Freedom Racine Elite saddle

Freedom is the road brand of WTB. They describe the Racine saddle, which is similar to the WTB Rocket V Race, as a 'lightweight racing model'. Weight is pretty good for a chrome-moly railed saddle, but the price and ride feel suggest that this is an entry-level sports saddle for generic riding duties rather than one for your Sunday best bike.

It's difficult to be prescriptive about saddles. One man's firm, comfortably-contoured perch is another man's brick-solid arse basher. It wasn't as comfortable for me as the out-of-production Specialized Alias that it replaced on the test bike but it was better than the convex-topped saddles I've used on many budget bikes.

There's no hole in the saddle, just a groove down the centre that shallows towards the saddle nose. It's enough to prevent unpleasant soft tissue compression. The padding is firm and your sit bones are well supported, assuming they match the 140mm width – mine did. The nose is as narrow as it is on most road bike saddles.

Comfort depends on the application. I found it somewhat uncomfortable after an hour of intervals on the turbo, so wouldn't put the Racine Elite on a race bike or a fixed-wheel bike you might pedal at washing machine cadences. For steadier riding in the lanes, it was fine. It's the kind of saddle I'd put on a hybrid or sporty commuter.

For the price, the overall performance is decent. Most of the saddles I'd pick before this would cost twice as much. However, you can get a Charge Spoon for £24.99, and that has a similar profile to this. So does the Freedom Racine Sport, which is £23.99 and about 60g heavier, since it has ordinary steel rails. Given the kind of bike I'd fit the Racine to, I'd favour one of the latter, or maybe a Specialized Riva MTB (£20). But the Racine Elite isn't bad at all.

Verdict

Pretty comfortable and lightweight for an entry-level road bike perch