Review: Selle Italia Women's Diva Gel Flow saddle

A new bike means a new saddle. Find out how I got on with this model from an Italian company specialising in bike saddles

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I’ve learned that a new bike requires the purchase of a new saddle pretty darn quickly. I suspect this is especially true for cheaper models, as one of the ways manufacturers can save money is on the seat.

Much as I love my new bike, the seat was causing some serious chafing in areas you really don’t want chafed. I could have changed it for the saddle that’s currently on my hybrid, which is perfectly comfortable, but I wanted something a bit special. Also I intend to carry on using the hybrid and don’t really want to have to swap over each time.

The Selle Italia Women's Diva Gel Flow saddle.

As this is the bike I’ll be doing the London to Cambridge on, I was prepared to spend a bit more to ensure comfort. I also did a lot more research this time. In fact my last saddle was a case of ‘I need a new seat; that one looks nice.’ It also only cost about £20.

Turning to some trusted cycling sites, notably Wiggle and Total Women’s Cycling, it soon transpired that most women agree that the Selle Italia Women’s Diver Gel Flow saddle is about the best there is. This retails at £79.99, but it’s currently available on Wiggle for £55.99.

It’s available in both black and white, but I particularly liked the white version. The silver and pink highlights nicely match my grey and pink bike, and this is a neat, nice-looking saddle that doesn’t look out of place on a sleek road bike.

During my research, two pieces of advice stood out to me. First was that your saddle should go unnoticed; second was if you’re saying that your saddle is ‘exactly what I want, except for this one thing …’ then it isn’t exactly what you want.

I forgot about the seat completely and just enjoyed myself – which is entirely the point

After fitting the new seat I took the bike out for a short ride to test it out. It was only when I stopped at a junction and actually thought about the reason for the ride that that first bit of advice came back to me. The only thing I noticed about the new saddle was that I hadn’t noticed it. By the end of the ride the front of the saddle was pressing into my pubic bone, which was quite uncomfortable, but there was no chafing.

The silicone gel inserts are nicely positioned for the sit bones, providing excellent cushioning. I also found that I was seated very securely, with no sliding forwards or backwards. The large cutout adds to the comfort.

I had deliberately put the saddle in the zero position to begin with, knowing that I might have to tilt it forward slightly. So when I got home I adjusted the saddle accordingly.

Of course a short ride was fine as a test, but I needed to get the bike out for longer to be really sure. A 13 miler this weekend was perfect. And the saddle performed exceptionally well. No chafing, no rubbing and no pressing into bones. On the way out I was deliberately concentrating on how things felt down there and there really was nothing to report. Coming home I forgot about the seat completely and just enjoyed myself. Which is entirely the point.

The silver and pink styling nicely matches my
grey and pink bike. All photos Idoru Knits.