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SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING
LATEST UPDATE: NOVEMBER 18th
HOW DO WE DECIDE OUR OVERALL RATINGS FOR PRODUCTS WE REVIEW?
Ergon SR All Road Core Comp Saddle Men (M/L) 320g £124.99
The Ergon SR All Road Core Comp Saddle Men is the middle of their range aimed at gravel audiences but with all road, and indeed, road audiences in mind. In common with its siblings, it’s very well made, albeit a little hefty compared with some competitors and predictably, its carbon-railed Pro stablemate. I wasn’t expecting to get along with the broader m/l size but have been pleasantly surprised by our mutual compatibility and zero chafing.
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Pros: Excellent support and comfort, very well made, choice of widths.
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Cons: Better suited to less upright builds, relatively weighty, pricey.
Specification
The Core Comp Saddle shares the same BASF Infinergy padding technology as its SR All Road stablemate . Infinergy is a temperature stable E-TPU foam which is designed to intercept vibration before it becomes intrusive. Generous, though not unduly bulky, Infinergy is a recyclable damping product employed in tennis rackets, sports flooring, running tracks and playgrounds. This is sandwiched between a ribbed microfibre covering and a nylon composite shell. The saddle was designed to employ its own suspension, meaning riders can opt for a rigid post and reclaim some of the weight that would be incurred through using a suspension post, even relatively svelte models, such as Denise’s USE SX.
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Sensibly, it might be argued for a saddle marketed at gravel, bikepacking and potentially cyclo cross audiences, there’s no cut out, rather a deep, pressure relieving channel. This may also account for those additional grams. However, it largely (if not completely) eliminates a soggy crotch on wet, muddy rides, especially when mudguards aren’t an option. The satin-effect microfibre cover has a ribbed surface for additional grip, especially when its wet and to an extent also helps one slot into place and hammer along.
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In common with the SR All Road, at 275mm long, Ergon has bucked the trend for short nosed saddles and while in many contexts I can get along very nicely with these, not everyone can. Hollow Cro-moly rails with a similarly rugged ed coating and laser etched detailing strike a good balance between weight, damping and durability.
I’ve not known anyone in my riding circles who has busted a set of Cro-moly rails under normal circumstances. Talking of which, Ergon cite 120kilo maximum rider weight, which should cater for most riders and contexts. Look beneath, no staples, or glue, rather a pressure fitted rear and neatly secured by an Allen key at the nose. A two-year warranty against manufacturing defects is a further confidence boost - if you needed one.
Test Bikes & Contexts
Denise and my fixed gear winter trainer have been the defaults, for arguably obvious reasons. Denise is a gravel bike and tackles the sort of terrain the Core Comp promises to excel in. The fixed is a cyclo crosser with track ends and similarly middling saddle to handlebar drop, placing slightly greater pressure upon the sit bones than an aggressive road bike. The fixed also racks up a high mileage, and therefore plenty of tarmac-based insight.
Performance 4/5
As with the All Road, I’ve been impressed with the Core Comp’s blend of support and comfort, although there’s an added level of refinement here. The other surprise and this illustrate how on paper ideals are nuanced. For example, 143mm is cited as my bike fit ideal. Broadly true. However, I’m most comfortable with a 137mm saddle on my Holdsworth, a 140mm on my traditional 90s road bike and 145mm with Ursula.
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The formative three hundred miles were spent aboard Denise, starting with an hour and gradually increasing ride duration and environments. Save for climbing on my fixed and road builds, I tend to remain seated, and as before, the deep pressure relieving channel did its thing impeccably, on and off road. Obviously, Denise’s suspension post helps through washboard surfaces and those sneaky churned sections of bridlepath. However, there’s been no hint of pressure, tingling, or more serious discomfort, regardless of ride duration.
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The rear sections ribbed surface area improves tenure (even with slippery Lycra), allowing me to slot in and cruise along without it feeling like a strip of flypaper, allowing for micro shuffling on longer rides, or just re-mounting. On that note, the longer nose makes rapid dis/mounts a little less efficient compared with a shorter design, such as this Ritchey Cabrillo and might be a consideration on more technical sections or riding competitive cyclo-cross.
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Switched to my fixed gear winter trainer, the song has remained much the same, despite being broader than I’d typically go, although on longer outings, factors such as pad quality play their part. With Ursula awaiting frame repair and out of curiosity, I ported it over to a flat bar hybrid and went for a quick twenty miles.
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In contrast to my expectations and experiences with the other bikes, I couldn’t get comfortable- too much pressure around the sit bones and slight chafing of my inner thighs. I double checked bars, post and saddle were correctly aligned and at the correct height-they were. Surprising but goes to illustrate my opening point about fit and comfort being nuanced, rather than strictly a numbers game.
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With some leather and micro matrix covers, there can be an audible squeak as shorts brush- a small thing but can prove disconcerting at times. This hasn’t been obvious, regardless of shorts, or weather. When the rains have come, the satin texture and ribbed surface prevents unwanted “surf”.
Durability/Care 3.75/5
600 mixed terrain miles later and no surprise, it’s holding up very well. There’s some fading of the logo but no other obvious signs of wear. Mercifully, I’ve not had a tumble, but I’ve leant ours against the usual suspects- rendered brickwork, rough sawn wood, trees etc with no signs of abrasion.
No desire to add a precautionary strip of gaffer tape around the rear section. The Ed coated rails are also packet fresh without any “bite marks” despite being ported between various post clamps. I’ve given the cover periodic damp cloth onceovers and checked it was snugged tight in the post cradle, but that’s it.
Summary
Though pricey, the Ergon SR All Road Core Comp could be the solution for those riders wanting greater comfort without the heft, complication and cost of a suspension post. Despite being broader than I’m usually settled on, I’ve been comfortable for several seated hours at a time, whether traversing unmade roads, trails and singletrack, or long, steady tarmac miles. It’s also solidly made, and the two-year warrantee is further peace of mind.
Verdict: 3.75/5 Solid choice for gravel and touring duties but pricey and weighty compared with some.
Michael Stenning
PUBLISHED AUGUST 2024
