My bum bones are liking the 614 Ergowave active 2.1 S-Tube bike saddle by SQlab

Patrick Bardelli

25.8.2023

Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson

Pictures: Patrick Bardelli

New saddle, less soreness? After 400 kilometres on the 614 Ergowave active 2.1 S-Tube by SQlab, I’m drawing my first conclusion. My verdict? With this saddle, I’m on the right track.

In May, I grabbed the chance to have my sit bone width measured at the SQlab stand at Cycle Week, Switzerland’s largest bike show. There, I found out that my previous saddle by Selle Italia was about two inches too wide.

If your bicycle saddle’s too narrow, it will put pressure exactly where you don’t want it. It’s important that your sit bones rest fully on the saddle. If your saddle’s too wide, you’ll get chafe marks from your thighs rubbing against the sides of it. This also reduces pedalling efficiency, as the saddle impedes pedal movement. The saddle shouldn’t be too soft either. If it is, your sit bones sink to the extent that it aggravates sensitive deep tissue such as muscle and tendon insertions. After around 30 minutes, you’ll develop a dull pain that feels like pushing and pulling. Here’s a more extensive piece on this topic:

614 Ergowave active 2.1 S-Tube by SQlab

Since then, I’ve been riding on the 614 Ergowave active 2.1 S-Tube by German company Sqlab and have covered around 400 kilometres with this gravel saddle. The version with a width of 13 centimetres weighs about 230 grammes. That makes it almost the same weight as the Flite Boost by Selle Italia, which is the one I previously used.

Bike saddles

CHF142.–

Sqlab Active 2.1

6

A special feature of the 614 Ergovave is its active saddle technology. According to the manufacturer, it follows your pedalling movement, which increases comfort, mobilises the intervertebral discs and minimises pressure on your sit bones. Three so-called elastomers are included with the saddle. These are available in soft, medium and hard and can be replaced with a bit of fiddling with the saddle.

I tried out all three and went for the hard, black version. To be honest, my decision was more of a gut feeling, though. So far, my intervertebral discs haven’t been able to detect any real difference between the three degrees of hardness. While I feel almost no difference there, things are very different compared to my previous saddle. The pain in my lower back has gone down significantly since I’ve been using the product by SQlab.

No pressure

The slight dip in the middle of the 614 Ergowave active 2.1 S-Tube is intended to reduce pressure on the sensitive structures of the perineal area – both for women and men. This is achieved by the saddle’s low, flat, only slightly curved nose. This combination provides as much contact surface as possible, which does a better job reducing pressure than other saddles.

The raised tail improves rearward grip and provides efficient power transfer when you’re cycling off-road. I clearly felt this on my rides. And finally, its wave-like shape in combination with the raised rear ensures the best possible pressure distribution down to the deep structures of your body. According to SQlab, this makes the power transmission to the pedal much better.

Conclusion: a step in the right direction

Since learning about my booty proportions at SQlab stand at Cycle Week, I’ve been paying a little more attention to the saddle width on every ride and noticed the extra two centimetres. Suddenly, I could feel my old saddle rub against my inner thighs with every pedal push.

Now that I’ve switched to the 614 Ergowave active 2.1 S-Tube, that problem’s solved. 13 inches definitely seems like the right width for my bum and riding style. The padding and good shock absorption also make this saddle comfortable for cycling.

Having said that, my left hand and the sole of my right foot still occasionally go numb. I was hoping this annoyance would go away with the new saddle. But, of course, there are other factors at play. The saddle height, inclination and so on. The subject’s complex, so my next step will be taking my gravel bike for a professional bike fitting to find the perfect sitting position for me.

For now, the new saddle by SQlab is definitely a step in the right direction.

Patrick Bardelli

Senior Editor

Patrick.Bardelli@digitecgalaxus.ch

From radio journalist to product tester and storyteller, jogger to gravel bike novice and fitness enthusiast with barbells and dumbbells. I'm excited to see where the journey'll take me next.

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