Specialized releases new Power Pro with Mirror 3D printing tech

Still currently a technology limited to both Specialized and Fizik, 3D printing a saddle pad from a liquid polymer is beginning to trickle it’s way down the saddle hierarchy, and now there is another saddle to potentially add to the growing list of the best 3D printed saddles; the Specialized Power Pro with Mirror.

Regardless of whether it's a Fizik or a Specialized option, the aim of these saddles is to provide a greater level of comfort. Using 3D printing, the brands can tune the level of cushioning to a greater degree, and avoid any transition zones between padding of differing densities which could create ridges. Given the construction is also a mesh, it also provides the opportunity to make things lighter too, if that’s your cup of tea.

S-Works tech at a more accessible price 

The Specialized Power saddle isn’t the new kid on the block it once was, and many other brands now offer a snub-nosed option. The shape has become extremely popular, with a multi-tiered system. The Comp and Expert tiers feature standard foam padding, the Pro previously featured Elaston beads, and the Mirror tech was reserved for the S-Works Power with Mirror, which went down a treat here at Cyclingnews.

Now, the Pro tier has been overhauled: Gone are the Elaston beads, and in their place is the same pad from the S-Works Power with Mirror, with the aim of bringing the greater claimed levels of comfort to more riders, and over a wider range of terrain too, as the Power Pro is rated for road use, of course, but also for gravel and trail. It is, according to Specialized, the strongest Mirror saddle available, thanks to the use of titanium rails.

The shell is still a carbon fibre offering, with SWAT mounts for Specialized accessories built into the rear. In a shift from virgin materials, Specialized has opted to utilise carbon scraps from the factory to make up 15 per cent of the carbon in the saddle. This is, it claims, a first step towards creating a more sustainable product, and a closed-loop production. It is also good business sense too, cynics would point out.

Specs and pricing 

The Specialized Power Pro with Mirror is available in both 143mm and 155mm widths and will set you back £290 / $325 / €370 / AU$500

On our scales, a 143mm Power Pro with Mirror weighs in at 255g. This is surprisingly higher than the former Power Pro, which weighed 231g, while the S-Works Power with Mirror tips the scales at a cool 192g.