Specialized Tritip
Ever since Specialized introduced the Body Geometry line of products, it has been coming up with innovative ways to make cycling more comfortable. The Tritip is no exception. Specialized knows that a saddle has to contact the sit bones for it to be comfortable. Excess padding squishes beneath the rider and ends up putting pressure in the wrong spots. Because of this, the Tritip has a moderate amount of relatively firm padding that supports, rather than coddles, the rider.
The Tritip has two comfortable positions. The meat of the saddle above the rails is firm but supportive. It was a very comfortable perch for longer efforts. A rider hammering in the aerobars tends to slide forward on the saddle, regardless of seat tube angle, so Specialized designed the nose of the saddle to support weight without feeling a like tourniquet. The nose, which comes in two widths, has a long cutout surrounded by more firm padding. This shape allows the padding to contact the least tender spot. Riding on the nose is never ideal, but the Tritip makes it tolerable.
RATING (out of 10)
Comfort: 9
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Aaron Hersh is the Technical Liaison at Colorado Multisport in Boulder, Colorado. He has been competing in endurance sports for the last seven years. Hersh has a B.A. in Integrative Physiology from the University of Colorado, focusing on biomechanics.
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