While saddles are a very personal thing, it has been rather odd that there hasn’t been a more personalized way to find a saddle that works for any particular cyclist. Well, things are starting to change, (long overdue, I say!) in saddles for avid cyclists.

Here we have Bontrager’s Inform RL model saddle. This saddle and the fit system behind it are an all new saddle technology from Bontrager. Using “the Science of Comfort”, Bontrager used pressure mapping and 3D motion capture technologies to develope the Inform line up which includes the top of the line RXL, the RL seen here, and the R models in men’s and women’s models. Pretty impressive sounding, but that’s not all.

Bontrager also offers the Inform line in three different widths all with their own specific curvatures to better support the skeletal structure and not put undue pressure on soft tissue areas. Bontrager believes that the cut out type of saddle isn’t as effective in relieving soft tissue discomfort/pressure, so this technology was used insted which they believe is a better solution.

When you visit an authorized Bontrager dealer that carries the Inform line, you will be asked to sit on a specially developed “bench” that is filled with a substance that migrates away from your skeletal structure when you sit on it revealing a color underneath. This color, and the measurement taken using the included “guage” in the Bontrager Saddle Sizer bench, correspond to a color coded system on the hang tags of the Inform saddles. This color code also has a number that corresponds to the approximate millimeter space between the impressions you leave behind on the Saddle Sizer.

When I went through the sizing, a simple procedure that takes all of a couple of minutes, I was surprised to see that I was on the “border line” between a medium and a large size. Bontrager recommends that “borderliners” such as myself step up to the next widest size. Well, is my butt really that big? Ah……don’t answer that! Anyway, it was the size large for me, the 154mm wide model in white, thank you very much!

The RL model I have has CroMoly rails that are hollow, a custom tuned Nylon/composite base, and “blingy” silver graphics along the lower edge on each lobe. The weight of my saddle is 230 grams. Not too shabby for a “large” saddle with steel rails, I’d say. MSRP on the Bontrager Inform RL is $99.99 and it has an “unconditional comfort guarantee”. I’ve got it bolted onto my bicycle now and will be reporting back with a First Impressions post soon.