 
I can give you feedback on the specialized phenom. So far I have put about 600 miles on that saddle and I still can't get used to it. I've reached the point where I think I'm going to give up on it and go with another. I know it's sized right but maybe it's just me. It could work great for others. Something to keep in mind anyway.
 
Our WTB rep says that mountain biking is their primary market but they're quite happy that their saddles are popular for road riding too. They're also pretty noncommittal about which designs are for men and which are for women, which is one reason why the Deva doesn't have a pink cover. Our shop has a WTB demo program that's been very good for WTB sales so I say, if the saddle fits, sit on it.
 
I have WTB saddles on my trail, DH and road bike. I think they are great. They're durable, comfortable and functional. Serve me well for years now.
 
Wlfdg said:
I have WTB saddles on my trail, DH and road bike. I think they are great. They're durable, comfortable and functional. Serve me well for years now.

Glad you like them. I'm a road rider and they're really not my cuppa tea, but I admire WTB's dedication to quality and customer service. Their products make my customers happy and that makes me happy.

If my wife lets me get a mountain bike this summer I'll put a WTB Devo on it.
 
I like my WTB saddles on my road & MTB. Very comfortable after setting them up properly. My Favorite current saddle.