If loud colours are your thing and you’re looking for a comfortable, yet racy saddle then you should definitely give the Ignite Ti a look.
Pros
- Comfort
- Some great deals out there at the moment
Cons
- Heavier than competition
- Colours aren’t for everyone
About the Manufacturer
Did you know that black is one of the most popular bike colours in the world? Supercaz is not for those people.
Founded by former UCI pro Anthony Sinyard – the son of the Specialized founder Mike Sinyard – the brand was set up with the belief that all the aftermarket parts for bicycles were boring shades and patterns. Supercaz was inspired by the surf brands of Sinyard’s native California so if you’re thinking garish logos and super bright colours, then you’re on the right track. While the brand is most famous for its bartape and barplugs which can be found across the pro peloton, they’ve since expanded into a range of aftermarket parts including tools, bar cages, gloves and saddles.
Review
The brightest bike brand on earth has come a long way since bringing out its first set of bar tape in 2013. Not content with supplying half the pros and having the most valuable endorsement going in the guise of a certain Mr Sagan, but they’ve also starting applying their day-glo ways to other bike parts including saddles.
You’d expect a saddle from Supercaz to be exceptionally bright and the Ignite Ti saddle that we have to check out is no exception – especially in the neon yellow/blue fade colourway that we’ve chosen to sit atop our black Canyon Ultimate. The Ignite subscribes to the stubby school of saddles so features a short nose, but unlike the shorties we’ve tested recently including the PRO Stealth and ISM PN 3.0, the Ignite isn’t a flat as a pancake and features a prominent kick at the rear of the wishbone shaped saddle. The Ignite also comes with a prominent cut out in the saddle, padding that takes the Kush concept from the brand’s bartape for and a treated upper for grip. The rails come in colour matching titanium and the chasis is carbon injected poly, although we note that the Ignite is a little heavier than similar saddles we’ve tested recently coming in a 253g for its 143mm width.
So aside from the pretty extreme colours, there’s a lot of concepts here that are shared by modern saddles – how does it perform on the road?
The answer is – it’s pretty good.
We think there’s two things to that. Firstly the amount of padding on the Ignite is noticeable for a race orientated saddle. While padding doesn’t always equate to a comfortable saddle we definitely noticed some of the sting taken out of our all day jaunts on the less than ideal road surfaces in and around Sydney.
Secondly the kick at the rear of the saddle helped on longer excursions. We don’t claim to be the strongest riders, so flatter saddles can be tiring on multi hour rides where you’re focusing on keeping your body in position – there’s less of a need for that with a shaped rear. The shape in combination with the padding and the overall shape meant that we really got on with the Ignite.
But we have to talk about the colour. We should point out that you can get the Ignite in a more subdued black upper – but it still has purple anodised rails and the Supercaz branded pattern all over the upper. Despite the fact that we actually really like the Ignite to ride, we’re a bunch of middle aged men that subscribe to the school of black and grey – we wouldn’t put one on our bikes.
Having said that, Supercaz was started by a guy who wanted to celebrate more individuality in cycling and we think that’s something to celebrate. If loud colours are your thing and you’re looking for a comfortable, yet racy saddle then you should definitely give the Ignite Ti a look.
Key Specifications
- Width: 143mm
- Weight: 253g
- Material: Synthetic upper, carbon reinforced shell, Ti rails