Red Wall Review: Bontrager Inform RL Saddle 7 Months Later

If you might remember, back in March I purchased the Bontrager Inform RL saddle instead of the Brooks B17 I had originally liked but due to availability issues jumped to the Inform. If you would like to read my first thoughts on the saddle go here.

As stated then and I would reinforce now, Bontragers 90 day comfort guarantee was the sealer for trying this saddle, because in all honesty I planned on returning it since the whole sit on the sizing tablet to dial in the seat seemed very smoke and mirrors to me.

After 7 months with this saddle I couldn't be happier. I have probably around 1,500 miles, maybe more I stopped tracking, on the Inform and over the course of the summer have already put 2 more on other bikes. Outside of the first adjustment I made on the saddle [just a few MM back, due to discomfort], there has been no adjustment needed and I have highly recommended this to any cyclist logging more miles and/or racing. Keep in mind, a vast majority of my riding I am not wearing cycling shorts or lycra. I'm not joe-racer, I'm a commuter. I wear Chrome Knickers on occasion but often it's just shorts and the boxer-briefs [yes, too much information but I feel it's important to note]

The sizing system I believe is the key, although the technology that Bontrager used in developing the saddles specific padding helps I have found that their sizing is where the magic happens. Most of you might have already drank the juice on how this works but bare with me as I attempt to explain in simple man terms.

What is measured is your sit bones, these are the bones that you sit on when you of course, sit. Not when you ride keep in mind. But, those sit bones as they move towards the soft tissue area, they move inward at a relatively consistent manner. Where they narrow on your soft tissue is actually where you sit on a saddle, especially when in a more aggressive or race position. The more 'comfortable' of a position you are in the more a rider moves back in towards the 'seated' position of the sit bones and thus needing a larger platform. The Inform system measured me out and when I compared this measurement to the Brooks they are strikingly close and I believe that is why I have never had any problems or have had to go through the typical break in process with my B17 to enjoy it.

I will have a hard time moving away from an Inform and recommend it to anyone. Remember, $100 is a small price to pay for an extremely important area! And heck, you've got 90 days to figure it out!

Red Wall Review: Bontrager Inform RL Saddle

Well, I've done a lot of changing as of late when it comes to my bikes. Lots of shifting of parts and the Le Tour is now actually just a frame [it was parted out to build up a fixie for a friend] if you look closely on the picture from the beast you can see the frame that now has all the goods.

Because of this, I got to pull out my very first fixie. Still don't know have a name for her but she does have a special place in my heart. I finally dialed the gear ratio in [with the help of Geoff] to a 39x15 from the 39x17/20 I was running with the Surly Dingle cog on. The 39x15 is basically gear nirvana for me, it fits my natural cadence extremely well.

Since the Brooks has been taken off to go on the Ferrous, and the Brooks B17 is a bit hard to get my hands on as of late, I decided to venture out and purchase the new Bontrager Inform RL 146mm saddle, in white of course. I finally stumbled onto a formula for saddle preference that has given me success with the last few that I've tried. When I purchased the Brooks, I'll admit it was more for the look of it on the bike than knowing if I'd actually like it. I'd heard all the horror stories from them, but in all reality, from the moment I sat on it, it was perfect. No complaints. I couldn't pin point this until these new Bontrager saddles came out which come with a measuring system to help find the proper size.

It measures the sit bones [but the actual part that you sit on for riding is not the same part of the bone but one further in] and from there helps point you to the direction you should go for a new saddle. I found that after taking that test, and comparing the suggested Bontrager saddle to the Brooks they were extremely similar in size. [I'll show in a picture in a later post to better explain this].

With this in mind, I decided to roll the dice on the saddle. Granted the 90 day Comfort Guarantee is what made me finally commit because of the price: $99.99 MSRP for the RL, is a bit high. These seats I must stress aren't for the casual rider or mountain bike rider for that matter, these saddles are built with the road rider in mind. Because with the first leg over the saddle this morning my first response was 'Damn, I'm sitting on a brick' which I might add is the first thing that ran through my head with the Brooks.

Now, given that I only have 14 miles saddle time so far, this review will change. So this is my first impressions. As with any saddle What was needed for me was a little adjustment of the positioning [front to back, not angle for this saddle Bontrager does not suggest changing angle unlike the Specialized, level is good]. There has been no numbness or discomfort while in the saddle, granted there is little jell in it, with a padded short it performs great! I am surprised to be writing this to be perfectly honest because from the get go with this system I've had the 'prove it' attitude with it. So far, I highly recommend this saddle to anyone looking for light [215 grams compared to 250g on the same price point Specialized BG Alias saddle], performance road saddle.