Review by Dave SnowbergSelle An-Atomica Titanico LD Second Skin Watershed Standard Saddle Selle An-Atomica Titanico LD Second Skin Watershed Standard Saddle

(Click images to see larger version.)

Pros:

  • most comfortable saddle ever ridden

Cons:

  • cost
  • its name

Overall:

  • This is a great saddle and the manufacturer stands behind their product – it will always be on my touring bike.

Review:
I purchased a Selle An-Atomica Titanico LD Second Skin Watershed Standard black model of this saddle for $159.98. There should be an industry standard limiting the number adjectives allowed in the name for a saddle. Anyway, I bought a Standard model versus the Clydesdale model since I weigh 175 pounds and the Clydesdale is recommended for riders over 180 pounds. This saddle is essentially a leather Brooks saddle with a cut-out in the middle. This cut-out provides an independent hammock for each of my sit bones. There is an extra laminate of leather on the bottom side of the saddle with an unknown purpose.

Overall, this is the most comfortable saddle I’ve ever ridden – without a doubt. There is no pressure where I would not want it, and it is not undesirably mushy either. It is well made and it felt good on its first ride.

This saddle stretched a lot, especially when it was wet. The saddle manufacturer claims the Watershed technology means the saddle does not require a cover when it rains. However, it really stretched a lot on the Great Divide bike tour, to the point of making contact with the top of my seat post. I recommend covering the saddle when it is raining to minimize the adverse results of the leather stretching. I am a little beyond the mid-point of the thread allowance for the tightening screw. Hopefully, I will never use up all the tightening ability of the screw. I believe $160 for a saddle is too much to spend unless it lasts forever and my butt is always happy. So far, my butt is still happy.

Update, December, 2007:

Michelle emailed questions about ordering a saddle for herself and mentioned this review. Turns out the owner, Tom Milton, handled that email and sent this to me after reading this review:

Your website is very nicely done and the saddle review is honest. Thank you.

You need to have contacted us about your stretching saddle long ago. Considering the type of riding you do and your weight I’d put you on a Clydesdale. Tanning of leather is good old fashioned alchemy. Furthermore, no two cow hides and no two saddle blanks from a given hide are the same. With all our experience and careful inspection processes, 1 in 300-500 saddles stretch prematurely either because of the leather itself, or because of singular peculiarity in the tannage in that hide. Both things we can’t see or predict in these rare cases.

So we sent the saddle back and quickly received a replacement Clydesdale for me (free of charge) with Michelle’s new saddle. This is excellent service, beyond anything we could expect elsewhere, as I have ridden the saddle for a few months and usually there is no returning a saddle once it shows wear.

Selle An-Atomica Titanico Second Skin WatershedIf you want to investigate or purchase this saddle to go directly to Tom’s site, MCM Selle An-Atomica. This way you can view his extensive white papers reviewing the research and development done by his company, see an under-saddle video of how this thing works, read testimonials from a lot more people, and order directly if you so desire.

You can also read a short review from Michelle here.

 

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