Rido R2 Saddle Review - BikeRadar

If it wasn't for this saddle and it's predecessor I would never have been able to graduate from 30-40 mile rides to 80 - 100.

I was suffering terribly from numb nuts syndrome. I had tried a number of saddles at around the £25 - £40 mark but none resolved the problem, one even left me with NNS for two days after the ride. This was very worrying! Although there are a number of saddles that have had great reviews and sound as though they would do the job they are also quite expensive. I simply couldn't afford to experiment anymore.

I bought the original Rido, after seeing a passing reference to it in a bikeradar review on another saddle, and never looked back. The orignal was priced at only £10 which was fantastic value. I wish they still sold them. I preordered the R2 as soon as I heard about it and have now done about 2k miles without a hint of NNS. Yes it a little heavy, but then so am I, and comfort under the sit bones could be improved but these are minor issues when compared with having fully functioning gentleman's vegetables ;-)

Simply outstanding. I have tried numerous saddles over the years. A lot of money, a lot of different materials (yes Brooks included) and none has come close to this. Grooves carved on previous saddles show that the bones on either side of my perineum carve into a saddle's arch. Those with a hollowed-out centre have merely led to my bones rubbing on each side of the cut out. Ouch. I have never been able to ride comfortably for two days in a row before now. Long rides always resulted in sore and embarrassing problems. Now I don't think about it. Also, from using tubs of 'chamois' cream I now use none. Yes, none. Something the review fails to mention is the dissipation of impact on the sitbones due to the design. Several other saddles where you are perched solely on the sitbones have less shock absorbent properties. This leads to swelling.

It took a while to get the position right. It's obviously extremely subjective but I found raising the tip a fair amount worked best. And yes it may be weighty (that's a whole 40 grams heavier than my Brooks Swift - I put them on the scales) but I'm putting out a lot more power because I'm no longer hurting. Especially from one hour onwards. So, yep, I'm going a lot quicker. For me it's the best improvement you can make to a bike... any bike - the Rido presently adorns my carbon racer... and it's only thirty quid. Read all the grateful reviews on the Rido website if you think I'm either connected to the company or a lone madman crying in the wilderness.

Saddle design has been stuck in the dark ages - they looked at what people put on a horse and tried to do the same for a bike. It was a case of wrong thinking. Fortunately Rido has done something about it.

Like I said, outstanding. I have no other word for it.

Unfortunately I agree with antfly. Agony on the buttocks after a 20 mile ride with it, in fact I finished most of the last mile or two standing up which was pretty unpleasant as well. Obviously a love it / hate it thing here.

Oh no. I have to convert some unbelievers. I will say, however, that I did not try the original (although it was only the price of two inner tubes). My experience is based on the R2.

What I can say though is that buying this was the last desperate throw of a dice in a game in which I'd run up a string of heavy losses. The list of wagers that didn't come good included (draws breath, the list is long) - from the Selle Italia stable - SLR XP, Max Flite Transam, Flite Gel, Turbo, Turbomatic gel; Brooks - Swift and Professional; San Marco - Rolls and Rever. Some offered me longer periods of comfort than others but all would eventually turn nasty and revert to torturing me. It was exasperating. I have a great carbon frame (Argon 18), great wheels (record hubs, excellight rims) a great groupset (Chorus) but how the hell do I sit on all this without inflicting unspeakable damage on my undercarriage?

I was intrigued by the Rido but sceptical because I'd been so scarred (literally) by previous experience. Decided not to hold back with the testing. First ride - two and a half hours in tatty, worn racing shorts and no cream. Too much pressure pushing me forward BUT I was going faster towards the end. Result no sores. This was unprecedented. Some subsequent tinkering and I found the sweet spot - tip raised by a lot, perhaps 15 degrees. I do tend to grind a bit with my 80kgs but I was putting out more power for longer, especially on the flats, because my legs were unhindered by jabs of pain. I was even complimented on improving the fluency of my pedalling by a former international racer.

Next big test a six hour ride in the mountains with another of four hours the day after. Both were done wearing standard club shorts with no cream. Usually I would have cried off doing the second due to saddle sores. The result? - well, my undercarriage could not have told me it had been near a bike all weekend. Truly phenomenal. Tellingly my clubmates (a reactionary lot) are intrigued. I simply invite them to sit on it, bounce up and down and tell me what they think. Their response is overwhelmingly one of positive surprise.

I admit it would be too much for everyone to like the R2 - it doesn't look as sleek as a carbon jobbie for starters but you don't see a saddle when someone's on it and for me it's been a revelation - a transformative experience - and all for just THIRTY QUID. THIRTY QUID!!!! That' s less than the price of a good racing tyre that might get ripped open on your next ride. OK. That's me done for now. Over to any naysayers.

I bought one of these for my hybrid which I use when towing the children in the trailer or tagalong. With the upright riding position and usually not wearing cycle shorts I used to suffer a great deal with NNS. I have also recently bought a road bike. What I find really useful is that the Rido 2 has a completely different feel to an ordinary saddle. So I can go out on my road bike in the morning and then get on the hybrid in the afternoon with the children without any discomfort and enjoy the afternoon. My only gripe is that the front portion of the saddle has a material which "sticks" so that shifting forwards and back if off road can be a bit difficult. Haven't felt the need for this saddle on the road bike as I don't get NNS with that saddle.

Did not really work for me, felt too hard on hips though did stop numbness problem I was getting with Flite saddle which had been fine for years. Have now got a WTB Comfort V Sport Saddle, the design works well for me and is comfortable too

A comfortable seat... I was planning on using it for a mountain bike tour. But I took it on a ride in a local forest - had a small crash and the seat rail got bent! I have never heard of this happening with another seat. They seriously need to get some stronger rails. Glad I didn't take it on tour.

This saddle is fantastic.

If you have any problems with numbness or prostate grief than get one.

Sit bones may take a bit of getting used to actually being used to support your weight but this is a reassuring bit of discomfort that soon goes.

After that happy days!!!!

Just waiting for the lightweight Rido Lt.

Just wanted to put it out there - I do think the saddle is great, BUT I went for the standard R2 due to cost and touring comfort. Then I found myself doing no touring but a fair bit of MTB - ah.

If you intend to use the saddle mountain biking be aware that the saddle is quite wide, and the fact that it goes out to a point can be quite an encumbrance when you want to crouch back over the rear wheel (even though it's dropped down). Of course I have an XC so I can only take the saddle so low, maybe it's not so bad with a downhill bike/different geometry etc.

I reckon the R2 Lt is what I need - though it does leave a bad taste that you can currently get the R2 at the fantastic price of c.£40 whereas for the Lt you're shelling out c.£70, for some unknown reason. It's not an unreasonable price compared to other options, maybe - but that's for another review...

In short. R2 for touring/recreation=great, but for MTB(and racing so I gather)=not so much!