Recently, after a ride on one, I went ahead and purchased a Serfas Stinger RS from JensonUSA.com. I really like it so will post this quick review for those people, and there are some, who visit this site and look at my gear reviews.
Previously I was riding on a Sella Italia with no specific branding on it. I think it was a Sella Italia XO model. I had it on my road and cyclocross bike.
Not that it was a bad saddle. I really liked the two I had for the first couple years of riding. They had a bit of cushion on them, and with the shape and center cutout I had no issues... down there.
There was that, and it was affordable. I got my second Sella Italia for $15. A good deal for a saddle the fits.
Unfortunately, with the bumping and jostling of CX, the saddles both began to crack on the sides, up from the bottom, near the middle where the flex was the greatest.
Not wanting to break through the saddle mid-way through Paris to Ancaster, and having the seat grab my bits like a dog with a chew toy, I decided to check out some new saddles.
As well, over time, I began to get more and more soreness in my butt while riding, and tenderness in the tendons that join the upper hamstring.
I tried the Fizik, or should I say, Fi'zi:k, Arione and Antares. I wanted to like them, as they sponsor the club, but my perineum didn't like them, although they seemed like the right width. I don't appreciate penile numbness. Really.
After spending a few hours on those saddles, Tom loaned me a Stinger for a ride. It felt pretty good. Good enough that I ordered one.
For the sake of full disclosure, I must say that my sitbones are roughly 11-12 cm, or maybe 4.25 inches apart, center to center. At Jenson they say the width is 13 cm, and it weighs in a 190g. I'm pretty sure it's close to that, as I stuck it on the scale when it arrived just because, mainly, I opened the box in the kitchen.
It turns out that the cross sectional profile of this saddle is basically identical to the Sella Italia. Perhaps I'll take a comparison picture later. The real difference is that the Serfas has less padding, looks a bit nicer and is a bit narrower perhaps. Oh, and it's a heck of a lot cheaper than most other saddles out there.
This isn't some kind of revolutionary, unobtainium, super-pro, piece of kit. Perhaps it's a knockoff, but to me it's good value and after having put 100+ hours on it I have no complaints.
For $80 MSRP it fits the budget.
