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11 April 2006

Cedesius Custom Designed Saddle

The Cedesius Philosophy

BiciRace.com could not wait to get our hands on the Cedesius saddle for review. The Cedesius philosophy behind the design of their custom molded saddles is founded on principles from the field of prosthetics and orthotics (P&O). Their stylish saddle is all about designing a form that is anatomically specific to the areas that are destined to bear the weight of the pelvis (the ishio-tuberosities, IT's, or more commonly referred to as "sit bones"), and decreasing the load on the more sensitive regions that cannot handle weight bearing (the perineum). This was a saddle worthy of reviewing!

Cedesius, located in Ontario, Canada will produce a rider-specific 3-D imprint, and from this a custom shell will be fabricated. This process is intended to maximize the width of the saddle is for complete contact with the IT's, thus ensuring a more comfortable fit. Cedesius will produce your mold using a certified fitter, who then ships the mold to the Cedesius lab for fabrication. The shell is then designed from the rider's specific anatomical features and made to the desired style measurements. More information can be found on the Cedesius website.

The design of the saddle comfortably cradles the IT's (sit bones), resulting in less of a likelihood of the rider slipping around while cranking out the RPMs.

The perineal region of the Cedesius saddle is "carved out" to avoid pressure and numbness. Repeated numbness in this region can lead to scar tissue build-up, causing impaired blood flow, or no blood flow. All cyclists know that this is not a good feeling.

In addition to the comfort benefits, Cedesius claims that these two main design principles also have a very important performance benefit: more comfortable riding at higher cadence (up to 20% increase in cadence according to the Cedesius). The design of the saddle comfortably cradles the IT's (sit bones), resulting in less of a likelihood of the rider slipping around while cranking out the RPMs. Thus, the Cedesius saddle can aid rider efficiency.

The Materials Behind Cedesius

Most saddles use thermoplastic resins, which require a break-in period. These saddles tend to have a relatively short life-span before they succumb to fatigue. To employ the Cedesius P&O principles required selecting materials that would withstand endless abuse in order to make the design worthwhile. Cedesius uses thermoset resin along with carbon fiber and Kevlar to guarantee the shell will maintain the resilience for its lifetime and not fatigue.

The saddle that Cedesius sent for the BiciRace.com review was a "company design." Company designs are non-custom molded, but still employ the Cedesius secrets of an anatomically correct fitting saddle. The shape was considerably different than all other off-the-shelf saddles. These company designs offer riders the convenience in ordering a customized shell design according to their weight, sit bone width and riding style.

Cedesius also offers their saddles with a leather-like Lorica cover. A medical grade orthopedic EVA foam padding is inserted, which Cedesius claims will support and prevent shifting of the pelvis, and thus reduce the strain on the musculature of the lower back.

The Cedesius design principles, including the strong Cedesius carbon-Kevlar shell, combine to optimize the power output in your legs. Our beautiful test saddle had nothing more than a carbon shell for surface contact, and using a solid titanium 6.5mm rail weighed in at a respectable, but not crazy-light 149g.

The Cozy Cedesius Ride

I was instructed by Cedesius to ensure that during installation the sit bone region and the nose of the saddle were perfectly level, and that I could adjust the fore-aft position of the rails to my own liking. When I got everything dialed in, I stood back and admired the contour design and the tasteful curvature it added as a finishing touch to an already sweet ride! (During this time I was also testing the CR1 from Scott for BiciRace.com.)

All of this amounts to very little if the ride isn't comfortable. I hammered out many kilometers on the Cedesius saddle, including the time spent in the Golden State for the Tour of California, and the feedback was positive. So how did the Cedesius saddle ride?

The first impression of the riders in my gruppo when seeing the bare-bones Cedesius design was to wince in mock discomfort. My past experience with zero-padding road saddles has been that as long as you are wearing shorts that have a nice chamois (which, you should be always wearing anyway!), and the saddle is adjusted properly it will be comfortable no matter how long the ride. And the Cedesius saddle comfortably proved this point.

Testing it on the (not so user friendly) roads of the San Francisco Bay Area I found the saddle to be very cozy, even after some long rides. I took the Cedesius on all sorts of varying terrain: hills, flats, rollers and it astonished me with its feel. I am more the size of Super Mario Cipollini, so I would imagine that less gravitationally-challenged riders would be more comfortable given less weight bearing down on the sensitive areas (particularly when having a shell specifically design for their weight).

A Cedesius custom made saddle might be seen as frivolous by most, but your body's comfort and ride performance will be improved. The laborious research, development and customization are what you are paying for when purchasing one of these special saddles from Cedesius. Remember that hand-made, custom items always cost more, and the Cedesius saddle is well worth it.
- Franco

•  Prices:
Company Design: $250-300
Custom Molded: $700

Visit the Cedesius saddle website to learn more about their innovative designs. Their website is full of useful information in choosing the right Cedesius saddle for you, and if you don't find what you are looking for on their site, then send them an email. Cedesius is super friendly!