The Vertigo Max has a squashy comfort fresh from the box, with a well padded seat and a scooped profile that centres you and holds you securely in the saddle.
Designed as a performance trail bike seat, it's the kind of saddle you’d want if you’re riding for three hours or more. If you like spending lots of time on your mountain bike, the Vertigo Max will soothe the miles into smiles.
The soft microfibre and Protex synthetic leather upper provide comfort, and weight is pared back to a svelte 265g by the use of a carbon fibre-injected resin base and titanium rails.
It's not super-light as saddles go, although it’s close enough to our benchmark off-road race saddle, the 252g Fizik Gobi XM.
The slightly raised back supports harder riding, but we found that the bulbous nature of the nose meant we couldn’t dial up the pressure. Its bulk made it a constant presence and it got in the way of faster and more sustained effort.
Where the Vertigo Max does shine, however, is downhill. All that chunkiness up front affords great control, so if for you riding trails isn’t about miles of cross-country but combining some relaxed getting-there pedalling with screaming descents, then this is one to consider.
