Bontrager’s original line of inForm saddles, introduced for the 2008 model year, featured a design focused on aggressive road positioning. For 2011, the company have broadened their design scope to include riders who prefer a more upright position for both road and off-road riding.
The new perches come in the form of Affinity, for the former, and Evoke, for the latter. Main differences, besides overall shape, between the two include the shape of the seat’s foam padding and the use of different density foam in specific zones – Bontrager call this ‘Zone density’. Both designs feature a depression or cutout in the critical perineal area.
The Affinity road models feature lower tails and firmer foam in the rear for more support, while softer foam is found in the nose, to provide better comfort when in the drops.
Our Affinity RXL saddle with super-light Zone Density padding weighs 203g, while the RL version with standard Zone density padding weighs 236g. The seats are priced at a respectable US$129.99 and $99.99, respectively. Both feature hollow titanium rails and synthetic leather covers, though Bontrager describe the RXL cover as ‘premium’.
The Evoke mountain bike saddle, conversely, features a higher tail to keep riders from slipping off the back and denser padding at the front to keep riders from bottoming out the padding when climbing on the tip of the nose. Our RXL test model weighs 198g and costs $129.99.
Bontrager's Evoke mountain saddle
Bontrager have long made saddles, going back to the days of their partnership with Selle San Marco and the original ‘Bontrager’ mountain bike saddle, which was basically Selle San Marco’s Strada with its tail wings clipped.
The latest designs incorporate inForm technology, in which the saddles are matched by width to riders’ sit bones and designed with the input of Dr Mark Timmerman, assistant clinical professor of sports medicine at the University of Wisconsin medical school.
All of the new inForm saddles are offered in three men’s widths (128mm, 138mm and 148mm) and three women’s widths (134mm, 144mm and 154mm) to best fit a rider’s sit bones; the saddles also offer a size related curvature that is related to sit bone width.
Bontrager's saddle curvature comparison
Bontrager offer an unconditional comfort guarantee with their inForm line. Ride a saddle for 29 days and if you’re not happy, take it back on the 30th and they’ll exchange it or give you a credit towards a different Bontrager saddle or product.
