mickc
The SPYDER
The Spyder seat review
I made a bit of an impulse buy just before Christmasafter seeing a very impressive advert via Facebook. This isn't something I normally do but I was sold by the innovation and price combined. I did check out the website and feedback and it all seemed legitimate.
I ride a hardtail bike and always have. Reason being the local terrain does not justify the cost and maintenance required in buying a full suspension bike. However, I have always looked at low maintenance options for a smoother ride. I've even had a shock post.
So, what did I buy? It was a SPYDER Seat with a unique selling point of the inbuilt saddle suspension. It was delivered by niessorui.com and with 60% off it was extremely cheap at £17.17.
When I placed the order, I took the view I might lose my money, and nothing would turn up. I was wrong, as the delivery was very quick. It arrived within a week or so.
First impression was it matched the value, it looked cheap and the edges were sharp so I was worried my shorts would get shredded, but I was focused on the innovation. The seats key selling point was it stops saddle soreness through the flexibility of the main seat body. I wanted to know if it could truly do this. On receipt it certainly didn't look like it could.
If I’m honest I put the seat away and forgot about it until I found it last week. I fitted it to my bike with relative ease. I had opted for the white model to match my bike, but in hindsight it probably was a mistake for a mountain bike. Only time will tell.
Immediate thoughts were, it looked ‘OK’, it was relatively comfortable when stationary, but the sharpness of the seat edges was nagging at me. I caught myself a couple of times getting on and off the bike whilst fitting the seat.
The first ride was a relatively easy 10-mile ride on stone trails. Nothing to technical or to bumpy. The seat was comfortable. It's hard plastic finish and sharp edges weren't felt during the ride at all. Was it more comfortable than my old seat? The jury was still out on this.
The second ride was a 20 milerwith more technical sections. I started to notice that the pressure of my body weight was depressing the seat a little too much and the points where the metal rails joined the seat was being pushed through the seat. As the ride progressed the points were coming through the seat even more. It was still comfortable until I hit the bumps going uphill.
The third ride was a 26 miler with a mixture of flat paths, steep climbs, and fast downhills. The points from the metal rails were now really pushing through and my back side was getting bruised. Halfway through I stopped for a bit of a navigation check and realised the plastic had split at the rail’s prongs, it was this that I was feeling through the seat.
Unfortunately, it was time to remove the seat. I had really hoped the seat would perform better. Maybe the aim is for the casual rider where the seat doesn’t take so much hammer. If that is the case it could work, although I still have my doubts about the sharp edges ripping shorts to shreds over time.
All in all, not a seat I would recommend unless you are looking for a cheap alternative to ride smooth tow paths or national cycle routes. I'm still intrigued by the innovation and if it could be improved, I would definitely have a second look.
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