DMR Stage 1 Saddle

Every week I am trying to exclude the use of a hydration pack whilst riding. Yes, the kit inside is essential and it would be a little stupid to not take it with you, but the freedom and feel of not having a bag is great. I have a few really good lightweight bags that carry everything I need, but to be able to not wear one would be ideal.

So strapping a tube to your bike, using a bottle cage and having a pocket full of tools does the job, but it’s not without its flaws. Strapping a tube to your frame with tape is not as easy as it sounds; on a lot of bikes there isn’t actually a place to strap one without it getting in the way. It also doesn’t look particularly neat, and when you actually puncture you then have a handful of tape and weird sticky stuff on your frame.

The DMR Stage 1 saddle’s Ride Saver feature allows you to strap your inner tube and possibly a canister under the saddle. This isn’t anything new; XC lycra boys have been putting inner tubes under their saddle for a while but their solution isn’t as neat or secure as DMRs. The Ride Saver strap is bolted onto the saddle so is really secure and has a tough velcro strap to hold everything in place. You can remove the strap and the bolted on mount if you aren’t going to use this feature and don’t just want a strap flapping around.

The strap at first seemed a little too short and I had difficulty fitting just a tube in, but after folding the tube differently I could fit the tube and a lever. I did try to fit a canister as well but the strap wouldn’t hold. The Ride Saver feature is really useful – you fit your tube/lever etc and then just leave it. You don’t have to check your bag before every ride to check if you have your stuff and for racing it means you can race without a backpack, which is great. One little issue to begin with was obviously in our dry and dusty conditions, ahem. The tube and canister got caked in mud so now I have them in a sandwich bag just to keep them clean.

So we’ve established the Ride Saver feature is a great feature, but how does the saddle actually feel? Even if having your tube strapped to your saddle is good, it won’t matter if the saddle is uncomfy. I’d rather carry a bag than have a sore ‘gooch’. You’ll be happy to know the saddle is very comfortable, so comfy it’s probably the best saddle I have tried. It’s soft in all the right areas and has the right amount of surface area. Looks neat and slim, is lightweight, and doesn’t break the bank. Winner!

I had no real issues with the saddle, apart from getting a muddy tube (inner? – Ed) but that’s easily sorted. I haven’t seen many signs of wear; the DMR logo has worn off a bit so it’s now white but my bum is covering it most of the time so it doesn’t really bother me.