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Selle Italia C2 Genuine Gel Review
By Andrey Yarbrough
May 17, 2004, 17:25
As an avid rider and racer who is approaching his mid-thirties, the viability and comfort of a bicycle saddle is of increased importance. I was pleased to have the opportunity to experience the Selle Italia C2 Genuine Gel saddle while testing it for Roadcycling.com.
The 70 gram, aluminum-wrapped, carbon (Vanox) rails and sturdy stitching are a testament to the overall quality that Selle Italia puts into its products. The padding is a new open cell foam while the Genuine Gel consisted of silicon gel inserts.
Selle Italia C2 Genuine Gel saddle
Based on the popular Flite shell, the Selle Italia Genuine Gel C2 was quite comfortable during my initial rides. I tested the C2 Genuine Gel on both my Bianchi road bike and Trek OCLV mountain bike to test overall performance. The rails on this new saddle have been shortened by 2 cm which limited the adjustability of the saddle. I couldn't quite get the saddle back far enough for optimum comfort. The padding was ample and gave the impression of being a much larger saddle. The first hour of riding was very comfortable, however my experience with gel saddles has been fraught with numbing, and the C2 Genuine Gel was no different. Within two hours, the numbness was there. Part of this may be due to the somewhat wider saddle and extra padding compared to what I'm used to.
Overall, the Selle Italia C2 Genuine Gel is a quality saddle that would be an excellent choice for an average rider, century or club ride. Avid racers would probably prefer a harder saddle, but could definitely use the GGC2 for training rides.
Selle Italia is definitely the saddle brand of choice to me. Although the Selle Italia Genuine Gel C2 was not for me, I will continue to use my Selle Italia Flite Classic.
