For the first few years of bike riding, I never realized that something as simple as a bike seat could make such a huge difference.

I first bought a “comfort” seat about a year ago, after several frustrating and painful distance rides. That seat was a dream. All of a sudden I could ride over 30 miles without going numb, and to me, that was all that mattered.

Then I discovered singletrack. Up until that point all I had done was ride on roads and city paths, so technical dirt trails posed a new challenge.

The “comfort” seat failed miserably on this terrain. Every time I had to come back over the saddle after a steep descent I got my shorts snagged and wound up crashing. Not to mention the fact that my riding buddies called me “grandma” due to the unsightly appearance of the “gel” masterpiece.

Then Titec’s Ithys Amore seat came into my life. Oh, what a joyous day! I still remember gingerly mounting it to my post, anxious to try this new miracle that I’d been hearing about. I don’t think I’ll ever get another seat.

For starters, this seat weighed half of what my previous seat weighed. This in itself was enough to make me happy. At 245 grams, it’s not bad for the rugged quality it provides.
The comfort of this seat was very surprising as well: I still didn’t go numb and I was wearing the same padded shorts as I had been previously.

My biggest concern, however, was whether or not I would have hang-ups when returning to the saddle. Immediately it was apparent that this would no longer be a problem. The narrow design and slant of the seat make it much more compact, and as a result I’m never scared to hop off and on when I need to.

The bottom line: this seat is phenomenal. While some of you may have experienced the pleasure of a $200 titanium seat, I haven’t, so for now I’m happy as a kid in a candy shop. This seat has slammed into trees, rocks, and countless crotches and still has yet to show a sign of wear. Oh yea, and it makes my bike look cool. So, if you have 56 bucks and want to get rid of the notorious banana seat you’ve been sporting since the sixties, go to Titec’s site and buy this bad boy.