Skip to main content

Bontrager Montrose Elite 138mm saddle


Bontrager market the Montrose as a mountain bike and road saddle. Don’t let that put you off though, as it works great off-road. Although the hard rear is slightly unnerving when hanging off the back of the saddle on gnarly descents, it doesn’t get in the way too much. The obvious cutout down the middle takes all the weight off your sensitive areas and puts it onto your sit bones, where it should be. Due to the fairly hard hull and modest levels of padding, our main tester did get a spot of soreness on the sit bones during very long rides, but interestingly, not nearly as much as with Bontrager’s MTB-specific Kovee. It’s definitely a perch that works best with a good chamois, and it offers great support and comfort for steep climbs. There’s a choice of widths.

Weight 210g

Price $135

Popular posts from this blog

Cannondale Trail SL 29 SS

The fat aluminium tubes are a constrast to the skinny items seen elsewhere in the test, but this rigid Cannondale uses them to create one of the most old-school - and lightest - rides here.

KONA SHRED

With a reputation for no-nonsense ruggedness and a background in the always progressive and punishing riding of Canada, Kona have been building hardcore hardtails for longer than almost anyone else. The Shred is the most expensive bike on test but it’s a proper trail tank.

SKS Airbuster CO2 inflator

The alloy Airbuster has a large knob so you can regulate the flow of gas, a mechanical stop to prevent the cartridge being pierced in transit and a dust cap to keep the valve free of debris. While it works with Presta and Schrader valves, switching between them requires a fiddly change of the valve head. The thin rubber sleeve doesn’t provide much protection from cold spent canisters. You can’t insert much of the valve into the inflator head, so you have to be careful to avoid leaks. Price $33 w/16g cartridge

Anthony Messere’s Morpheus Vimana Slope

A flying chariot built with one thing in mind – slopestyle domination

Cube Elite C68 SL 29

Cube’s carbon 29er hardtail is built for one job only – winning races WHY IS THIS A SUPER BIKE?