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06-22-07, 05:46 AM
So I was a Toupe guy. I liked the flex, liked the comfort... wasn't a fan of the build quality or the durability. Two things I need. Had one Toupe, it folded on me. Guy told me to go up a size (I'm 150lbs with narrow sitbones) Got another, in a 143, didn't fit me. Rather than going back for thirds, I thought I'd explore other options... considered going back to either one of two old standards for me: Selle Italia SLK or (older version) Flite Flow.
In the end though, I thought I'd try something completely new. For awhile, I was looking hard at the San Marco Aspide Arrowhead Ti. Also thinking about the '07 Flite Flow.
Many saddles were on my mind, many were slapped on the store trainer. But it was one that I hadn't even considered that ended up going home with me. The box was what caught my eye. White, red and black. Simple. Stylish. Expensive looking. I cracked open a "Scratch" model. $385!! So it was expensive. The Nago Pas looked even nicer, so I figured it must be more. $129. Interesting.
I turned it over in my hands. The finest fit and finish I've ever seen in a saddle. On the bottom, tiny alloy allen-head bolts where others used staples. Cover material edges neatly hidden, not exposed and ragged. Not a spec of glue or unsightly wrinkle. Promising.
I had them put it on the trainer. Pedaled 10 minutes or so. Perfect. I had them ring it up. CAT 1-2 discount, it ended up just over $100 with 8.25% CA sales tax.
Here's my performance review...
Strengths:
Excellent comfort. It's a stiffer old-school "platform" saddle compared to the wing flex design of the Toupe, which I like. It supports your sitbones very well, pushing them up and forward to encourage proper form. Minimal padding, but not punishingly sparse. Disappears underneath you.
Power transfer. Unlike wing flex designs, which, uh... flex, this does not. Every bit of your energy goes to the pedals. Don't get me wrong- if it's between an uncomfortable saddle and losing an insignificantly tiny amount of power while riding comfortably, I'll go for the latter any day. But it's nicer to have absolute maximum power and comfort.
No Numbness. The cutout on the Nago Pas is one of the largest conventional ones available- the same size as the one on the Toupe 143, but bear in mind that the Nago Pas is only 136mm wide. Larger than the one on the Toupe 130. All this cutout led to perfectly numb-free junk. Sweet.
Weaknesses:
Weight. Definitely not a pig, but not the lightest in the bunch either. While the Toupe (130) claims 150g and weighs in at 165g, the Nago Pas claims 182g and weighs in at 200g on the nose. Actually a little better than most saddles that claim 180g-190g... most of those usually weigh 210g-225g in my experience.
The printed graphics. The stitched graphics are top notch quality, but the printed stripe graphics on the sides(at least on the white version) started to fade from thigh-rubbing almost immediately. I believe this has to do with the cover material. It's a fake leather that I haven't seen on a saddle before- it seems pretty hard to stain it. Figures that it's hard to get dyes to stick to it either. This is actually nice in a white saddle, and hopefully means it won't turn to a brownish gray like most white saddles do over time.
Conclusions:
I'm glad I took a chance on this strange Euro brand, previously on my radar only as the makers of that stupid changeable cover system saddle.
I'd encourage anyone looking for a new saddle to check it out. I've used a lot of saddles, and I haven't found one that blends the old-school feel with new-school cutout tech so simply and effectively.
Last, (and yes, least) it's kind of cool to have a saddle not many people have seen before, at least here in the states. The white version is striking, and I've gotten a lot of "Nice saddle, what is that?" from guys at races and on training rides. Definitely a nice piece of mystery-bling bike jewelry.
Here's some stock pics, and a link to the product page at Prologo's site. Enjoy.
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z294/Henrymaguire/nagopas.jpg
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z294/Henrymaguire/prologo20nago20pas.jpg
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z294/Henrymaguire/eng-pop_tech_spechNagopas.jpg
http://www.prologotouch.com/lang/en/nagopas.asp (http://www.prologotouch.com/lang/en/nagopas.asp)
In the end though, I thought I'd try something completely new. For awhile, I was looking hard at the San Marco Aspide Arrowhead Ti. Also thinking about the '07 Flite Flow.
Many saddles were on my mind, many were slapped on the store trainer. But it was one that I hadn't even considered that ended up going home with me. The box was what caught my eye. White, red and black. Simple. Stylish. Expensive looking. I cracked open a "Scratch" model. $385!! So it was expensive. The Nago Pas looked even nicer, so I figured it must be more. $129. Interesting.
I turned it over in my hands. The finest fit and finish I've ever seen in a saddle. On the bottom, tiny alloy allen-head bolts where others used staples. Cover material edges neatly hidden, not exposed and ragged. Not a spec of glue or unsightly wrinkle. Promising.
I had them put it on the trainer. Pedaled 10 minutes or so. Perfect. I had them ring it up. CAT 1-2 discount, it ended up just over $100 with 8.25% CA sales tax.
Here's my performance review...
Strengths:
Excellent comfort. It's a stiffer old-school "platform" saddle compared to the wing flex design of the Toupe, which I like. It supports your sitbones very well, pushing them up and forward to encourage proper form. Minimal padding, but not punishingly sparse. Disappears underneath you.
Power transfer. Unlike wing flex designs, which, uh... flex, this does not. Every bit of your energy goes to the pedals. Don't get me wrong- if it's between an uncomfortable saddle and losing an insignificantly tiny amount of power while riding comfortably, I'll go for the latter any day. But it's nicer to have absolute maximum power and comfort.
No Numbness. The cutout on the Nago Pas is one of the largest conventional ones available- the same size as the one on the Toupe 143, but bear in mind that the Nago Pas is only 136mm wide. Larger than the one on the Toupe 130. All this cutout led to perfectly numb-free junk. Sweet.
Weaknesses:
Weight. Definitely not a pig, but not the lightest in the bunch either. While the Toupe (130) claims 150g and weighs in at 165g, the Nago Pas claims 182g and weighs in at 200g on the nose. Actually a little better than most saddles that claim 180g-190g... most of those usually weigh 210g-225g in my experience.
The printed graphics. The stitched graphics are top notch quality, but the printed stripe graphics on the sides(at least on the white version) started to fade from thigh-rubbing almost immediately. I believe this has to do with the cover material. It's a fake leather that I haven't seen on a saddle before- it seems pretty hard to stain it. Figures that it's hard to get dyes to stick to it either. This is actually nice in a white saddle, and hopefully means it won't turn to a brownish gray like most white saddles do over time.
Conclusions:
I'm glad I took a chance on this strange Euro brand, previously on my radar only as the makers of that stupid changeable cover system saddle.
I'd encourage anyone looking for a new saddle to check it out. I've used a lot of saddles, and I haven't found one that blends the old-school feel with new-school cutout tech so simply and effectively.
Last, (and yes, least) it's kind of cool to have a saddle not many people have seen before, at least here in the states. The white version is striking, and I've gotten a lot of "Nice saddle, what is that?" from guys at races and on training rides. Definitely a nice piece of mystery-bling bike jewelry.
Here's some stock pics, and a link to the product page at Prologo's site. Enjoy.
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z294/Henrymaguire/nagopas.jpg
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z294/Henrymaguire/prologo20nago20pas.jpg
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z294/Henrymaguire/eng-pop_tech_spechNagopas.jpg
http://www.prologotouch.com/lang/en/nagopas.asp (http://www.prologotouch.com/lang/en/nagopas.asp)