Ok chaps and chappettes, I'm on the verge of getting one of these^^ with the Ki:um rails (whatever that is), as it's lighter, but I'd really like to know if there is anything that reviews have missed out on this?
Also please feel free to divulge any strengths and/or weaknesses...
Personal experiences (good or bad) would be much appreciated, and alternative recommendations would be welcomed! 😀
Thanks
I like mine. Suits my buns nicely. They seem to last well. I wouldn't recommend a white one as they go a bit yellow. Otherwise no issues.
Ahh, I was intending to go with the White/Grey one as it matches my colour scheme perfectly [especially with the little hints of red] 🙁
Just how fast does this 'yellowing' happen?
By far the best saddle I've used, slowly "upgrading" all my bike to have a Gobi perch.
A non-partial review: All our derrier's are different.
Its a a longish, flattish, narrowish, firmish saddle. K'ium means a tad lighter than steel iirc. If you ride lots they are great saddles.
Personally they agree with me. I also like Specialized BG saddles.
If you like charge spoons (swoopy shape) you will hate it. If you hate charge spoons you may well like it.
Just couldn't get on with mine at all. Switched to a Charge Spoon and found it instantly more comfy for my butt.
I like mine, so much so I bought another for my other bike too.
Have to say it wasn't quite love at first sight, but after a few rides I was sold. Both mine were 2nd hand, I think they benefit from being 'run in' to get the seat flexing nicely (might be talking you-know-what though)
I'm going FROM a Charge spoon to this... The spoon's ok but I'd heard that the Gobi is much more well padded in the frontal section a section that is particularly uncomfortable on the Spoon.
The rear end is ok for me as it seems to be 'breaking itself in' but I cannot seem to find the perfect position 😛
I'd prefer not to 'experiment' with an £80 saddle...
Ihave a spoon,krium Gobi and a sdg bel-air.
Bel air wins for me!
Most comfortable saddle I've ever used. When the one I've got dies I will be buying another one.
As said above, saddles are personal things. Got a mate with one that you could use for a ride or two to see if it works for you?
I like them, but my arse can cope with most saddles. Seem to last well, one of mine is 4-5 years old but still in great shape.
Non. Didn't get on with the slightly raised centre. That said I have only used two types of saddle since 1990, so it was going to have been excelent or no match.
Raised? looking at them from the front or rear the centre of the perch curves up more than most saddles.
I'd prefer not to 'experiment' with an £80 saddle...
Hense why mine are 2nd hand: buy one 2nd hand ride if for a month or 2, & then you have the option to flog it for what you bought it for (less P& P). As there 2nd hand value is normally pretty stable.
works for me
Works for me too, I have 2 kiums, one Ti and one gobi standard , best saddles I have ridden
Can't say how long it takes to go yellowy, as I bought it used and it was a bit discoloured when I got it. White is always going to be a bit problematic on something you repeatedly grind mud into though. I've still got it, so it's not that much of a big deal.
On all 3 of my bike and wouldn't ride with anything else.. 2 are the carbon rails the other ki:um rail! 1 thing to note they do wear a bit on the nose of the saddle.. only thing I can pick at them!
I have one and find it very comfy but the nose has worn down to the plastic in places.
I had that exact saddle and it wasn't the most comfortable but I am a big lad. However it's rails failed twice in exactly the same place. Fizik were rubbish and first time accused me of clamping it too far back (utter rubbish, it was clamped within the marked area), the second time it failed and this time they tried to blame my seatpost! Merlin made it clear to me on both occasions that Fizik were not happy and it was my privilege to get a replacement. I sold the last one and put a 5 year old SDG belair on that has never failed but is a bit worn.
Good luck with that one.
Never tried a saddle I hated quite so much as the Fizik Gobi...
Oddly, when you look at its shape, it seems to suit bigger riders better. Well, all the riders I know that like their Gobi's are over 6ft tall and 14st plus in size. For me it felt like I was perched on a razor blade, and I'm no stranger to some minimalist perches. My fave on a mountain bike is still the SDG Bel Air (which is pretty well padded to be fair, and has nice cutaways), but I've also really developed quite a like for the minimalist Specialized Romin in 143mm flavour recently too, which is even firmer than the Gobi if anything but the shape is just right for me.
As someone else said, there's nothing out there more personal than saddles in the MTB world, best not to experiment with a lot of cash!
So what kind of arse/sit bones do they fit? I have a charge spoon and find it ok, not the bees knees, but better than the specialized bg fit 143, which was like sitting on a brick.
Thinking of trying the 130 bg fit or one of these....
Have had two Gobis over the last 5 years... first one lasted pretty well before the stitching started unravelling. Second one was ok, but i eventually decided that the discomfort i'd been experiencing was down to the saddle and not just me being soft.
It had also developed a really annoying creak in the rail mounts which i couldn't get rid of.
Got a Charge Spoon to replace it, and loving it so far after a month and a half of riding a couple times a week. And it's brown.
Similarly to the Gobi, I didn't get on so well with a Charge Spoon either. Not quite as narrow as the Gobi which helped, but very nearly as firm and not a shape that suits my arse.
Spesh 143 saddles seem to suit my arse quite nicely. I did the arse-o-meter test and came out smack bang on fit for a 143 width, and surprisingly it seems to work nicely. Though still got 2 SDG Bel Air's that I'm not going to be getting rid of any time soon either to be fair, that are nice and comfy too, though a little soft/baggy for longer stints or the road bike.
I'm not sure about the width thing. I use a 155 width Romin on my road bike, which fits my sit bones well for the road, but I'm pretty sure I would find it too wide on an MTB. I never notice the Gobi being narrow in use. Picking up on the height/weight thing, I'm 6'4" and 14 stone so fit mboy's theory.
ive got a gobi wingflex for sale £40 if anyone wants it. mail me if intereted.
cheers
I like the WTB and Spoon/Velo 1205 shape but found the Gobi one of the most instantly uncomfortable saddles that I've used. Depends whether you like concave or convex top saddles, it seems i prefer the concave types.
I didn't get on with the gobi. Found it fairly uncomfortable and it creaked like a creaky thing despite my best efforts.
SDG bel-air is the most comfortable saddle I've ever used, with the exception of the SDG satellite which I don't think they make anymore.
I like it, but the creak is there - spray of teflon usually sorts it.
Most comfy saddle I have on any of my bikes... Did 5 years on the Lucky Strike HT, and when that died it got transferred to the Anthem.
Fabric (kevlar?) has worn around the curve of the back of the saddle, but other than that it's ok - somewhere in the order of 5000 miles so far?
Interesting comments above on the size rider that gets on with these - I'm 6'3" and 15st, so agian a thumbs up from a large rider...
Have a SDG Bel Air on another bike. Very firm ride, but that is mainly down to the integrated seat post thingy - no rails to impart any "give"... and the frame is fairly stiff on that bike as well (Pace 305)
If you like charge spoons (swoopy shape) you will hate it. If you hate charge spoons you may well like it.
I have both, like them both though for long stuff, solos and that, I use a Spoon. Then again I also have an SLR on one bike - it's all very person specific. I'd try and borrow one off a mate for a try before spunking a load of money on a saddle which may not suit you.
Thumbs up from a 16st 6 4 rider here.
My chuttocks also embrace Charge Spoon, old style SDG Bel Air and Selle Italia Flites.
Dislikes are pretty much and saddle with a groove in it.
I guess you've got to try saddles to find out. We all seem different.
Fizik Gobi: My fav. Got on two different bikes.
Specialized Body Geometry: Horrible
SDG Bel Air: Never quite felt comfy even after sticking with it for 2 years
Old Flite: Lovely, but they don't make non-leather versions, so it's out for me.
Haven't tried Charge Spoon
BTW - contrary to reports above, I'm 5'10" and 60kg (9 st)
I bought a bike with one on. Tried it for a couple of months & it virtually crippled me.
I found the 130g Flite SLR on my DH bike more comfortable!
Have a Charge Knife to replace it. Much better. Bit like a Bel Air, just a little less squidgey.
great comfy saddle - thats the plus side......
now the bad side
SHOCKING QUALITY!!! SHOULDNT BE SOLD AS A MTB SADDLE IMO....
here goes - it falls to bits, the wear on the nose goes through to the base unit within months....the stitching came loose on mine after about 2 months!
it looked about 4 years old after under a years use....
it was confy - but mine at 90 (kium version) was absolutly shocking in terms of wear for how long id had it...
ive since gone back to a charge spoon - perhaps not quite as confy on 3hour plus rides but better made and 1/5th of the price almost!
if you dont ride offroad, or dont use it in mud/grit it will probably last a while....but used in mud/wet/sand/grit off your shorts etc mine failed 🙁
was really quite gutted as i liked the saddle!
Not for me, gave me numb knob
Great saddle. Super comfy and a nice platform for mile munching. Love mine. Been my only perch for 4 and a half years. Would not consider anything else. Great customer service too.
The fabric on the nose of my first saddle ripped due to the abrasive, grippy material on the inside of my shorts constantly rubbing against it through pedalling. Demoted this to the shed and bought another one. Crashed and bent the saddle a month later so wrote to Fizik. They collected both saddles via courier and then within 5 days sent me two brand new saddles via courier from Italy. Champion.
Would we say that I's Ok for a 6 ft 3" rider of 11 stone then?
It's not like I torment any of my saddles, but what would you say causes this seemingly "dramatic" wear on the nose and rear section... weight or inability to ride without falling over? 😉
It's not so much the width as the shape of the cross section which affects things. Check it. Many saddles are flatter and get me really hard on the sit bones. (= bum boils).
Gobi is more humped and spreads out the load more evenly. It's all about maximizing contact area. . Suits me.
Unuterable butt torture, the most uncomfortable saddle I've ridden on since the greek island hire bike. I like wtb. Persevered for 3 rides and then flogged on.
To buck the 'only suits big heavy riders' theory, I'm 11.5 stone & 5'8".
I dunno what is causing the nose wear. I don't fall off a lot or lean it against anything abrasive. I can't see my shorts doing excessive damage either. Maybe they just are a bit stingy with the thickness of the leather.
Not for me, gave me numb knob
One lap of FTD at Cannock, all 7 arduous miles of it, and I wouldn't have got hard if you'd thrown me to the Swedish topless mud wrestling team and tickled me with a feather! Don't think I even knew I needed a wee for an hour or so until I got off the bike I was so numb... Hateful hateful thing.
Saddles NEED pressure relief grooves and cutouts IMO, and wide enough backs to support your sitbones well. But then again we are all different!
one came with my bike, really nice saddle would get another one
its is like they say a very personal thing saddles.. one doesn't suit another!!!
I'm a fan, and of the ones I've tried over the last couple of years
1 Gobi - great - seems to work well on HT bike with that little bit of flex it has. Creaks like a creaky thing. Costs a small fortune.
2 Spesh Body Geometry - horrible - tried to like it but now in the bin. Hateful thing.
3 Spoon - run 2 of these and I get on well with them. Nice fit for me and the bonus is that at £25 you can't go far wrong.
love em - very comfy
they dont like being washed, the nose end wears and looks tatty quickly, very prone to creaking rails - tho less so if you dont clean it
the XM is a different kettle of fish
IME, you need to try one, it doesnt take five mins to know if it suits you.
