Escapa presents the Ergon SMC Core saddle.

The Ergon SMC Core Men's Saddle eliminates discomfort and offers the best riding experience in terms of comfort and responsiveness. The dynamic 3D floating movement and reactive cushioning help the rider by absorbing all bumps and jolts before they reach the lower back; it has even earned the German “Campaign for Healthier Backs” quality seal. The patented Core design allows the saddle to effortlessly follow pelvic movements, greatly reducing pressure on the sit bones and genital area.

Features:

. Use: MTB Touring

. Size: S/M (148 x 277 mm) - M/L (161 x 277 mm)

. Shell: nylon composite

. Rails: CroMo

. Cover: microfiber

. Padding: orthopedic comfort foam

. Weight: ± 290 g

. Gender: men’s only

Ergonomic floating core

When you pedal, your weight shifts back and forth between your left and right sit bones, placing additional stress first on one side and then on the other. This pressure is significantly reduced thanks to the Ergon Core material and its incredible rebound properties. As you pedal, the saddle rebounds not only due to the shifting weight of your pelvis but also due to vibrations from the surfaces beneath the tires. This creates a floating sensation with every pedal stroke, resulting in maximum comfort.

Innovative Material—Infinergy®

Like riding on a cloud: BASF’s innovative Infinergy® material sets a new standard for suspension and shock absorption in cycling. The elastic saddle core supports pelvic movement while pedaling, absorbs shocks, and provides relief for your back. When pressure compresses the saddle core—which consists of thousands of foam spheres—it immediately returns to its original shape, even after a prolonged period of compression. Leading running shoe manufacturers around the world are also using this E-TPU foam with great success.

Dynamic 3D Movement

Dynamic 3D movement effortlessly follows pelvic motion. The ergonomic core decouples the action of the TwinShell design, enabling dynamic 3D movement with reactive cushioning to isolate the rider from shocks and vibrations.                                                         

Anatomical Relief Specific to Women and Men

Ergon has designed the contoured surfaces using the latest scientific research and extensive testing. The results are gender-specific shapes and relief channels that provide maximum comfort for both women and men. Ergon’s development team conducted extensive research on men’s health. They discovered that the main cause of men’s complaints centers on the saddle. Men often experience excessive pressure in the perineal area, which causes pain, discomfort, numbness, and the potential for more serious health problems. The SMC Core saddle alleviates this pressure with a highly specific relief channel, as well as improved pressure distribution beneath the bony structures. Through MRI and CT scans, as well as numerous prototypes and test riders, we have ergonomically tailored the saddle to men’s specific anatomy and needs.                                  

The Benefits of the Dual-Shell Design

Ergon’s revolutionary dual-shell technology takes comfort to a whole new level. In a conventional saddle, there is only one shell, and it supports the rider’s entire weight; therefore, it must be very rigid. The Ergon SMC Core Men uses two shells. The lower shell is very rigid and supports the rider’s weight, while the upper shell—which serves as the base for the cushioning material—is very flexible. In between is the floating ergonomic core made of Infinergy®. This design isolates road shocks, dampens vibrations, supports pelvic movements while pedaling, and significantly reduces pressure on the sit bones.                                           

Twin Shell and Inner Core

Viewed from below, the SMC Core shows how the high-performance elastomer decouples the saddle’s two shells from one another. This sandwich-style construction, with its elastic core, allows the saddle to follow the natural movements of the pedal stroke. This provides support in all directions, from road surface vibrations to the rider’s pedal stroke.

Orthopedic Foam

The padding of the SMC Core is made of orthopedic comfort foam. The foam is supportive and soft, yet it doesn’t collapse. And the gel pad inserts offer even more comfort. With this saddle, cycling shorts aren’t a must. The saddle is covered with durable microfiber to prevent chafing and ensure the saddle’s longevity.

Minimizing Saddle Discomfort

When cycling, most of your body weight rests on the small surface area of the saddle. If the weight isn’t distributed evenly across the bony structures, unnecessary pressure is transferred to sensitive areas of soft tissue. A relief channel helps, but it isn’t the only important factor.

For ergonomic pressure distribution, the correlations between the distance between the sit bones and the saddle angle must be taken into account. An ergonomic bike saddle should have sufficient contact surface while also allowing the thighs to move freely. Cycling is not static, and while climbing, the rider intuitively slides toward the nose of the saddle to shift the body’s center of gravity forward; when pedaling downhill, the opposite occurs.

Ergon takes all these factors into account when developing its saddles, which is why it offers them in two widths to better suit the comfort needs of all cyclists.                                                 

Greater freedom of movement

Compared to women, the male pelvis tends to be less flexible. This means that men sit more upright on the saddle and place a greater portion of their body weight on the seat bones. Therefore, the transition area between the back of the saddle and the nose can remain narrow (Y-shaped). This gives the legs more room to pedal.

Sensitive nervous system

The deep channel relieves pressure on the perineal area; blood flow and oxygen supply are not restricted, which is the main cause of numbness and other discomforts. 

In men, numbness while cycling occurs more frequently due to high pressure in the sensitive perineal area. The external genitalia are generally not the cause of discomfort because they can give way and are usually not compressed by bony structures.

Pressure Distribution

It all comes down to optimal pressure distribution. The purpose of men’s-specific saddles is to keep pressure away from the perineal area and transfer the load to the bones and parts of the pubic arch. That is exactly what the contoured surface of the new Ergon Men saddles does.

Angle of the Pubic Bone

In contrast to female anatomy, the male pubic rami are at a much steeper angle, and the pelvic symphysis is located significantly higher.