The Monte was made for enduro racing, but it’s a good choice for all-round trail riding too. We found that the slightly flexible sides and comfy padding make it particularly kind on the sit bones, even after long days in the saddle. Combine this with a generous channel to keep your sensitive parts happy, and multiple testers found it an agreeable place to sit. It’s quite a supportive shape, but the nose pokes up a little more than we’d like when climbing steep stuff, where it’s not the comfiest. The soft rear parts and sides make it especially forgiving if you slam into it when things go a bit wrong on the way back down. Despite having fi’zi:k’s top-spec hollow ‘K:ium’ (steel alloy) rails, it’s not particularly light. The manganese (another steel alloy) railed version is 15g heavier and $45 less, so that’s the model we’d go for.
Weight 245g
Price $135