WTB Saddles for 2020 - Updated Graphics, Materials, and More! [Video]

Overview

Saddles are, without a doubt, the most important contact point for a comfortable mountain bike ride. When you’re spending hours mushing your uhh...adult parts...against something, you definitely want it to feel good (get your mind out of the gutter). Thankfully, saddles have been around forever, which has given numerous companies enough time to study human anatomy and come up with options that make sure everything is as comfortable as possible and in working order when you get home to see your spouse (get your mind back in the gutter). WTB is one such company, and they do a really great job at it. 

Just recently, WTB updated their entire saddle lineup, giving all of them a revamp with new looks and new materials. The most notable aspect of their looks is that all of their saddles sport a subdued, murdered out look. They look sleek, understated, and you won’t find any flashes or pops of color on them. They all also come covered in microfiber, which has some antimicrobial properties to help keep things from stinking too much and feels very similar to leather. In total, WTB offers 10 different saddles, which is great because everybody has different hips and butt bones, meaning they probably have a saddle that’s right for you. Read on to get an idea of what each one is like.

Volt

The Volt is a classic WTB saddle and their most popular one. It’s a super versatile saddle that you’d find on anything from downhill bikes to gravel bikes. It comes in three different widths: 135, 142, and 150x265. It features an upward curved tail and a slightly dropped nose all covered in medium-thickness padding. WTB offers the Volt in the four different rail materials of carbon (only available in narrow), titanium, cromoly, and steel, with weights varying from 165g up to 320g. It’s personally one of my favorite saddles and I’ve been rocking the same one for the last four years, so I can attest to WTB’s durability. 

• Price: $39 - $250
  
• Level Options: Carbon, Titanium, Cromoly, Steel
• Width Options: Narrow, Medium, Wide

Pure

The Pure isn’t too different from the Volt, but it’s designed to help you endure a few more hours on it than you might with other saddles. The nose is slightly more curved downward to help prevent your shorts from snagging on it when standing up or trying to get your butt a little further back. It also features a little more padding than the Volt for a little more all-day comfort. It comes in three variations (titanium, cromoly, and steel) and weighs anywhere from 239g to 345g. It’s only offered in the medium width, but that’s enough in the middle to suit most riders out there.

• Price: $39 - $130
• Level Options: Titanium, Cromoly, Steel
• Width Options: Medium

Rocket

Besides sounding cool, the Rocket also looks cool. It’s one of the narrower saddles in WTB’s lineup, and as you probably guessed, it is meant for those who like to go a bit faster. While it may not actually make you a faster rider, it certainly does a good job of trying to get out of the way while you’re pedaling. It features a narrow nose and midsection, so you don’t experience as much rubbing while you’re cranking on the pedals. The upward swooping tail with extra padding means you can put down a little extra power and not feel like your saddle is trying to cut you in half. It comes in titanium, cromoly, and steel, with only the titanium offered in all three sizes. The cromoly and steel aren’t offered in a narrow size, but again, the medium should fit most people if this is the saddle you’re after. They weigh ranging from 210g up to 330g. 

• Price: $130
• Level Options: Titanium, Cromoly, Steel
• Width Options: Narrow, Medium, Wide

Silverado

Which came first: the Chevy Silverado or the WTB Silverado? I don’t actually know the answer to this question, but I wouldn’t be surprised if WTB was the winner. What I do know about WTB’s classic saddle is that it’s one of their most versatile. It has a long, tapered nose and it’s a bit flatter all across, meaning you can shift your butt around almost any way that you want and you’ll still be making contact. The Silverado had a little extra time poured into the padding to weight ratio so that it would work for multiple riding disciplines. It comes in the four different rail materials but is only available in narrow and medium. The narrow carbon saddle comes in a svelte 176g while the medium steel at the opposite end of the spectrum at 310g, which really still isn’t bad considering its size and material.

• Price: $39 - $250
• Level Options: Carbon, Titanium, Cromoly, Steel
• Width Options: Narrow, Medium

Koda

The Koda was a female-specific saddle, but WTB quickly realized that even dudes like riding this saddle. Why is this? The channel in the center of it is pretty deep, meaning plenty of relief for the boys and girls. The nose is somewhat stubby so that you can move back and forth without having to worry about getting hung up. It comes in titanium, cromoly, and steel in medium and wide widths. The weights range from 218g up to 316g.

• Price: $39 - $130
• Level Options: Titanium, Cromoly, Steel
• Width Options: Medium, Wide

Speed

The name of the Speed might suggest you would find it on road bikes or ultra-lightweight XC bikes, but it’s actually aimed more toward bike packers and urban riders. The Soft-Shell base is made from two compounds that are shock-absorbing, making it ideal for people who are trying to commute to work or spending days on a bike in the backcountry. This saddle was designed to be comfortable for most people, so it doesn’t have any dramatic shapes or sizes. The Speed is only offered in cromoly and steel in the medium width. The cromoly weighs in at 343g and the steel weighs a bit more at 379g. 

• Price: $39 - $80
• Level Options: Cromoly, Steel
• Width Options: Medium

Speed She

The Speed She is the one and only saddle actually designed for women. It provides plenty of smooth lines and sloping curves that offer extra comfort for the ladies. The padding is thicker than most WTB saddles to soften things up a bit. What kind of trails would you find the Speed She on? Probably most trails, but considering it’s meant to be comfortable for sit-down pedaling, you might not find too many women putting this saddle on their downhill bikes. It only comes in the wide width and in cromoly and steel. It weighs 296g or 325g, depending on which rail material you get.

• Price: $39 - $80
• Level Options: Cromoly, Steel
• Width Options: Wide

Deva

Yes, it’s Deva, not Diva. And no, it’s not female-specific, although it used to be. This is another example of a women’s saddle that enough men found comfortable to start calling it unisex. It’s a fairly heavily padded saddle with a short nose for easy maneuverability. It has a relatively flat and wide profile, providing riders with plenty of real estate to move around on. The Deva is a versatile saddle that can be installed on anything from a gravel bike to a downhill bike. It’s only available in the medium width, but can be had with rails made from titanium, cromoly, and steel.

• Price: $39 - $130
• Level Options: Titanium, Cromoly, Steel
• Width Options: Medium

Comfort

If you were to guess what this saddle is all about, would you guess...comfort? You’re so smart. As you might expect, this one probably isn’t the first one you reach for to put on your hardcore enduro or XC bike. The comfort saddle is more for those who ride easy, mellow trails or only get on the bike a couple of times a month. It has deep cushions and broad support, so in other words, it’s like a couch for your bike. It only comes in one rail material, steel, and one width, which isn’t found on other saddles: e  x t r a w i d e. It weighs a somewhat hefty 390g, but the chances are you’re most likely to find this bad boy on a beach cruiser that already weighs like a million pounds. What're a few more grams?

• Price: $39
• Level Options: Steel
• Width Options: Wide

SL8

This is the one for speed. The SL8 is the narrowest, shortest, and lightest saddle offered by WTB. You only need to look at this saddle once to know that it’s meant to get out of your way and only just barely weigh your bike down. It has a tapered nose and midsection to prevent rubbing and chafing and has a stubby nose to make standing up and not getting caught an easy affair. It has thin, lightweight padding, so if the Comfort is like Homer Simpson, the SL8 is like stupid, sexy Flanders (Youtube stupid, sexy Flanders if you don’t get it). You’ll find the SL8 on the hardcore XC bikes and gravel bikes, but you’ll probably also find it on downhill bikes that don’t really require much sitting. Since this is a lightweight saddle, it doesn’t come in steel, but it still comes in cromoly, titanium, and carbon. It’s offered in narrow, medium, and wide, and ranges in weight from a pretty lightweight 276g for the wide cromoly allllll the way down to an absolutely minimal 155g for the narrow carbon. 

• Price: $79 - $250
• Level Options: Carbon, Cromoly, Titanium
• Width Options: Narrow, Medium, Wide

Saddle Fitment

We just went through a bunch of great options and there’s a good chance you know which saddle you’ll want to get by now. Sizing though? That might be a slightly more difficult choice. Don’t know the best way about it? Thankfully WTB put together a super rad Fit Finder. Here’s a quick run-through:

First, you’ll measure your wrist. WTB handily provides a digital tape measure on your screen. After you input your wrist width, you’ll select your riding style: Leisure, Performance, or Aggressive. Next, you have to take a look at your body shape and select the one that matches you best. Your options include the Inverted Triangle, Rectangle, Triangle, and Hourglass. Finally, you choose your padding preference of Thin, Medium, or Thick and then you’re done! I used the Fit Finder and unsurprisingly, it suggested my favorite saddle, the Volt.

What else did WTB do with this lineup? They cleaned up the variety of saddles a little bit. They used to offer seven different levels of saddles, but now they offer a simple four with a much easier pricing structure. Steel saddles come in at $40, cromoly at $80, titanium at $130, and the high-end carbon at $250.

Padding Differences

The different levels come with different kinds of padding. All steel saddles come with DNAx padding, which is a little thicker and heavier, but obviously a bit more comfortable. The cromoly saddles are a nice middle ground with HLX + Gel padding that is still comfortable but doesn’t weigh as much as the DNAx. Finally, the titanium and carbon saddles sport DNA padding that is meant to weigh as little as possible while still making your bum happy. Each rail has a different property and isn't simply to look fancy. For example, the carbon absorbs a lot of shock, but the titanium will be the most flexible. 

Final Thoughts

Picking the right saddle is often overlooked, which is a shame because companies like WTB are putting in tons of effort to give you the best ride possible. I highly recommend you get out onto as many different saddles as you possibly can to help you find the right saddle for your butt. I also recommend that you start your search with WTB, as their wide line of saddles are oozing with engineering and design to not only look great and match your budget but also because they have some of the best saddles on the market.