Review! Cobb Cycling HC170

I've been doing more training and racing than ever on my road bike since my "return." There were a lot of things that took some time to re-adjust myself to... some old "creaking" and some new "aches" that you'd expect from a return to endurance training. However, there was one thing I didn't have to worry about, and that was my nether bits. That's because I still had my trusty HC170.

Minimalistic doesn't mean uncomfortable

Again, full disclosure is that I'm a Cobb Mobb athlete. That said, I'm not required to do reviews, and as a rule I only do reviews on things I have tried and liked, but as always, use your own judgement to determine what you believe on the internet!

With that out of the way let's talk about this saddle. First, it's intended for roadies, not triathletes / time trialists (to my dismay, it's just a little bit off working. The SHC is a good saddle as well for those purposes though!) although it's been serviceable for me in that capacity when I've "rigged" my road bike up for short sprint races. That said, even I think it would be fairly spartan to try to ride on it in an aggressive aero position for long distances.

A short course tri setup is fine for the HC170, I would just avoid the longer stuff

Of course, as I said above, this is a roadies saddle, not a triathletes. And in that respect it excels. Feeling the saddle in your hands it's hard to imagine that it's comfortable to sit on, there is nothing there! And that's the beauty of the HC170... it just disappears. Admittedly, I'm generally against the modern trend in saddles to be much "fleshier." I have never been a big fan of super soft saddles, and I am especially not a fan of wider saddles. No worries here!

The HC stands for Hard Core, and the 170 is the weight. Even the (old) Cobb Website (the HC170 seems to have been discontinued unfortunately) warned that this saddle was for lightweight MEN who were competitive racers, not long distance tourers. I can't comment on the saddle for women, but I've logged over 6 hours on it, a couple of times on a trainer. If you've never done something as stupid crazy fun as ride on a trainer for six hours, take my word for it, you'll find out just how good or bad your saddle is for long rides. I can happy exclaim that after many of these long rides (and with no chamois cream might I add) I am still saddle sore free. It's easy to forget that despite being a minimalist design, this is still a V-flow saddle at heart. The cutout does an excellent job of relieving some pressure even with no nose padding.

The "disclaimer" to this review (and the saddle) is that it likely is only a solid solution to a certain group of people.  If you are a bigger rider or have wider sit bones, it's easy to imagine this saddle not working for you. Pretty much the truth of every saddle (and every saddle review you read) is that it will be very tough to find your perfect saddle off of someone else's experience. Most of my friends (that log pretty heavy miles) would not recommend the HC170. Of course, I can't think of any of them that have actually tried it. Most give it a look, see it's fairly minimal design and say "not for me." I'm guilty of not trying a lot of saddles myself based on looks (keep all the stub nosed short split saddles away!) and it could very well be keeping all of us from trying our perfect saddle! (I tried the Randee not so long ago and loved it on my tt bike, despite it not looking my style!)

So, if you are a racer or rider who stays in a fairly aggressive road position (I've found this saddle really shines when I'm in the drops or the Sphinx position, which generally means slid pretty forward on it) looking for a less bulky, lightweight saddle, this is an excellent choice. I would also suggest the SHC (review of it here) as another fairly minimalist choice from Cobb (the SHC does have more padding) or, use the new Cobb Cycling website Saddle Finder.

The HC170 strapped to the trainer ready for some mileage

Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it!

- Christopher Morelock

The Cobb Mobb Website is ALIVE!!

Two posts in one day! Crazy Talk!

Just wanted to share that the new Cobb Mobb Website is now alive and kicking! Check out all the members, the story, and some blog entries! 

Link to the new site!

Link to my bio (in case you were only a semi-stalker)

Thanks all for checking it out!

Christopher Morelock

Review! Cobb SHC170 Saddle

Locked and loaded on the Cervelo ready for miles.

I'm a Cobb Mobbster. (here's your plug... check out what's up on Facebook) Therefore, I'm not going to blame you to immediately judge me and this review as "propaganda." It's human nature to be suspicious. When it comes to believing what you read about "gear" that goes on your bike, you had D@%$# well better be suspicious... there's plenty of people/companies out there trying to get your hard earned cash... at any cost. (the best puns are the easy ones)

Nonetheless, you'd be wrong if you were one of these judgmental fellows. There are plenty of things you could "fake" a review on. A saddle that you actually use is NOT one of those things. Immediately moving to my point about companies after your dollar... Cobb Cycling is hands down the fairest company in the saddle business. Ninety (~3 months - 90 days - 2,160 hours - 129,600 minutes - a...lot... of seconds) day guarantee and free shipping to your door (if you don't have an LBS selling Cobb products) so you don't have to trust me or anyone else, you've got time to find the solution yourself.

Of course, if you wanted to see some name dropping on fast people who ride this saddle... how about one of the guys who had a lot of input on it.

Rappstar is a fast dude with a slick saddle choice :)

So, now that we've got that out of the way, lets' get to the actual review of the saddle.

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Everyone has some specific needs addressed when it comes to their body and saddle fit. For me, the issue has always been the width of the nose and the length of the saddle/rails. I've always pedaled with my knees very close to the top tube, so my inner thighs do not comply with a wide nosed saddle. The original Blackwell Adamo I had required the "zip tie" mod to keep me from leaving the trainer with bloody thighs. Eventually I settled on the Arione Tri2, as it was readily available and long/narrow enough to cause me no issues, as well as firm. (I can't stand a soft squishy saddle on any bike.) And so, as the apathetic among you can relate, I thought my hunt for saddles was done. I was able to put in long mileage on a Tri2, so why continue the search? And so time passed.

Enter the demo phase.

I want it all and I want it now!

It started innocuously enough. I went to my LBS to pick up a road bike saddle. (The HC170) While I was there we got to talking about Cobb saddles and they told me they had some demo's in the back. So, after some elimination process at the store (they wouldn't let me take ALL of them.) I settled on trying the Gen2 and the SHC. (The other demo's available were the V-Flow + and Max and the JOF... from my eyeball test they all seemed less likely to fit my style than the other two.)

After a few days on the Gen2 (which ended up being right on the cusp of too wide at the nose) I mounted up the SHC.

Here's the spec rundown for SHC
$199.00
202grams total weight (a little less than half a pound)
35mm wide at the nose (I actually measured just a tad narrower)
260mm long
75mm of saddle rail

Mounted up for the maiden voyage

If you listen to people talk about searching for the right saddle, you will often hear about one just clicking. The "right" saddle. I had personally thought that was a bunch of hogwash... a bunch of nancy boys (and girls) whining that their saddle didn't feel like sitting on air when they were crunched down in an aero position. I'm not saying my Arione was a painful ride, but it felt like I thought a saddle should in an aggressive position... tolerable.

That first ride was an eye opener. One thing I like to do when I'm trying out a saddle is give it an hour ride in "race mode." That is, tri shorts with very minimal chamois and little/no Butt'r. I do that because I believe most saddles can be made tolerable if you are wearing good bike shorts/bibs and enough cream. However, tri shorts are usually very thin and I've never actually pre-applied cream before a swim... I always figured it'd be pointless. After an hour of 5x5 sets, I came to a conclusion... this saddle is SICK. Pretty much it was all the things I liked about my Arione, but with more attention to the details of making the saddle work for a long time in an aero position... which is something that is really noticeable on the trainer. (where you don't get micro breaks for adjustment like you do on the road.) The cutout and memory foam were both especially welcome additions for comfort that didn't compromise the "raciness" of the SHC.

That's the good. The bad? I think you'd be hard pressed to find many dislikes from this saddle (if it's the right saddle for you.) but if you had a gun to my head the one thing missing (from Cobb saddles in general) is a lighter weight option and a fairly limited number of colors. Of course on my Aluminum P3 the ~20 or so grams that could be saved by going to carbon are nil, (as is weight in general on a tri bike in my not quite humble opinion) but nonetheless it's an option many of the big saddle companies offer if for no other reason than "bling" factor. Likewise, the color options are limited, so making your ride perfectly match may be an issue. (Although with Black/White being available, you are still safe by "the rules.")

Besides that your only concern is whether you need (or want) a more aggressive saddle. Many very fast guys I know heavily prefer a more padded/supported saddle, and that's why it's important to try out a variety and pick the one that's right for YOU. I will say, if you are like me and have been content with something like the Arione (the San Marco and older Specialized tri saddle also come to mind) then I would suggest having a look, or better yet, a demo, of the SHC. You might find a new favorite seat.

That only leaves "the ugly..."

Just showing off the power between my legs...
(If your mind is in the gutter...well this is the blog for you I suppose...)

So I'll end the review there. This weekend is the Knoxville Half Marathon, my first race of the season. With any luck I won't embarrass myself and with a good amount of luck I'll be back next week with a race report about my PR. (Fingers crossed.)

As always, thank you all so much for delving into my thoughts, I really appreciate it.

- Christopher Morelock