SQlab uses science to design touchpoints that make riding your bike more comfortable. I’m paraphrasing, obviously, because German brands focused on biodynamics generally tend to use more technical language to describe their missions but, fundamentally, SQlab is out to make riding your bike feel more comfortable. Comfortable bikes are more fun to ride—it's a win-win.

I’m fairly picky when it comes to the saddles on my bikes, and I’m always quick to swap out uncomfortable stock saddles on review bikes. Nothing ruins my perception of a bike’s performance like a sore taint. Historically I’ve stuck to BikeYoke’s saddles. They fit my butt well, and they’ve held up to plenty of abuse. 

So when I started reviewing the SQlab ErgoWave Active 2.2 saddle (yes, I’ll just call it the 60X 2.2 from here on out) I was a little tentative. Luckily my worries were misplaced, and this might just be my new favorite saddle.

SQlab 60X ErgoWave Active 2.2 Overview

• Widths: 13, 14, 15, or 16 centimeters
• Rails: Hollow CrMo Tubes
• Weight: 281 g 
• Price: $179.99

SQlab Fit Process

You’re (hopefully) only contacting your bike in three places: hands, feet, saddle. That means that saddle fit is one of the most important factors to dial in if you want to ride your bike comfortably. The problem is that to properly fit your saddle you need to measure your sit bones, specifically how wide apart they settle. 

Some shops have specialized tools to do this, and some brands offer workarounds, including measuring the width of your wrist and extrapolating from there. But SQlab makes it simple: if you’re interested in one of the brand’s addles, they’ll send you a free fit kit.

Just follow the instructions, sit on the corrugated paper, mark your sit bone indents, and measure them. Armed with that number, you can narrow down the truly dizzying array of saddles based on width. My sit bones measured about 13 centimeters apart. I took that number and used it with SQlab’s formula which adds two centimeters for “all mountain and enduro.” That left me with  a 15 centimeter wide saddle. I typically run 14ish centimeter wide saddles, and the SQlab immediately felt a little wider than I’m used to, but not uncomfortably so.

While many brands offer one or two widths per saddle, SQlab offers four widths from 13 to 16 centimeters.

I rode the 60X ErgoWave Active 2.2 which is SQlab’s “Short MTB Enduro” saddle. The 2.2 version is 2 centimeters shorter than the 2.1.

SQlab ErgoWave Active 2.2 Features

This is no simple pleather-wrapped pad and platform. This is a feature-rich saddle. The 60X 2.2 is fairly flat side-to-side with a pronounced perineal indent. But front to back it has a distinctive stepped profile. SQlab says that this helps lock your butt into your ideal pedaling position and keeps you from shifting around uncomfortably. You can also shift back to the second step to relieve pressure on the perinial nerves. I experimented with this, and for my riding style at least, I prefer to spend pretty much all of my time in that front, locked in position, but everyone's taint is different, and this ability to swap positions may be helpful for many folks.

Underneath the saddle the rear end of the rails is suspended on SQlab’s “Active System” which uses elastomers to control the movement of the saddle as you pedal. You can quickly swap between the three supplied firmnesses to dial in the saddle to your weight and riding style. I experimented with these a little. The softest felt a little unstable for my 200 lbs, the middle elastomer felt just fine, and so did the stiffest. I’m not a huge fan of soft elastomers on other adjustable saddles I’ve used, so that was unsurprising. 

SQlab does a very good job of listing all the dimensions of its saddles, including details like “Relief of Perineal Area in %” which makes it much easier to compare saddles than the typical “we made this saddle that looks kinda different, maybe it looks like it will fit your gooch well?” attitude that some brands espouse.

SQlab 60X ErgoWave Active 2.2 Performance

When the 60X 2.2 showed up I took it for a quick test ride, and then immediately took off on a 10-day road trip. My test ride was favorable enough that I was confident in bringing it, but I did pack a spare saddle just in case.

I would characterize my experience on that trip as quietly positive. I didn’t really notice the saddle most of the time, which was ideal. I did run into some chafing, but so did everyone in my group. When you swim in alpine lakes and ride hard miles in wet underwear every day something has to give. I did notice that the saddle was a little wider between my legs while descending than I’m used to. I have a bad habit of getting knock-kneed on long descents, and I tagged the saddle with the inside of my thighs and knees a little more than I was used to. But overall, nothing stood out, which, to be clear, was a good thing.

And then I got home and hopped on a bike with my regular saddle and I immediately had to double check that it hadn’t been sabotaged. It was significantly less comfortable than I remember. I had hot spots on my butt. My lower back didn’t feel as supported. Nothing felt anywhere near as good as I remember.

But it was the same saddle I’ve been using for years. I think that I just got accustomed to the ErgoWave, and it was a bit of a shock coming back to reality.

Honestly, that’s one of the biggest compliments I can give a saddle. I don’t want to notice it. Instead I want to notice its absence. SQlab has done a good job of creating a saddle that does exactly that.

For Now

On the surface, SQlab’s 60X ErgoWave Active 2.2 Saddle is complicated. It has an intriguing shape and plenty of aggressive-sounding features. But cut through that noise and you’ve got a comfortable saddle that’s easy to size for your body.

Learn more: SQ-Lab.com