Interbike 2015 - BiSaddle Da Vinci

The Da Vinci adjustable saddle. This image shows the extremes of possibility; it is continuously adjustable to anything in between.

Of everything I saw at Interbike 2015, perhaps my favorite new product is the Da Vinci from a new company called BiSaddle. Right now, the shape makes it look a little 'comfort bike-esque,' which is why I almost walked right past the booth. But just ignore the shape for a moment, and stay with me here. Trust me, it's worth the read.

Da Vinci is essentially a fully customizable, completely adjustable split-nose saddle. You can adjust the spread of the twin noses, the width of the rear end, and even the firmness and thickness of the padding. The padding is made of a honeycomb mesh which comes in three thicknesses and three densities. It is further customizable, as it's a honeycomb mesh that can be plugged with additional dampers to make the padding firmer in places. The noses can also be rolled outward, to adjust their tilt angle. This is truly a chameleon of a saddle, and virtually guaranteed to fit anyone.

Color options abound as well, and both the cover and rails come in a variety of hues. Interestingly, the rails are aluminum, a material not usually used in saddles for its inferior crush strength over steel or titanium. But in this case, I believe the rails are solid, rather than hollow, so the aluminum doesn't crush.

The base chassis, onto which all the parts are bolted, is completely user-adjustable.
The saddle is built upon a chassis that consists of the aluminum rails and a few injection-molded plastic parts that serve as the base for the padding and cover. But the chassis also has a couple more attachment points for a transition hook (already in production), as well as a rear bottle carrier that is still in prototype phase.

Now let's talk a bit more about that shape. BiSaddle is the brainchild of Jon Petty, who is also the designer and engineer. A man after my own heart. Jon owns all the tooling and equipment used to make these saddles, and was very receptive to my concern about both the aesthetic of that wide flared back end, as well as the suitability for triathletes. I suggested he make the flare more linear, similar to the Dash saddles, or the Adamo Attack (now called the Performance Narrow). Jon was completely on board with that idea, and it makes me really excited about the possible future of this company. He even suggested he might send me some prototypes to test, something I had the privilege to do with Dash as well during the development of their saddles.

Have a look at the gallery below, and definitely stay tuned for more about this brand.