Specialized Power Pro with Mirror

£290 saddle: Specialized Power Pro with Mirror

by 37

The new Specialized Power Pro with Mirror is not for inspecting your undercarriage at leisure (what you do in your own time is none of our business), it’s a 3D printed saddle made from liquid polymer.

Specialized Power Pro with Mirror
Specialized Power Pro with Mirror

You may well know of the regular Power saddle from Specialized. It’s a very popular saddle with all kinds of people, not just Specialized bike owners.

You may not be aware of Specialized’s Mirror saddle technology, unless you also like to dabble in the dark side (road cycling).

This new Specialized Power Pro with Mirror saddle is the first Mirror saddle from Specialized to be described as fit for mountain biking.

Mirror technology is essentially 3D printing. 3D printing with a liquid polymer. Manufacturing a saddle this way gives Specialized the capability to create “infinitely tunable honeycomb structures”, it says here.

Mirror saddles “perfectly reflect your anatomy to keep you comfortable, powerful, and healthy”. We’re thinking of it a memory foam mattress for your posterior.

The classic Power saddle shape has an extra-wide and elongated pressure-relief channel. The Specialized Power Pro Mirror uses same Mirror ‘pad’ made up of a matrix of 14,000 struts and 7,799 nodes.

The saddle has titanium rails and a base made from reclaimed carbon fibre. This carbon base is built using a new reclaimed carbon process.

Specialized: “This is our first step on the road to closed-loop production, maximising efficiency in production and minimising waste. Using carbon scraps from factory production, combined with injected nylon” In total, the saddle uses 15% reclaimed carbon fibre. It’s a start though eh?

Available in two sizes, 143 and 155mm.

The scores on the doors

As you can see, we’ve managed to get a Specialized Power Pro with Mirror saddle in for test. It will make for an ideal pairing with that carbon fibre Highline 11 dropper post from Crankbrothers that we’ve had for a while.

specialized.com

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Orange Switch 6er. Stif Squatcher. Schwalbe Magic Mary Purple Addix front. Maxxis DHR II 3C MaxxTerra rear. Coil fan. Ebikes are not evil. I have been a writer for nigh on 20 years, a photographer for 25 years and a mountain biker for 30 years. I have written countless magazine and website features and route guides for the UK mountain bike press, most notably for the esteemed and highly regarded Singletrackworld. Although I am a Lancastrian, I freely admit that West Yorkshire is my favourite place to ride. Rarely a week goes by without me riding and exploring the South Pennines.

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Home Forums £290 saddle: Specialized Power Pro with Mirror

Viewing 37 posts - 1 through 37 (of 37 total)
  • £290 saddle: Specialized Power Pro with Mirror
  • stwhannah
    Full Member

    Argh! Trypophobia!

    Shudder. My skin is leaving the room. I may never manage to read anything about this saddle unless there is a text only version of this story. And I may have to request that it’s put in a special safe box in the office so that I don’t accidentally lay eyes on it. Shudder.

    robertajobb
    Full Member

    I think a mirror is required, to take a good long look at yourself, for anyone that is considering paying £290 for a saddle (doubly so on a mountain bike that’s going to crash from time to time.)

    gingerflash
    Full Member

    how does specialized propose one gets the mud out of all of those tiny holes?
    252g when new (not very light is it?) but probably 500g once it’s been ridden in the mud.

    MoreCashThanDash
    Full Member

    I’d never hears if trypophobia, so consider me educated

    ElShalimo
    Full Member

    the “SWAT attachment potential” image should be on the Ah my eye! thread

    darksideby182
    Full Member

    Good watch.

    13thfloormonk
    Full Member

    I think a mirror is required, to take a good long look at yourself, for anyone that is considering paying £290 for a saddle

    Honestly? I think saddles are an area that we should all spend more on, at the expense of Gucci carbon/endless tyre swappage etc.

    Maybe less so for MTB but I’ve been dicking around with saddles on my road and gravel bikes recently and the difference that the right saddle can make is huge, in terms of performance gain/£££ I’d say it’s a hugely underrated upgrade.

    Still wouldn’t pay £290 right enough 😂

    kcal
    Full Member

    Trypophobia

    Ah, you say the damndest things, Marina.

    mert
    Free Member

    Honestly? I think saddles are an area that we should all spend more on

    Pedals, shoes, saddles, grips, bike fit, shorts. All the bits that connect you to the bike.

    robertajobb
    Full Member

    I’m not saying to go with a £7.99 saddle (though I would if comfy). But I see a distinct difference between £100-150 which I have paid for comfort + made in Europe not China, and £290.

    desperatebicycle
    Full Member

    Imagine if Hannah’s £450 dungarees got ripped by the nose of a £290 saddle..

    fossy
    Full Member

    With saddles, it’s more about the ‘profile’ and how it suit’s your ass.

    Selle Italia work for me, as do some Fizik’s and the Charge Spoon. I suit a ‘flat’ saddle, cut out’s or not. Two saddles with cut outs, and 2 without.

    desperatebicycle
    Full Member

    I don’t know how a saddle with extra edges (ie, the ones round the gusset hole) can ever be comfortable. I tried one once, and it was just more points to cause pressure and/or rubbing. But I guess it must work for some cos they still make em!

    matt_outandabout
    Full Member

    I too am having issues with a) scary holes that hide who knows what, b) price and c) HOW MUCH MUD collection?

    Superficial
    Free Member

    Oh, you don’t live in SoCal? How quaint.

    oldfart
    Full Member

    Charge Spoon or Madison Flux under £30 job done 😎

    Harry_the_Spider
    Full Member

    That’s one expensive shit collector.

    dirtyrider
    Free Member

    I’ve got the s-works version, seems comfy enough no complaints on rides over 100 miles and seems well supported on the front when “pushing on” and shifting position to the front, but it’s a saddle, very person specific

    molgrips
    Free Member

    I reckon it looks like a great idea. Not overly worried about it getting full of mud because I use mudguards. Of course I’m not going to fork out for one, but I’m wondering if I could 3D print such a thing.

    Maybe I’ll start a 3D printing service where you start with a base design and I’ll tweak it for you if you want a bit more or less support in certain areas. You heard it here first, folks.

    pmurden
    Full Member

    As a fan of Spesh saddles I get that some will resent this much money on one. If however you’re riding epic long rides where an ache free bum would benefit I’d get one (an investment so to speak). I have to say I run the Spesh Mimic Phenom (which I believe has a more forgiving platform for female riders) and it’s so dam comfy it’s not true. The guy at Spesh said he gives most male riders these saddles now and they’re less than half the cost of a mirror one.

    midlifecrashes
    Full Member

    I take it for £290, adaptors are included for mounting my Carradice saddlebag to those SWAT threaded inserts?

    footflaps
    Full Member

    Normally when you pay a lot for a saddle you paying for it to be light weight – with this one, unclear what you’re actually getting for your money – a pretty heavy saddle for an awful lot of money?

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Such a lot of fuss about this. If it’s really comfortable, and you have the money, then it’s worth it. Looking at how it’s designed, I can see how it would be lovely to sit on.

    I mean we’re MTBers, people are paying a hundred quid for a bit of foam to go inside their tyres. It’s really not that big of a deal. If you’re a keen long distance road rider then I can easily see how a really comfy saddle is worth this much money. People spend three or four times that on wheels to gain a little bit of zing on a climb or a few seconds off their 25k TT time.

    footflaps
    Full Member

    But there are loads of really nice comfy saddles at around the same weight for under £50?

    reeksy
    Full Member

    With saddles, it’s more about the ‘profile’ and how it suit’s your ass.

    I ride my Ass bareback so the saddle is irrelevant.

    But seriously, i don’t get the fuss. I find any bike saddle comfortable, longevity is the only thing that really bothers me.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    But there are loads of really nice comfy saddles at around the same weight for under £50?

    You’ve never had any kind of discomfort on a road bike after any number of hours in the saddle? I suspect you’re in the minority if so.

    I’m not saying it’s good value for money, necessarily, but like most expensive stuff – if you have the money, why not?

    But seriously, i don’t get the fuss.

    There isn’t any fuss except from people like you complaining about how expensive something that you don’t want or need is.

    mert
    Free Member

    But there are loads of really nice comfy saddles at around the same weight for under £50?

    Loads? I’ve spent years and years doing this (and thousands of pounds on saddles), and found very very very few comfortable saddles, at any price or weight.

    gray
    Full Member

    I’d pay that much if it was guaranteed to be a comfort revolution. If Specialized offered a deal whereby e.g. you could try it for a month and get a full refund if you decided it wasn’t worth it then I’d happily try it. I’d be happy to do a trial on a used test one.

    (Road bike) saddles are a bit like mattresses – it’s totally plausible that spending a big chunk of money could be the best value ever, but it’s impossible to know until you’ve tried it for a month. Test saddles are a great idea, but not that easy to come by in reality.

    martymac
    Full Member

    I have a brooks B17ti on 2 of my bikes.
    £245rrp. Although I didn’t pay anything like that.
    Worth it?
    Dunno, but i can tell you i never get any discomfort while riding.

    mert
    Free Member

    And here’s me having to ride home stood up after 20km on a B17… (that i didn’t pay anything for, thankfully)

    martymac
    Full Member

    Yeah, not every saddle suits every person. Bummer.

    pmurden
    Full Member

    @gray I believe Spesh do this, you get a 30 day period in which time you can swap it for a saddle of the same price.

    gray
    Full Member

    They certainly used to that, dunno if they still do. But if you pay £290 for a saddle that turns out to be uncomfy, then there aren’t many other £290 saddles to swap it for…

    tomparkin
    Full Member

    Yeah, not every saddle suits every person. Bummer.

    I see what you did there…

    desperatebicycle
    Full Member

    then there aren’t many other £290 saddles to swap it for

    Just get 10 normally priced saddles and sell the ones you don’t want 🙂

    reeksy
    Full Member

    You’ve never had any kind of discomfort on a road bike after any number of hours in the saddle? I suspect you’re in the minority if so.

    I’m not saying it’s good value for money, necessarily, but like most expensive stuff – if you have the money, why not?

    But seriously, i don’t get the fuss.
    There isn’t any fuss except from people like you complaining about how expensive something that you don’t want or need is.

    I’m not complaining. And I haven’t ridden a road bike since I was about 12. But no, I don’t get discomfort from bike seats. I don’t know why.

    sirromj
    Full Member

    Will look sick on my Inspired.

Viewing 37 posts - 1 through 37 (of 37 total)

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