Specialized Power Pro Elaston
£190 › Shorty saddle gets a comfort upgrade
THE SPECIALIZED POWER SADDLE WAS originally developed for the Specializedsponsored women’s team Lululemon, but it soon became clear that the design worked for both men and women. As a result, it’s become a favourite of many riders, irrespective of gender.
The beauty of the Power is that it’s more than just a shortened version of a standard saddle with a big channel; it’s the product of Dr Roger Minkow’s studies into pressure mapping, blood flow and physiology. The resulting designs mean that Specialized can offer the Power in different widths with different shapes, especially in the channel section.
Our tester, who used a 155mm saddle, has been impressed by the previous iteration of Power, so this Elaston version had a lot to live up to. The Elaston element sits in the mid-section of padding, beneath the textured band. Elaston foam is constructed from thousands of small balls that are bonded together. Anyone familiar with the latest lightweight running shoes from Adidas, Puma and Nike will recognise it immediately.
Getting the position right is crucial with any saddle, but especially shorter designs like this, as they give you less room to move around. Once correctly positioned, however, the Power feels superb. The real difference is in how the Elaston padding section feels – at once compliant and soft, without being ‘squishy’. It’s like sitting on a top-quality memory foam mattress, but denser. It would be hard to lavish more superlatives on this saddle but its comfort is up there with the best we’ve tried – we’d use the Elaston Power for gravel or cyclocross rides every day. At 230g for the 155mm titanium-railed version, you’ll certainly be able to find lighter options, but we doubt you’ll find a more comfortable race saddle anywhere.