Selle Italia designs with the idea that saddles are on the receiving end of more force today than they were 10 years ago. Wheels are stiffer and frames are stiffer, meaning that more shock is concentrated on the saddle rails than used to be the case. It is also for this reason that Selle Italia prefers that people use vertical-clamp saddle fixing mechanisms and use saddle rail cradles that are at least 30mm in length. They believe these designs spread the stresses on the saddle over a much greater area and do a great job of reducing the risk of fatigue-related stress fractures.