After rolling out 3D-printed saddle technology with the Power saddle, Specialized today launched an even more intricate, liquid-polymer-based model with the S-Works Romin EVO with Mirror. This $450, 190g saddle reduces pressure on a rider compared to a foam saddle of the same shape, Specialized claims, because of the amount of density control that 3D printing allows.

Specialized started working with the vendor Carbon 3D in 2018 as a way to fine-tune saddle-top density as the company had done, in many ways, as much as it could with foam.

Also read: Specialized Power saddle with Mirror review — the most comfortable saddle I’ve tested

“As we started to introduce variable foam densities, that is helpful to riders: a softer nose, good places for the sit bones, those are key to comfort,” said Garrett Getter, Specialized leader of Body Geometry. “But if we wanted to take foam further, it was complicated and not feasible in our time frame.”

“At the same time, we continued to do pressure mapping studies with Retül,” Getter said. “If you look at the last 25 years of developing Body Geometry saddles, the idea has always been: let’s put the weight on the sit bones for skeletal structure, and thereby reduce pressure on soft tissue. That has always been the goal, with cutouts and shape. But we found when you put someone on a supportive saddle, sometimes the pressure is more concentrated.”

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