3D printing is the hottest new development in manufacturing, and as far as cycling goes, saddles have curiously emerged as an area that has seen the most widespread application with several models on offer from both Fizik and Specialized (and more to come, surely).
Although they’re horribly expensive, 3D-printed saddles have also proven to be freakishly comfortable while still being extraordinarily light and highly supportive. But what makes them so comfortable? When might they become more affordable? And why do they have to look so weird?
In this week’s episode, James sat down with folks from Fizik and Carbon — the 3D-printing development partner for both Fizik and Specialized — to get the nitty-gritty details on what 3D-printed saddles are all about, and where they’re heading from here.

The ins and outs of 3D-printed saddles

The CyclingTips Nerd Alert Podcast dives deep into the bikes and tech we all love. Road, gravel, mountain bikes, we cover it all. Hosted by James Huang, Dave Rome, and Caley Fretz.

Sports

Much of the attention on the Right to Repair movement in cycling has been concentrated on hard goods, like bikes, wheels, components, and so on. But it’s also important to remember that you can often fix clothing and bags at a nominal cost after a crash or even just due to wear and tear. Why throw it away when you can bring it back to life? In this week’s episode, we chat with two brands – Velocolour and Ortlieb – who are doing just that.

A new lease on life for clothing and bags

The Nerd Alert podcast had an unplanned week off, but rest assured we’re now back on schedule. In this episode, Senior tech editor Dave Rome chats with No.22’s co-founder Bryce Gracey. For those unfamiliar with No.22, let’s just say they’re often one of our first stops at the USA-based custom bike shows they attend.
This episode has a varied chat: including a deep-dive on the updates that No.22 revealed at the Philly Bike Expo, geometry concepts, stealthy travel bikes, and more. Enjoy!

Advancing metal bikes with No.22

One fun fact came out during our discussions with Specialized engineering mastermind Chris D’Aluisio: much of his testing of the company’s new Diverge STR fully suspended gravel bike has been on tarmac with a full complement of road components. In his words? “It’s awesome!” That got us thinking, especially given D’Aluisio’s background in Moto GP racing: if full suspension is good for gravel, then might it also make sense on the road, too? Give this one a listen before you pick up the pitchfork.

Suspension on gravel bikes

This week's episode is all about aerodynamics, efficiency, Filippo Ganna, and how Dan Bigham engineered two hour records.

Dan Bigham explains how hour records are broken

With the news that Pinarello's new Bolide F HR 3D track bike is the first UCI-approved 3D printed bike, Ronan visited Metron Dimitris Katsanis and find out how a bike is 3D printed and why.

The ins and outs of 3D-printed saddles

Download our free app to listen on your phone