While it’s a great saddle, it’s very hard to say it made us objectively better riders for the cost, which makes it hard for us to give a glowing endorsement. Certainly if you have the pockets and are after a weight weenie build then it should be on your consideration list.
Pros
- Weight
- Comfort and fit
Cons
- Will make a small crater in your bank account
About the Manufacturer
There are a few heritaged Selle names in the cycling world – when you realise it means saddle in Italian, then you realise that these are all actually different companies. Selle San Marco began in 1935 making bike saddles for recreational riders and enthusiasts and these saddles are still handmade in Italy. The San Marco brand has adorned some very famous bikes and races over their storied 80 year plus history and while the brand may not have the recognition that it once did, they still produce highly regarded products including their flagship Aspide.
Review
Most of the time at Crankboutique we like to review the more mid range or even pedestrian offerings from bike brands. We started our reviews with the view that most people wouldn’t actually be riding a $9000 flagship bike and had plenty of questions about where they wanted to put their hard earned money. This is not one of those times – the Mantra Superleggera is a carbon hypersaddle with a 400AUD asking price. It’s amazing, comfortable, featherweight technology that we’ll never buy with our own money.
The Mantra was originally conceived by San Marco to be the best possible endurance focused saddle that can be made with the brand claiming that the design and materials provided one of the most comfortable rides you could get in such a performance focused package. The brand have Superleggera (“super light”) versions of all their saddles and in the case of the Mantra this meant an all day comfort saddle that came out at a mere 116 grams. For comparison you’re going to have to shell out for something from the likes of Schmolke to get something that much lighter.
As you’d expect for something at this weight the whole shell and rails are carbon, with unexpectedly wide and pronounced wings on the rear. Something else unexpected on this saddle is the inclusion of a synthetic upper which seems bizzare when there’s nothing in the way of padding. While this is billed as a comfortable saddle, the shape may surprise as its pancake flat and is definitely geared towards those with a higher level of fitness and conditioning on the bike.
Now while this saddle doesn’t excel on rougher surfaces, having spent upwards of 5 hours a top it lives up to its goal of being incredibly comfortable for a lightweight saddle. The Mantra Superleggera has the quality of all the best saddles in that you don’t notice it, even after long ride days. It’s also certainly stiff enough for the group rides and sprints we did and we got on with the shape of the saddle too.
While it’s a great saddle, it’s very hard to say it made us objectively better riders for the cost, which makes it hard for us to give a glowing endorsement. Certainly if you have the pockets and are after a weight weenie build then it should be on your consideration list.
Key Specifications
- Width: 136mm
- Weight: 116g
- Material: Carbon fibre, synthetic upper