For 35 years, Velo has been producing a huge chunk of the saddles of the world. Claiming to be responsible for about 80% of the saddles sold in the USA, and making more than 15 million saddles per year, Velo and founder Stella Yu certainly know their way around a bike seat. Looking to honor the brand’s Taiwanese heritage, Velo has been offering a special saddle each year based on the Chinese New Year. Each year is given an animal that represents one of the 12 year cycle of the Chinese Zodiac. In the past few years we’ve seen the sheep or goat, monkey, and now, the Rooster…
It may not have ears hanging off the back like the Year of the Goat saddle, but the Rooster saddle is still quite eye catching with a high contrast red/white look. Based off of their Angel saddle, the Chinese New Year seat gets an upgrade this year with Velo’s high end AirForm padding. According to Velo this is the “first innovation in padding in 35 years” of saddle production and provides better shock absorption, shape retention, and heat dissipation over high density foam. The Angel also uses a Y-shaped construction to allow the back half of the saddle to flex for better comfort, especially on longer rides. Available through most local bike shops, the saddles will sell for $130.
