SELLE ITALIA NOVUS BOOST ENDURANCE
Long saddle with a prominent, lengthy cutout
WEIGHT 285g LENGTH 282mm WIDTH 137mm SIZES S3 (tested), L3 WOMEN’S No COLOURS Black The Novus Boost Endurance is a full-length saddle designed for long days out. It features Selle Italia’s extensive SuperFlow cutout with curved sides and a generous amount of neoprene gel padding, though the padding is on the firm side.
Press your thumbs into it and there’s not that much give or bounce – but counter-intuitively that’s exactly what you actually want from a saddle for endurance riding.
quite The a long pronounced nose has downwards slope to it and the rails are made from TI 316 titanium, which Selle Italia claims to be both 25 per cent more durable and 15 per cent lighter than steel, and that will also offer the most marginal of weight-saving gains. It’s available in two widths – the 138mm small model we tested and the 149mm wide large model.
The Novus Boost Endurance is unusual among our test saddles in that rather than having a smooth, seam-free finish, the cover material is made from Fibra
Tek, a technical microfibre with an extremely leather-like finish, complete with a couple of lengths of stitching along the top. Presumably this is to add a little more grip when you’re riding in your best Lycra.
The saddle also has an indentation at the rear, which is designed to reduce pressure on your coccyx. Hard plastic fittings on the side reduce the chances of accidental damage, though these are pretty small.
The shape of the Novus Boost
Endurance lends itself very well to long Sunday rides. Sit up a bit and put your weight to the back of the saddle and your sit bones are well supported in the right places, with the firmish padding coming into its own. But when you’re riding more aggressively, with your weight further to the front, the Novus
Boost Endurance’s main cutout, front cutout and drooping nose mean you’re not putting undue pressure on your more sensitive areas.
All in all, the Novus Boost Endurance from Selle Italia is certainly worth considering if you’re looking for a full-length, long-distance saddle, but it doesn’t come cheap.
The shape of the Novus Boost lends itself to long Sunday rides