Best road bike saddles in 2023 | Plus what to look for when buying a saddle

Finding the best road bike saddle is perhaps one of the important ways of unlocking greater comfort on the bike.

This presents a number of problems, though, because finding the right saddle is one of the most personal choices due to everyone’s anatomy and riding style being different.

In reality, the best way is to test every option yourself until you find nirvana, but it’s more realistic for us to test those options for you. That’s precisely what we’ve done.

Our team of expert testers have ridden a huge range of saddles, in various shapes and sizes. Based on that wealth of experience, we’ve assembled a list of what we think are the most comfortable bike seats for the best road bikes.

While this includes options that are suitable for men and women, we also have a dedicated guide to the best women’s road bike saddles and women’s mountain bike saddles.

If you want to know more about picking the right bike seat for you, check out the buyer’s guide at the end of this article.

Best road bike saddles in 2023, as rated by our expert testers

With so many road bike saddles on the market and so much choice, we’ve split our pick of the best road bike saddles into different price categories, from performance-oriented saddles that cost around £200 to budget-friendly saddles under £100.

Keep scrolling to see all the saddles or click on the links below to skip to the different price points:

• Best road bike saddles for £100
• Best road bike saddles for £150
• Best road bike saddles for £200

Best road bike saddles for £100

Fabric Line-S Elite Flat

• £60 / €80 / $80 as tested
•  Great shape; very comfortable; amazing price
• Getting the right width is critical

Fabric has once again proved that, when it comes to saddles, low cost doesn’t have to mean low quality.

Comfort and performance is a match for much more costly saddles, and there’s even a choice of widths (145mm or 155mm), meaning more people will be able to find a suitable fit.

At just £60, this is one of the best-value short-nosed saddles on the market.

• Read our full Fabric Line-S Elite Flat review

Brooks Cambium C15 road saddle

• £100 / $130 / €120 as tested
• Solid, supportive seat; multi-surface potential
• Firm

The Brooks Cambium C15 feels solid and there is little give. But while riding, you don’t notice its weight.

The saddle’s nylon-covered hard vulcanised rubber shell is suitable for touring and commuting. And it provides enough shock absorption for venturing onto gravel.

The firmness, though, means the Cambium C15 is not cut out for pacy road riding.

San Marco AllRoad Open-Fit Dynamic

• £75 / $90 / AU$131 / €99 as tested 
• Grippy, supportive saddle
• Padding could be thicker

The San Marco AllRoad Open-Fit Dynamic saddle’s comfort across a range of terrain and riding positions comes from well-distributed padding and ergonomics. The long central cut-out flexes to increase cushioning.

While not a short saddle, the San Marco perch has a raised rear that, along with the cover material, prevents you from sliding about.

Our tester also found the rear tilt improved pedalling efficiency, while the long, thin saddle tip didn’t impede the pedal stroke.

A combination of alloy rails and carbon shell bring the San Marco AllRoad Open-Fit Dynamic’s weight to a competitive 196g on our scales.

• Read our full San Marco AllRoad Open-Fit Dynamic review

Specialized Bridge Comp with MIMIC

• £90 / $140 / €120 / AU$150 as tested
• Plush foam
• Available in three lengths

Specialized’s Bridge Comp with MIMIC saddle has more padding than others – notably around the nose – and a pressure-relieving channel, with Specialized’s MIMIC technology.

Specialized says the Bridge Comp saddle also uses softer foam throughout than on a lot of it saddles.

Our tester found the low- and medium-density padding across the rear offered excellent support when riding upright. The softer nose helps when riding more aggressively.

Specialized Power Expert

• £105 / €130 / $160 as tested
• Choice of widths
• Good for riding in aggressive positions

One of the initiators of the short-saddle trend, the Power Expert is stubby, wide and has a deep central cut-out.

It’s all designed to relieve pressure on soft tissue, and therefore make riding in aggressive positions more comfortable.

It does that very well too, being popular with both male and female testers. The medium-grade padding offers consistent comfort without being overly squishy, and the shell offers a bit of flexibility to allow for natural pedalling movement.

Bontrager Aeolus Elite

• £90 / €100 / $150 as tested
• A great option for both men and women
• Cut-out runs almost the full length of the saddle
• Generously padded

The Aeolus Elite is a short saddle with an upswept rear and a very generous cut-out, designed for competitive riders of any gender.

The padding is generous, and the shell is reasonably flexible. Our female tester found it provided a very comfortable platform, especially when riding in aggressive positions.

Fizik Luce R5

• £90 / €99 / $99 as tested
• Women’s-specific design
• Narrow nose and traditional length
• Choice of widths

The Luce R5 is a women’s-specific saddle with a long, 280mm length and flexible wings to prevent thigh rub. This will be appreciated if you like to move around a lot while riding.

The central cut-out is smaller than some, but it’s still effective at reducing soft-tissue pressure. It’s also available in two widths to match different sit bones.

Being more race-focused, it could be too firm for some, but our tester found it very comfortable even on long rides.

• Read our full Fizik Luce R5 review

Selle Italia Novus Boost Evo Superflow

•  £75 / $80 / €80 / AU$137 as tested
• Quality build
• Decent value

Selle Italia’s Novus Boost Evo Superflow is a short, comfortable saddle at a respectable weight that costs half as much as many saddles in this list.

Like these pricier models, its flat profile raises a tad towards the rear to accommodate a forward-leaning position when you’re putting in effort.

The cut-out middle of the saddle takes pressure off your private parts, but the saddle tip jutting out of the padding may prove irritating.

Made of stiffer alloy instead of carbon, the saddle rails produce a less forgiving ride than pricier rivals. Still, at 247g, the Novus Boost Evo Superflow is commendably light and well cushioned for the price.

• Read our full Selle Italia Novus Boost Evo Superflow review

Pro Falcon CrMo

• £50 as tested
• Low weight
• Impressive value

The Pro Falcon CrMo is a classic, long, thin-nosed saddle from Shimano’s component arm. It featues a full-length pressure-relief channel that’s completely cut away in the central third.

The saddle has a flat profile, which seems to work pretty well in a more upright position or when riding a bit more aggressively. When pressing forwards, there’s no undue pressure from the padded nose.

At a mere 263g and £50, the Pro Falcon CrMo is well worth the money.

Best road bike saddles for £150

Ergon SR Pro

• £120 / $130 as tested
• Women’s-specific design
• Accommodates many different riding styles
• Lightweight for the price

The SR Pro is a women’s-specific saddle from Ergon. This means the cut-out is placed further forward than it would be on a men’s saddle because women tend to be more flexible at the pelvis than men.

Its nose is slightly wider than some, but this didn’t cause our tester any discomfort.

At 261mm in length, it’s also a centimetre or two longer than some ‘short’ saddles, but it still worked very well for our tester when riding in aggressive positions.

Fabric Line-S Pro Flat

• £150 / $180 / €180 as tested
• Grippy flat saddle
• Light and supportive

The Fabric Line-S Pro is a flat saddle optimised for pushing the pedals in the drops, yet it is also comfortable in a more relaxed, upright position.

A modest indentation in the saddle’s centre keeps you securely seated but doesn’t preclude adjusting your position.

The Line-S Pro’s carbon construction keeps weight down to 181g in 142mm width, and it’s comfortable with it. The wide nose of the saddle doesn’t impede the pedal stroke and the medium-density padding provides a plush perch.

• Read our full Fabric Line-S Pro Flat review 

Fabric Scoop Pro

• £130 / $180 / €170 as tested
• Comfortable traditionally shaped saddle
• Range of profiles to suit different positions

The Scoop Pro is available in three different profiles, which cater to differing degrees of riding position, from upright to average and aggressive.

Its 282mm length allows plenty of room to move around and it’s well priced considering it has carbon rails that help keep weight down.

It’s traditionally shaped, with no pressure-relieving channel, but we didn’t find this affected performance. It’s a very comfortable saddle.

Fizik Tempo Argo R3

• £130 / $150 / €140 as tested
• Excellent padding
• Great for those who like a fixed position

A short-nosed saddle with a generous cut-out and a touch of extra length, the Tempo Argo is aimed at endurance riders.

It has firm, supportive padding that’s slightly thicker than Fizik’s race saddles, which is great for soaking up road vibrations.

Our tester found it offered excellent comfort levels and had enough flex in the wings to allow for natural movement.

• Read our full Fizik Tempo Argo R3 review

Prologo Scratch M5

• £120 / €135 as tested
• Innovative padding
• Narrow and flexible shell means no chafing

At first glance, the Scratch M5 looks quite traditionally shaped, but in actual fact it’s only 250mm long. The reason for this is the relatively narrow 140mm width.

Provided this suits your sit bones, it means there’s little chance of anything rubbing your thighs and though there’s no cut-out, the padding is strategically applied to minimise soft-tissue pressure.

Selle Italia SLR Boost TM

• £120 / $170 / €140 as tested
• Classic looks
• Firm, racy saddle

Following modern trends, Selle Italia’s SLR Boost TM is a little shorter and wider than it was previously. It’s still a relatively classic saddle though, which is reflected in the fact that it’s a firmer perch than some.

The central channel is also very shallow, but it works much better than its appearance suggests, making for a supportive, comfortable saddle, even when tucked down in an aero position.

•  Read our full Selle Italia SLR Boost TM review 

Syncros Tofino 1.0

• £135 / €164 as tested
• Plush padding
• Effective cut-out design

At 248mm long and 135mm wide, the Tofino is slightly longer and narrower than other short saddles, such as the Specialized Power, but the flat profile, large cut-out and plush padding make this a very comfortable perch nevertheless.

As expected for a saddle of this price, the base and rails are both carbon, and there are hidden mounting bolts for a range of accessories.

• Read our full Syncros Tofino 1.0 review

Best road bike saddles for £200

Selle Italia Novus Boost Kit Carbonio Superflow

• £220 / $299.99 / €239.90 as tested
• Comfortable with plenty of freedom to move around
• ID-match fit system helps you find the right size

It’s not cheap and it has a frankly ridiculous name, but we got on really well with the Selle Italia Novus Boost Kit Carbonio Superflow – it’s an extremely comfortable saddle that’s especially well suited to aggressive riding positions.

Thanks to Selle Italia’s ID-match fit system, our tester was able to quickly find the right size, and if you can’t quite stomach the price of this top-of-the-range model, the Novus Boost starts at a more affordable £79.99 / $109.99 / €89.90.

• Read our full Selle Italia Novus Boost Kit Carbonio Superflow review

Tioga Undercover Stratum

• £170 as tested
• Lightweight
• Plush ride

The Tioga Undercover Stratum saddle uses a web-like shell covered in a thin X-Pad SL closed-cell EVA foam.

The foam layer takes care of vibrations, while the shell’s role is to flex under pressure – something it does very well.

Helped by a decent-sized central cut-out, comfort levels are fantastic, and at just 145g it’s also a very lightweight saddle.

If the high price puts you off, there are cheaper versions available with CrMo or titanium rails.

• Read our full Tioga Undercover Stratum review

Cadex Boost

• £250 / $300 / €250 / AU$400 as tested
• Low weight
• Well padded

For a saddle weighing just 139g, the Cadex Boost is unusually comfortable owing to its padding and construction.

A standard EVA foam is augmented with ETPU (expanded thermoplastic polyurethane), an elastic material borrowed from expensive running shoes that flexes under load.

The all-in-one carbon saddle rail and saddle base design trim weight while adding compliance to dull road buzz.

The only drawback with this superb saddle is the price you’ll have to pay for the privilege of riding it.

• Read our full Cadex Boost review

Fizik Aliante R1 Open

• £165 / $199 / €179 as tested
• Great shape
• Central channel offers good pressure relief

The Open is Fizik’s update to the popular Aliante saddle. The channel isn’t as deep along the full length as on Aliante Versus models, but the hull gains a hole in a key area.

These changes combine to give the feel of the classic Aliante shape – with its kicked-up rear section providing a bit of extra leverage when climbing – but with much reduced pressure on your sensitive parts.

At just 196g, the carbon-railed version is also reasonably lightweight, making it the perfect addition to a race bike.

• Read our full Fizik Aliante R1 Open review

Fizik Antares Versus Evo 00 Adaptive

• £370 / $300 / €390 as tested
• Faultless performance
• Spellbindingly expensive

The Fizik Antares Versus 00 Evo eschews traditional saddle design, employing 3D-printed technology to leave the seat padding uncovered. Along with a top-of-the-range carbon shell and its one-piece rail, this makes for a very plush seat.

In addition, its exceptional comfort is paired with low weight (160.6g in size large). However, the Antares Versus 00 Evo loses marks for limited practicality. Grime easily penetrates into the matrix padding even in dry conditions, so it’s not a saddle to ride in the winter.

No matter how comfy it is, the 3D-printed saddle struggles to justify its sky-high price tag, but Fizik does have cheaper models in the range.

• Read our full Fizik Antares Versus 00 Evo review

Fizik Aliante R1 Versus Evo

• £190 / $199 / €210 as tested
• Lightweight
• Comfortable

The Aliante R1 Evo differs from the Open version by having a more flexible carbon hull and generous padding.

It’s designed to be the ideal Aliante for endurance riders, but we found it was also very good if you spend a lot of time hammering away in the drops, sitting forward on the nose of the saddle.

There, the generous padding and channel help relieve pressure on your soft tissue, but still offer a stable platform to put the power down.

It weighs just 188.7g too, so it’s nicely lightweight for such a pillowy saddle.

• Read our full Fizik Aliante R1 Versus Evo review

Prologo Dimension Nack

• £200 / €195 as tested
• Great shape
• Good balance of comfort and stiffness

At 157.6g, the Prologo Dimension Nack is one of the lightest short saddles we’ve tested. Like the Specialized Power saddle, it has a large pressure-relief channel, with high-density padding and a stepped nose that makes riding in an aggressive position very comfortable.

The cover’s printed texture works well at keeping you in position when it’s dry, but it’s less effective in the wet – this isn’t ideal when the saddle is designed around you staying in one position all of the time, but it wasn’t a major issue.

The only real downside is the price of the carbon-railed version, but you can get the seat with ti-alloy rails for £80 less if you don’t mind it gaining 20g in weight.

• Read our full Prologo Dimension Nack review

Prologo Dimension NDR Tirox CPC

• £165 / €159 as tested
• Comfortable
• CPC cover is very grippy

The Prologo Dimension NDR Tirox CPC uses carbon fibre for its hull construction, with varying degrees of thickness for targeted stiffness and flexibility across the saddle. This, combined with the generously sized PAS (perineal area system) channel and NDR high-density padding, makes it a supremely comfortable saddle.

The CPC cover is a real advantage. The tiny volcano-shaped rubberised tubes offer phenomenal grip in both wet and dry conditions, and keep you firmly planted in the right place.

The only downside is it comes in just one width – 143mm – so if this doesn’t suit your anatomy, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

• Read our full Prologo Dimension NDR Tirox CPC review

Repente Latus M Carbon

• £210 / €219 / AU$389 as tested
• Racy position
• Good compliance

Unlike some short saddles that angle down, the Repente Latus M has an even and broad profile with a subtle rise towards the rear for balance when seated.

The saddle’s dimensions lend themselves to an advanced, aggressive position. But EVA padding provides great cushioning without excess bulk, keeping weight exceptionally low at 140g.

The Repente Latus M’s best features are its carbon rails and base, which gently ease up and down while you pedal to nullify vibrations from tarmac.

• Read our full Repente Latus M review

Scicon Elan

• £180 / $229 / €199 as tested
• Supreme comfort
• Grippy surface texture

Despite the Elan being Scicon’s first racing saddle, it’s a great start. The padding is very generous, and this combined with a large, central cut-out and flexible hull means it’s a supremely comfortable saddle.

Its short and wide design means it’s great for hunkering down in an aggressive position, with the grippy surface texture helping to prevent positional slippage, but it’s just as comfortable for long days out too.

Our only complaint was the underside is a touch sloppily finished, with a few creases and some exposed staples.

• Read our full Scicon Elan review 

Selle Italia Novus Boost Evo Kit Carbonio

•  £260 / $330 / €270 / AU$430 as tested
• Versatile, quality seat
• Questionable value

The Selle Italia Novus Boost Evo Kit Carbonio is significantly comfier and lighter than the Evo Boost, the brand’s lower-level model.

But it costs at least three times as much and doesn’t outperform its cheaper sibling to the same extent.

It still rides superbly, soothing road buzz and bumps well enough to be used on road and rough gravel. The padding is supportive where you need it most and its cover offers grip in the wet.

• Read our full Selle Italia Novus Boost Evo Kit Carbonio review

Specialized Power Arc Pro

• £175 / $225 as tested
• Two choices of width
• Lightweight

The Power Arc Pro is a more recent addition to Specialized’s Power range. It features the same dimensions as a standard Power saddle, but uses a more curved shape. Specialized says this gives a feeling of sitting “in the saddle” rather than on it.

Our tester found it to be a very comfortable racing saddle, with the large, central cut-out providing excellent pressure relief. We also liked that it comes in multiple widths to suit different riders’ anatomies.

• Read our full Specialized Power Arc Pro review

Specialized S-Works Power Mirror

• £350 / $450 / €400 / AU$700 as tested
• Brilliant support and comfort
• Pricey and could stain

The Specialized S-Works Power Mirror boasts a similar design to the Fizik Antares Versus Evo 00 Adaptive and is as comfortable and expensive. A 3D-printed polymer matrix replaces padding used in less space-age saddles.

While this prevents any discomfort for hours on the bike and weight is respectable (188g), it certainly comes at a price. The open-matrix design will be time consuming to clean should winter muck cover the saddle.

• Read our full Specialized S-Works Power Mirror review

What to look for when buying a road bike saddle

Gender

It’s an unfortunate fact that most road saddles are designed with male anatomy in mind by default.

That’s not to say that a bike seat designed for men can’t work for women too, but biology means fit requirements are likely to differ.

Shape

The most important difference between road bike seats is shape. Long, curved shapes such as the Selle San Marco Concor were the hot item through the eighties and nineties, then we had long and flat like the Fizik Arione in the 2000s. More recently the trend has been for short-nose saddles, such as the Specialized Power.

Personal preference will always play a big role, so ideally you want to be able to try out bike seats of different shapes before you commit to anything. That said, it’s becoming more generally accepted that for optimum comfort and performance you want to put the pressure on your sit bones and off any surrounding soft tissue.

Finding a saddle that enables you to do this is often crucial. Many of the most common types of pain caused by cycling – and not forgetting saddle sores – are linked to ill-fitting saddles.

A high-quality bike fit from a reputable brand can be helpful here – all good fitters should have a sizeable range of bike seats for you to try. You can of course go it alone, but the trial and error process can get expensive very quickly unless you beg, borrow and steal from your riding buddies.

If you’re taking part in time trials or triathlons, it’s also worth considering a saddle specifically designed for those disciplines, such as an ISM saddle. These saddles tend to feature more radical shapes and designs, all with the intention of maximising soft-tissue pressure relief while in an aggressive riding position.

Width

Once you’ve found a shape that works for you, the next variable to look at is width.

Some brands make a bigger deal about width than others, but no one’s anatomy is the same, so it intuitively makes sense that sit-bone width will vary between riders.

Specialized, for example, offers an in-store method of measuring the distance between your sit bones and determining the ‘correct’-width saddle you require. A comprehensive bike fit would also take this variable into account.

Length

As already mentioned, the current trend is for shorter saddles that aim to fix you in a single position (i.e. with the pressure on your sit bones) while you ride.

This doesn’t work for everyone though, and there are many who prefer the extra room to move around that a longer saddle provides. Longer saddles offer the opportunity to shift your weight around, rather than keep it concentrated in one place for the duration of your ride.

This sounds great in principle. However, if you’re finding you can’t get comfortable on any saddle, and need extra length to move around and relieve the pressure on your undercarriage, there may be other fit issues at play, such as excessive saddle-to-bar drop.

In any case, if you’re suffering, it’s always worth seeking out professional advice from a reputable fitter.

Bike seat padding

It might be counterintuitive, but when it comes to padding, less is often more. Shape is usually the biggest determinant of comfort, hence why full-carbon saddles can be surprisingly comfortable.

That said, most bike seats do incorporate some sort of padding as a method of protecting against vibrations and bumps in the road. Generally speaking, though, we would tend to recommend harder padding for road cycling because a saddle that’s too soft can often lead to an inconsistent fit over the course of a long ride.

If you’re finding pressure building up in specific areas, more often than not it’s a problem with shape or width, rather than a lack of padding.

Again, we’ll have to caveat this by saying that everyone is, of course, different and that a good bike fit is often the best way of targeting any specific issues you’re having.

Read more about bike saddles

If you want to know about bike saddles, you can check out our explainers on short-nose saddles and 3D-printed saddles.

You can also read our deep dive on how to find the right saddle for you and our pick of the best mountain bike saddles.