Noseless saddle launched in UK

20 comments
By BikeRadar | Wednesday, May 27, 2009 4.30pm

A new saddle with a radical noseless design has been launched in the UK. The ECD Seat is said to reduce pressure on the sensitive perineum area and shift the rider’s weight back onto their sit bones.

Distributors ECD (Ergonomic Comfort Design) claim this gives cyclists "the enjoyment and health benefits of a longer ride without paying the price of discomfort or risk to their health".

The saddle was designed by Thomas White, former head of industrial design at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and has been available in the US for some time.

Jonathan Wallach, one of the founders of ECD, said: “My son wanted to support the British Heart Foundation by cycling in last year’s London-to-Brighton. I decided to ride with him, so a few months before the 55-mile race, started training. The pain almost stopped me from doing the ride, and this got me looking for alternatives. I discovered the noseless seat design on the West Coast (USA), and was able to finish both the training and the race itself with no further discomfort.”

The design has received backing from medical experts, with Dr JRW Harris, consultant in genito-urinary medicine at St Mary’s Hospital, London, saying: "Each year I see a number of people who have suffered from prolonged riding on conventional seats, causing them discomfort and sometimes leading to health problems. What I like about this seat is that it has been ergonomically designed to enable the cyclist to sit more naturally. This is a breakthrough in comfort design for cyclists."

The ecd seat is designed to fit a wide range of bikes:

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We've yet to try out one of these saddles, but we're not sure how easy it will be to control a bike, especially a mountain bike, without a saddle nose to push against in the corners and perch on during the climbs. What do you think? Have your say in the comments box below.

The ECD Seat is available in two designs: vinyl cover and foam padding (£39.99) or Lycra cover and gel padding (£49.99). They can be bought online at www.ecdsports.com.

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User Comments

There are 20 comments on this post

Showing 1 - 20 of 20 comments

  • its so ugly!

  • Just wait an hour the UCI will then ban it.

  • Only if it works!

  • Lycra cover and gel padding say it all...

  • oh dear, another idiotic idea that wont work. I can see the thinking, but for anything other than leisure riding it wont work, you need the whole saddle to controle the bike

  • Will there be an I-beam variety?

    But seriously, this is maybe not such a bad idea but it looks awful. Maybe if it had a nose that was a couple of inches lower, then you would at least have something to lean against and help control the bike (that would still look awful).

    Did Mr Wallach (how hilariously close to Ball-Ache is that, by the way?) not instead consider wearing two pairs of padded shorts until he'd toughened up his posteria for the London to Brighton?

  • It looks like a slug!

  • Hmm! It looks like a failed penis. Maybe it needs some Viagra?

  • I'd get one but it doesn't have carbon rails.

  • It didn't help the erectile profile of the saddle did it? Why didn't they just cut the nose off to spite its erm face :D It didn't need to point down as though it had tried too hard and got lost. :D

  • I am for sure going to get one, anything to save the soreness i get from cycling to London every day and back from my home in Surrey.Cant wait to try it.

  • you just need good posture and Brian is that what your dysfunctional penis looks like?

  • The fact that the seat is on the post backwards in the first pic indicates that someone involved in this 'innovation' is pretty damn clueless!

  • Looks like it has it's own erectile disfunction!

  • 40mph downhill, anyone?

    His son and others with similar problems don't need this fugly sofa but a a good bike shop, and a professional bike fitting service.

    Most of cyclists will never experience any saddle comfort thanks to their shear ignorance, not because of a saddle design.

  • needs a blue pill

  • I'll stay with my tried and trusted Brookes saddles, I think.

    However, I know some cyclists do have lots of problems with saddles. A friend of mine has cycling regularly for over 50 years, racing, touring - the lot but her husband only has to whistle and the back seat of the tandem changes yet again :)

    Ah, wait a bit. Margaret is a bit deficient in the areas this saddle is designed to avoid.

    Geoff

  • It looks hideous but I ride with a Chicago police officer who has a noseless saddle (though not this model). He has no trouble controlling his bike and swears by it. Apparently CPD took part in some study and a number of cops now won't ride anything else.

    I think if you have an intractable problem it's worth a shot. But, speaking personally, I have no plans to change from my extremely comfortable San Marco Rolls.

  • High performance riders have their own specific needs and the ECD Seat has been developed with comfort, safety and health uppermost in mind for a very broad range of riders, from casual to commuters and regular recreational cyclists.

    For anyone who has ridden longer distances, the effects of the conventional saddle very often stay in the mind long after the physical discomfort has passed!

    ECD Team

  • Hmmm... Would quite like to try one, just to see what it's like. But no way for £50!!!

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