Which saddle suits me best: Fizik Saddle Finder helps with the choice

As basic information, the form asks for personal data such as name and e-mail address. This data is mandatory, without it the online tool refuses to work. Voluntary data includes age and country of origin, which is probably of interest to Fizik for statistical reasons. Section 1" then deals with the intended use and training intensity, plus gender input, individual mobility and sit bone distance in "Section 2" and after agreeing to the general terms and conditions, the finder spits out its suggestions.

If you play a little with the input criteria, you will understand the function of the tool a little better. For example, age is not a decisive criterion, but other changes produce very different saddle suggestions. If you change the gender for fun, identical saddles are suggested if the criterion "Racing" was previously set. If, on the other hand, this is set to "Performance Riding", a new suggestion is produced, whereby the saddle width remains unaffected. A sensitive criterion in the default settings appears to be the specification of the main goal. For example, switching from "Racing" to "Healthy lifestyle" produces completely different saddle suggestions. It is logical that the Finder suggests different saddle widths depending on the sit bone distance. In our test, we found that the threshold value for the suggestion of a narrow (140 mm) to a wider saddle (150 mm) is the change from 100 to 110 millimetres seat bone distance, regardless of the model. Strangely enough, we did not find any configuration in our random samples where personal flexibility had an influence on the suggested saddle width, although very flexible people who can sit stretched out for a long time with their pelvis tilted forwards on the racer could also ride slimmer saddles due to the smaller sit bone dimension in this case.

The bottom line

Some may be bothered by the fact that Fizik's Saddle Finder only works after personal data such as names and email addresses have been entered. Those who don't have a problem with this will enjoy the simple handling of the Saddle Finder, which invites you to experiment. The intended use or training intensity, for example, have a major impact, although the three saddle suggestions are not always comprehensible. A customer-friendly feature is that every saddle purchased can be returned within 15 days. Tip: Measure your own sit bone distance beforehand, which significantly improves the success rate.