Vetta Saddles

The Vetta Lite Gel Saddles are made in Italy, and use multiple layer construction that includes a layer of elastopolymer gel to soften the ride in the way that additional body tissue would. It begins with a nylon shell as the base for the layers. Over this shell molded high density foam padding is placed. The padding has molded into it, a trough, that runs nearly from end to end. In this trough a molded package of elastopolymer gel (this is the famous gel that is now used in gloves, seats, seat pads, and grips) is placed. The gel is covered by a layer of neoprene rubber for added softness, with a layer of Lycra over the neoprene which permits further movement or "squishing" of the gel, so the saddle can contour to your body. For weather protection there is a layer of PolyVinylChloride (PVC) plastic to waterproof the inner layers. Thick stretch Lycra or Astrale covering then surrounds the entire assembly. The Lycra or Astrale cover is glued at the bottom of the sides and on the underside of the lip. For additional protection the Lycra or Astrale is stapled on the underside of the tail. The Vetta Lite Gel saddle uses spring steel rails with the return curve at the rear of the saddle. The rails end at the front, 1 3/8" from the tip. The return curve is 3 3/4" long and fits within a molded-in-the-shell housing. The Vetta Lite Gel Saddle comes in four styles, Mens (touring), Womens (touring), Racing, and ATB (mountain bike saddles are slightly wider at the tail because you sometimes land in odd ways). A top down, silhouette image is provided above to show each of their relative sizes. These shots were done at exactly the same distance so they show each of their shapes and sizes relative to each other. The exact weights and dimensions are provided in the saddle table. We have noted that the Racing model which should be physically the smaller of the four has an oddly heavy weight, we have checked it several times and our production specimen really weighed 431 1/5 grams. The Lite Gel saddle comes in one of two coverings, Lycra which is a smooth feeling woven nylon based material that has a texture and a grain. They also come in "Astrale" which an odd material that feels curiously like "moist human skin". Astrale is a fabric that is roughly 3/16" thick and has three layers. The bottom layer is a thin, thin foam padding that is bonded to a thin, nylon Lycra-like white fabric. The top layer is a 1/16" Black synthetic rubber material which is smooth but has a tacky feel to it. The surface feels like "moist human skin" and it amazes people who feel it. The Vetta Lite Gel saddles are available in Lycra or Astrale only.

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Made in Italy, the Vetta VSA brings something new to the Gel saddle market. It has many things in common with the Vetta Lite Gel saddles. They have the same six layer construction (read above) on a very similar nylon base. The outer Lycra or Astrale covering is glued to the sides and the underneath of the lip. There are no staples holding down the covering under the tail, instead there is a large molded plastic housing that is screwed down with the same type of screw the Selle Turbo Super uses (but it is well known, in the industry, that Selle Italia makes many of the Vetta saddles with just a Vetta for Selle Italia name change). The Vetta VSA Gel Saddle uses spring steel rails with the return curve at the back of the saddle. The rails end at the front, 1 3/8" from the tip. The return curve is at the back, to provide a broader support. The return curve is 3 1/4" wide, with a pocket of what Vetta calls "gel", but is really a dense, soft plastic compound with serrations on top to provide a bit more give, that surrounds the rail. This is the Vetta Shock Absorber system and provides additional fanny shock protection, (see inset). The Vetta VSA comes in four styles, Mens (touring), Womens (touring), Racing, and ATB. A top down, silhouette image is provided above to show each of their relative sizes. These shots were done at exactly the same distance so they show each of their shapes and sizes relative to each other. The exact weights and dimensions are provided in the saddle table. The Vetta VSA Gel Saddle comes in one of two coverings, Lycra which is a smooth feeling woven nylon based material that has a texture and a grain. They also come in "Astrale", (see above). The Vetta VSA saddles are available in Black Lycra or Black Astrale only. Limited availability.

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The Vetta Lite is a straight forward racing style saddle made in Italy, by Selle Italia, with hollow Cro-moly steel rails to reduce the over all weight. The shell is made of fairly stiff molded nylon, with depressions under the rails for extra padding and comfort. The cushion for the Vetta Lite comes from a traditional molded high density foam rubber that contours the shape of the saddle. The rubber padding covers the top from nose to tail and tapers in thickness on the sides, feathering into the shell at the bottom. The saddle is covered with a smooth Black leather, that is stretched and wrapped over the entirety, then cleanly glued in place, including under the shell. The leather wrapping the nose has special cuts made to help shape the leather to fit the outer and inner roundness of the nose area. The Vetta Lite has rear rail receivers molded as a part of the shell and suspends the rails away from the shell top by 1/4" permitting the saddle to flex up and down slightly to cushion the ride. The return curve bridge, at the front joins both sides, and the top of the shell, as well as the rail assembly. The rails are made from hollow, 7mm in diameter, cro-moly steel tubing that's painted Grey. The return curve is at the front, about 1 7/8 inches, (48mm), from the tip of the saddle. The Vetta Lite comes in Black or White and weighs 233 grams. Limited Availabilty

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The Vetta Floating Air series of saddles uses slightly more traditional means to cushion the rider, though it still has the Vetta Shock Absorber (VSA) dense rubber compound at all the rail contact points but it has no gel. The Floating Air uses a nylon shell made of stiff molded nylon plastic then covered with several layers of padding material. The layer next to the shell is a waterproofed fabric, that is contact cemented to the shell, and makes a stable base for the upper layers. Above this fabric is two open celled foam pads, which Vetta refers to as a baffle, because open cell foam permits air to be squeezed out and pulled back in again, like a sponge does water. Over the two foam pads is a sealed air chamber which works like the gel does in the Vetta Lite Gel saddle, allowing give and rise to cushion shock. The layer above the air chamber is made of closed cell foam padding, rather like the high density foam used in many other saddles. These layers are covered at the surface by a woven nylon fabric, with a dimpled Astrale cover, that Vetta refers to as a "Grip" fabric. This outer cover is stretched and glued to the underside of the shell, with plastic shrouds that cover the rail assembly. The shell and rail assembly are the same as the VSA saddle. The return curve is at the rear, with the Black painted, spring steel rail enclosed in a soft plastic shock absorber, located in a broad molded housing in the shell, that would be a rear rail receiver. The Vetta Floating Air comes in four styles, Mens (touring), Womens (touring), Racing, and ATB. A top down, silhouette image is provided above to show each of their relative sizes. These shots were done at exactly the same distance, so they show each of their shapes and sizes relative to each other. The exact weights and dimensions are provided in the saddle table. The rail ends are at the front 1 1/4" (30mm), from the tip. The Floating Air comes in Black only. Limited availability.

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The Vetta SL Cro-Moly is one of two lighter weight racing style saddles from Vetta. Made in Italy, by Selle Italia, it has the new minimalist styling first made famous with the Selle Flight saddle. The shell is a single piece molded nylon design. On the shell is a high density, molded foam rubber pad that extends from tail to nose tip, then slopes over the sides, feathering into the saddle shell at the bottom of it's sides. The padding is covered in a smooth Black leather that is glued down on the top, sides and underneath the lip of the shell. The rear rail receivers are rectangular blocks, molded with full contact as a part of the shell. The rail return curve is at the front, 1 1/4" from the nose tip. The return curve fits into a bridge molded as a part of the saddle shell, joining the top, and both sides of the nose, providing rigidity. The rail assembly is made of heat treated Cro-moly steel tubing, painted Grey, which affords real weight reduction. Underneath the saddle, at the rear, is a Grey, plastic, snap-in cover over the glued down leather edge of the tail. This plastic piece is also exposed on the saddle top, in the form of the Blue Vetta name plate and holder. The Vetta SL comes in a Racing style, (which is fashioned a little different from the other Vetta Racing shapes, please see silhouette), Womens, and ATB style. The Vetta SL Racing weighs 232 grams.

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The Vetta SL Titanium is nearly the same saddle as above, with just three variants. The rear of the rear rail receiver blocks have a Silver "V" on them, and the Blue label on top is Green. Thirdly, the rail assembly is made of a single piece of 7mm thick Titanium 6Al-4V rod, to reduce the weight slightly. As with the SL, the SL Titanium comes in a Racing style, (which is fashioned a little different form the other Vetta Racing shapes, please see silhouette), Womens, and ATB style. Our writing, is based on a production version of the Racing model SL Titanium only. At time of writing, the other two Womens and ATB were not yet available, as production models, in the US, so we don't have specifics on the exact shape or weight of the Womens or ATB. The Vetta SL Titanium Racing weighs 220 grams.

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