WTB Koda Pro saddle review

The Koda Pro is a women’s specific saddle and, according to WTB, was two years in the making and incorporated feedback from female product testers, which, to be honest, you’d kind of expect.

WTB has an online fit guide system that uses a variety of measurements and information including wrist width, riding position and body shape to determine which saddle type and size it recommends.

The Koda has been designed for cross-country, trail, enduro and bikepacking, which covers the majority of mountain biking disciplines and styles.

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WTB Koda Pro saddle details and specifications

The WTB Koda Pro features chromoloy rails, a microfibre cover and what WTB calls its DNA padding. This is a high-density padding that’s designed to hold its shape for longer, increasing the life of the saddle.

The shape is smooth with no sharp angles or transitions. In profile it has a very slight concave shape to the main sit zone with a slight rise to the rear.

Viewed from the rear, it has a flat profile with a slight downward curve towards each side, and a central channel runs from the rear of the saddle at its widest point to narrow and to become shallower, ending just under two thirds along the saddle's length.

The saddle measures 253mm long x 142mm wide, and there are two width sizes available: the medium 142mm, tested here, and the wide 155mm.

The microfibre cover is mostly smooth, though a tougher, rougher fabric is used at the back and sides of the rear portion.

In addition to this mid-range Pro model, there are two cheaper chromoly- and steel-railed versions available, which have the same saddle shape but standard rather than WTB's DNA padding, and the range-topping Team model that has titanium rails.

WTB Koda Pro saddle performance

The width of the saddle at the back, the flat profile and the firm foam padding provide excellent support for the sit bones, with enough give to be comfortable.

The position of the channel on the saddle, or more specifically where it ends towards the nose, was an issue for me and didn’t correspond to where my soft tissue was on the saddle. Instead, the point at which it flattens out produced uncomfortable pressure.

Interestingly, this Pro-level Koda has a feature that WTB calls the ‘comfort zone’, which is effectively a cut-out on the base of the saddle that's designed to relieve further pressure on key areas. The cut-out on the Koda runs centrally along the saddle width but doesn’t seem to correspond to the channel above it, which at the same point in the saddle is becoming shallower and merging with the main saddle height. Perhaps some repositioning is required here for the channel?

Over short distances and wearing good padded shorts this wasn’t particularly noticeable, but on steep or prolonged climbs where the pelvis is rotated forward and more pressure is towards the front of the saddle, it was very uncomfortable.

However, on descents, the smooth shape of the saddle combined with an outer layer that offers minimal friction on clothing make it easy to move about without catching your shorts. This was also the case when standing.

The padding reaches over the sides of the saddle too, which average 1.5cm and are smooth, so for those who end up bracing themselves against the saddle there's less to rub, bump or bruise on.

For more gravity-oriented riders or for trail riding where there's shorter periods of climbing, the saddle is great and is good value for money. For longer days in the saddle, the channel position may compromise comfort significantly.

One problem that may well fade with use is the noise. This saddle was pretty squeaky. It could have been a combination of the smooth and slightly shiny cover with the shorts that I wore, but for some this might be annoying.