SDG Radar Ti-Alloy saddle review

Built with all day comfort in mind, the SDG Radar Ti-Alloy is aimed at trail, all mountain and enduro riders. It has titanium alloy rails that are attached to the hull in specific locations to help improve wing flex.

There’s a pressure relief channel that’s approximately 220mm long x 21mm wide. The hull has a cutout section in the same location as the pressure relief channel that SDG has dubbed the Peri Canal Groove, which is designed to relieve pressure on the perineum.

• SQlab 610 ERGOLUX Active 2.0 saddle review
• Specialized Power Pro with Mimic saddle review

The saddle’s overall profile is slightly convex and it’s 138mm wide, making it one of the slimmer seats on the market.

The saddle’s cover is made from a microfibre synthetic material and it has Kevlar-protected side panels.

SDG Radar Ti-Alloy saddle performance

Out on the trail the saddle’s relatively flat shape and that Peri Canal Groove help to reduce pressure on the perineum when climbing in a seated position. However, the channel isn’t especially deep or wide, which does reduce its effectiveness.

Thanks to the saddle’s slightly convex profile, the edges of the pressure relief channel become the seating area's highest point, creating a ridge along the entire length of the seat.

This caused hot pressure points just in from the sit bones and towards the perineum, which eventually lead to genitalia numbness. This happened on all climbs, both steep and moderate, and flat sections of trail.

Although the length of the cutout did help reduce pressure to an extent, my sit bones weren’t adequately supported by the saddle’s hull, so the amount of pressure taken away from the perineum wasn’t enough to vastly improve comfort.

The saddle's nose isn’t especially wide and didn’t interfere with the inside of my thighs or cause any chafing when pedalling.

The traditional shape and relatively narrow width, coupled with the saddle’s soft edges, meant that it was easy to use to control the bike when descending.

I didn’t find the saddle to be so small that it was hard to find and grip, and it wasn't big enough to disrupt my flow.

Overall, the SDG is a solid performer with a bias towards downhill comfort. If you spend a lot of time pedalling while seated it’s probably better to look elsewhere.