A new heat-moldable saddle: Landyachtz Reform

Plug in saddle, pedal on a trainer, let it cool

Ben Delaney / Immediate Media

Published: September 22, 2017 at 10:30 pm

Heat-moldable shoes have been a thing in cycling for a few years. Now we have a heat-moldable saddle, thanks to the folks at Landyachtz, a Canadian longboard company that has branched into bikes.

The Reform saddle comes in three styles with the same technology: heat-activated segments that are sandwiched between a lower carbon shell and a leather-covered foam upper.

When a Reform saddle is plugged in with a USB cable, the segments underneath the sit bones heat up. Next, the rider pedals their bike on a trainer for a few minutes in their normal riding position. The last step is to climb off and let the saddle cool and form.

Landyachtz has three Forum saddle shapes - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media

Most saddle companies operate on the theory that most of your weight is supported by your sit bones, the lower protrusions of your pelvis. A number of brands offer multiple saddle widths, as sit-bone width varies like any other part of the human body from person to person.

But no company has ever produced a saddle (at least to my knowledge) that can adapt to left/right discrepancies as well.

Electricity flows into the saddle via the USB port - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media

The Reform comes in three shapes for $299, and Landyachtz, for now, will only be able to offer the heat-molding service through participating shops, a list of which has not yet been specified. Perhaps in the future, a DIY kit could be included with the saddle.

Landyachtz does claim that the Reform saddles can be molded and remolded several times, although a single session should suffice.

The carbon base and leather cover look high-end and standard enough, but the heat-moldable segments are anything but - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media