Bring your bike! Our saddle setup service (try saying that three times quickly) is beneficial, whether you are having issues with your current saddle, or are looking to purchase a new one. The service will include measuring your sit bones and observing your interaction with the saddle while you ride your bike on our trainer. We'll ask you about any saddle-related issues you experience and perform a few simple assessments.
We'll then seek to match you to the most appropriate among our range of saddles if you're looking to purchase. We can perform a limited range of adjustments to your bike in order to get you as comfortable as possible. This provides an opportunity to test, tweak and test some more in a supervised environment with a large range of saddles to choose from. Note that this isn't a comprehensive bike fit, but often, saddles issues aren't the fault of the saddle.
We typically allow 1 hour for our saddle setup service at a cost of $130. Half the cost of the service can be offset against the price of a new saddle purchased from us during your session.
Step 1
Initial assessment
Please use the initial interview form on our FAQ's & Forms page to help us gather important information about you. We need to know as much about your cycling history as possible to ensure our assessment and recommendations can be as accurate as possible. How long have you been riding? How much and what type of riding do you do? Where do you ride? Do you own multiple saddles and which one do you find the most comfortable? We'll ask you about your short, medium and long-term goals and any training or complementary activities that you participate in.
Past and current injuries and chronic health conditions may also affect how your pelvis engages with the saddle and can help guide us towards a solution.
Step 2
Measure twice. Buy once
We'll use our SQlab arseometer (our name, not theirs) to measure your sit bone width as a starting point. We'll then look at your current saddle and discuss the issues you are having and explain how saddle shape and the way your pelvis engages with it also affects comfort and pedalling efficiency. We can then show you a variety of saddle sizes and styles from SQlab, Ergon, Selle Italia and Pro including some women's-specific models.
There's no substitute for observing you on the bike though and this is where we will spend most of our time. In conjunction with the off-the-bike assessment, this will enable us to identify the causes of many saddle issues and determine the optimal solution.
Step 3
Adjust and test
Throughout the service we will fit and adjust saddles as necessary in search of an optimal saddle and position to alleviate any discomfort. Because saddle issues are often not the fault of the saddle, we can perform a limited range of other adjustments to your bike in order to get you as comfortable as possible.
The ultimate test is to spend a few weeks riding your bike as you normally would to see whether a new saddle setup agrees with you. Because we understand how important this is, we allow you try a new saddle purchased during your service for up to 30 days and return it for a refund if it's doesn't work out, as long as it's still in 'as new condition' with original packaging.
