Collection: Selle SMP Ergonomic Cycling Saddles

Choosing the correct Selle SMP saddle depends primarily on your ischial tuberosity (sit bone) width, not your body weight or height. You can accurately measure your sit bone width at home using the corrugated cardboard method:

1. Place a piece of clean corrugated cardboard or memory foam on a hard, flat surface (like a wooden bench or hard chair).
2. Sit down firmly in your cycling posture, leaning slightly forward with your knees bent at 90 degrees. Lift your feet slightly to press your sit bones into the cardboard for 15–20 seconds.
3. Stand up and locate the two deepest circular indentations. Use a millimeter ruler to measure the exact distance between the centers of both depressions.

Matching Your Measurement:

• 90 mm – 115 mm (Narrow): Selle SMP Evolution (padded) or Composit (unpadded) with a 129 mm saddle width.
• 115 mm – 130 mm (Medium): Selle SMP Dynamic (padded, 138 mm width) or Forma (unpadded, 137 mm width).
• 115 mm – 140 mm (Medium-Wide / Modern): Selle SMP EVO (140 mm width, compact length) or F20C s.i. (135 mm width, flat profile).
• 130 mm – 150 mm+ (Wide): Selle SMP EXTRA / Hybrid (140 mm width, high cushion) or Avant (154 mm width, maximum cushion).

These four models represent Selle SMP's legendary flagship performance quartet, categorized by sit bone width and padding level:

• Selle SMP Dynamic (138 mm width, Medium Sit Bones): Features medium foamed elastomer padding over a carbon-reinforced nylon shell. It is Selle SMP's #1 most popular all-around road, gravel, and triathlon saddle for riders with pant sizes 32–35.
• Selle SMP Evolution (129 mm width, Narrow Sit Bones): Shares the same medium foamed elastomer padding as the Dynamic, but on a narrower 129 mm chassis tailored for riders with narrow pelvises (pant sizes 28–31).
• Selle SMP Forma (137 mm width, Medium-Wide Sit Bones): Identical shape and chassis to the Dynamic, but with zero padding. Covered in genuine Italian leather or microfibre directly over the composite shell.
• Selle SMP Composit (129 mm width, Narrow Sit Bones): Identical shape and chassis to the Evolution, but with zero padding for lightweight minimalism and zero foam deformation.

While it seems counter-intuitive to beginners, endurance cyclists and racers often experience significantly less numbness and chafing on unpadded saddles on long rides exceeding 3–5 hours:

• Eliminates Soft Tissue Compression: When you sit on thick, squishy foam, your pelvic sit bones sink into the padding. As the foam displaces, it pushes upward directly into your sensitive perineal arteries and pudendal nerves, cutting off blood flow.
• Targeted Skeletal Support: An unpadded saddle (like the Forma, Composit, or Full Carbon) forces your weight to rest strictly on your skeletal sit bones. The flexible carbon-reinforced nylon shell flexes dynamically with your pedaling cadence, absorbing road vibration without displacing material into soft tissue.
• Reduced Friction & Heat: Less padding surface contact means zero friction wrinkles against your bib shorts, virtually eliminating hot spots and saddle sores on multi-day century tours and bikepacking events.

Selle SMP offers two distinct pelvic ergonomic philosophies:

• Traditional SMP Curved Cradle (Dynamic, Evolution, Forma, EVO): Features a pronounced wave profile with a dipped central valley and raised rear support. This design locks the pelvis into a stable, bio-mechanically optimal pocket, rotating your hips backward and allowing your lumbar spine to relax while seated climbing.
• Modern Flat Profile (F20C s.i. & F30 Series): Features a flat top surface from rear to front, while retaining the signature eagle-beak nose and complete central pressure-relief channel. The flat profile is engineered for aggressive racers, criterium riders, and time-trialists who want the freedom to slide forward onto the nose during sprint efforts or shift backward when cruising in the paceline without feeling locked in place.

Selle SMP saddles are offered with two premium rail constructions:

• AISI 304 Stainless Steel Rails (Standard): Round 7.1 mm tubular stainless steel construction. Extremely durable, fatigue-resistant, and compatible with 100% of standard bicycle seatpost clamps. They provide excellent natural road shock damping.
• Carbon Rails (CRB - Carbon Fiber): Unidirectional carbon fiber construction with an ovalized 7.1 mm x 9.0 mm cross-section. They save approximately 50–60 grams per saddle and offer maximum torsional stiffness for explosive sprint power transfer.
• Seatpost Clamp Compatibility: If your seatpost uses vertical top-and-bottom clamping plates, standard clamps accommodate 7.1 x 9.0 mm oval carbon rails seamlessly. If your seatpost uses side-clamping jaws (such as Bontrager, Specialized, or Ritchey 1-bolt designs), you will need the manufacturer's 7x9 mm oval clamp ears to mount carbon-railed SMP models safely.