Selle Royal Float Athletic saddle

The Selle Royal Float Athletic uses memory foam cushioning to offer a really well-supported and comfortable ride. While it won't necessarily be lusted over by fast road riders, for anybody who wants a little extra luxury, it's very good.

Although I spend most of my time on road.cc testing hybrids and commuting bikes, my background is in drop bars and generally lightweight bits of kit. In any case, I've been around cycling long enough to know that, when it comes to saddles, the kind of bulbous blimps that new or novice riders think are vital to protect their, er, vitals, are rarely the actual answer.

> Find your nearest dealer here

The problem with overpadded saddles is that you can't always legislate for where that padding goes, and it can end up restricting movement and even cause chafing. In truth, probably the best thing you can do to improve comfort is to buy good padded shorts and spend a sensible and regular amount of time in the saddle to build up your tolerance.

However, Selle Royal thinks it also has another answer. Its Float range of saddles uses Slow Fit memory foam which moulds itself to adapt to the shape of the body's contact points. This, Selle Royal says, "creates more uniform pressure distribution while maintaining effective support". This 'Athletic' model is the most svelte of the Float range (although, svelte-ness is all relative).

From afar, and certainly on a web page, that Athletic sobriquet looks justified and it seems to share the same kind of profile as a typical modern sporting or fitness saddle, even featuring a pressure-relieving open channel down the middle. However, put it next to another sports saddle and the Float appears just a tad inflated in certain aspects, most noticeably width across the nose. Its weight, at 387g, is substantial, too.

There is a payoff for that, though, and the Float Athletic's on-road performance is very good. The memory foam cushioning works a treat and offers a very comfortable base without ever feeling overtly soft or squidgy. Support is good across the width of the saddle and even the pressure-relieving channel does its job.

While the slender nose isn't really that slender, it doesn't impede or inhibit pedalling, even for folk with chunky thighs. In fact, because it's wider than the norm, sitting further forward on the saddle is easy. If you want to spend some quality time on the bike, the Float Athletic offers good opportunities to vary your position a bit. That said, I'm a terrible fidget in the saddle but I actually found myself noticeably wriggling far less while aboard this, which must be a subconscious sign of comfort.

There are also a couple of extra features worth mentioning. The first is that the Athletic is a unisex model. The second is that it boasts Selle Royal's integrated clip system at the back, so you can attach compatible lights, seatpacks or other accessories easily.

Value

Time was when even the mention of memory foam made your wallet wince, but £34 for this seems a pretty good deal.

We haven't traditionally tested a lot of leisure saddles at road.cc, far less any with memory foam, but there are other sports saddle that do offer good cushioning.

The £34.99 women-specific Liv Contact Comfort Forward offers similar benefits at a very similar price (and is also a tad bulky).

> Buyer’s Guide: How to choose the right saddle for your bottom

The Selle Italia Sport Gel Flow FeC-Alloy is comfortable, sporting and also sub-£40.

And if you want to splash the cash, at £99.99 Selle San Marco's Shortfit Supercomfort Dynamic is a very comfortable stubby and wide sports seat with cushioning that might just suit non-sporting riders as well.

Conclusion

Although I don't share it, I do understand some riders' worries about hard, skinny saddles. To that end, the Float Athletic seems to be a fine answer. While it shares modern sport saddles' aesthetics – which, to be fair, are built on efficient and comfortable function – its use of really effective memory foam padding does offer reassuring support for delicate undercarriages.

While I think it's a little too heavy and chunky to be of much attraction to experienced riders with well-worn-in bums, for anybody with specific saddle concerns, it offers all the comfort with only a little compromise.

Verdict

Really good memory foam saddle that'll suit comfort seekers perfectly, but speed demons look elsewhere