Cadex Boost Saddle

Cadex has created something pretty special with its new Boost saddle: a seat that seems to be able to deliver on comfort and stiffness at exactly the same time thanks to its construction and design. True, it's pricey, but compared with some of the saddles I've used, not over the top. The only downside to its short length is that you might not have enough fore and aft adjustment.

The Cadex brand was revived by bike behemoth Giant back in 2019 and carries a range of products like this Boost saddle. A carbon fibre-railed saddle with a carbon fibre base isn't that unheard of, but Cadex has gone about its design a little differently.

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Rather than just plugging the rails into the bottom of the base, Cadex has designed a two-piece frame where the rail section continues around the front and rear, to also form part of the base, while integrating with the other section of the base.

At the rear the integrated rails come up right to the back of the saddle, unlike most traditionally railed saddles where they finish beneath the sit bones. Cadex says its design means that the rail connection isn't positioned under a rider's direct contact point, therefore reducing pressure. It also gives the side and rear elevations of the saddle one of the coolest profiles I've seen!

The shape of the rails are also said to dissipate road vibration, going from wide and flat at the rear to a rectangular section at the clamp area for stiffness. You'll need to check that your seatpost is compatible, as there are a few that only work with round rails.

The Boost is one of the new breed of short saddles, so you only get 60mm of adjustment fore and aft – a fair bit less than on a traditional length saddle, so that is something else you need to take into consideration when it comes to your position.

As for the padding, Cadex has used 'Free-flowing, CADEX-specific ETPU particles' which are placed in two pockets, one either side underneath your contact points and should mould to the rider's unique shape.

In reality it does seem to work very well, as the upper of the saddle feels firm from a performance point of view but absorbs a lot of the high frequency road vibration coming from below. Initially it feels like a hard saddle, and I was a bit apprehensive about how I was going to get on with it on long rides, but on three to four-hour jaunts I had no issues whatsoever, especially after a couple of rides on it and it had kind of settled to my shape.

From the side you can see that the profile is lightly curved, sitting higher at the rear and giving you a platform to push against to get the power down, before flattening off for the central section and then dropping ever so slightly at the nose for comfort when in the drops.

> Buyer’s Guide: 15 of the best high-performance saddles

When it comes to quality, the Boost looks and feels top notch. There is no excess glue sneaking out anywhere between the differing layers, which you can get on some saddles, and the synthetic upper is durable and hardwearing.

I've sat on a lot of expensive saddles and the Cadex certainly stands its ground against the competition.

Okay, it's very subjective, but I find the Boost more comfortable than the £324 Fizik Arione 00 Versus Evo, and it even comes in lighter at 141g compared with the Fizik's 167g, which is very impressive too.

The Prologo Zero II PAS CPC Nack saddle isn't far off the price of the Cadex at £229.99, and again I find the Boost more comfortable, but the two are comparable for performance.

Conclusion

Overall, the Cadex Boost is a very cleverly designed saddle that offers the stiffness needed for performance riding while also being surprisingly comfortable when absolutely on the rivet.

Verdict

Clever design means the Boost has a near-perfect balance of stiffness and comfort