Originally Posted by
jade408
Time for a newbie question. Exactly how much weight does a saddle contribute that you need to have a lighter one?
Also, why do you need to convert the Felt into a lighter bike? what was wrong with it before?
Originally Posted by
bmthom.gis
Saddle weight has very little to do with anything - if you aren't comfortable your ride will suffer which would negate any weight savings a lighter saddle would contribute. Sure, you can schlep out the money to have a saddle with a carbon backing and titanium rails, but you won't be saving much weight at all. Comfort should be the only aim in a saddle. I can't understand people who are willing to spend hundreds of dollars to save less than half a pound - not that that is what the OP wants.
Backstory: friend is a former customer who brought his bone-stock Felt Cafe 7 into our shop looking for upgrades. He likes nice stuff. Shop he bought it from didn't have the time to bother with such a plebian ride. He went through 3 Surly chainrings before finding the ratio he liked... and then ditched the boat-anchor generic cranks for Race Face replacements. It's gone from 7sp to 9sp, and soon into the summer, he will be springing for a pg980 cass. TRP brakes, Paul levers, lighter stem, Thompson seatpost, MKS pedals, upgraded wheels, skinnier tires... Yes, he has mod-itis, a terrible and wallet-debilitating disease, based more on emotion than logic. Not the wealthiest guy, so I enable his passion by getting him parts at my shop discount and doing install for free outside the shop. We've gone through most of the bike already and he's looking to shave off a few more ounces -- we've already cut pounds off the bike and he wants to further optimize it. He knows all about saddle comfort, and that low weight is not a be-all end-all goal, because I've told him as much many times and actively tried to talk him out of a different saddle since he's comfortable on the one he has.
Originally Posted by
bmthom.gis
I think he just wants recommendations for saddles that don't weigh 5 pounds.
Pretty much.