Fabric Scoop Flat Pro saddle review

Fabric is a UK based manufacturer of cycling components, with an increasing range of bar tape and grips, tools, water bottles and saddles. It’s a spin-off from the Charge bike brand and its saddles are developed from that brand’s original offerings.

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Fabric has an innovative construction system for its saddles: rather than fixing the cover over the base and padding, the padding and its waterproof microfibre covering are glued to the base. This makes construction much simpler and results in weight savings too. That simplicity has allowed Fabric to offer the Fabric Scoop Flat Pro saddle in a myriad of formats dependent on your riding style: for more racing riders there’s the Flat profile, for a more sportive position there’s the Shallow profile, while for very upright riders the Radius is recommended. The different profiles vary not only in the amount of curvature of the base but in the amount of padding offered too.

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As well as the three different profiles, Fabric also offers the Scoop in different rail/base combinations. The bottom of the range has cro-mo alloy rails and a nylon base and retails for £39.99. Next up are saddles with titanium rails and a nylon base priced at £59.99. Move up a notch more and the saddle is offered with carbon fibre rails and a nylon base for £109.99, while the top spec saddle with carbon rails and a carbon fibre base comes in at £169.99.

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As you’d expect, weight decreases as you go up the range: from a claimed 244g to 162g for the flat. There’s a wide choice of base colour options and white or black covers too.

We have tested the Flat Pro, the next-to-top model with carbon rails and a nylon base. It is very light for its price. Without much curvature to its profile or much padding, the saddle is quite firm but comfortable for more aggressive riders. The firm ride means that you feel properly planted on your saddle, but you may find it a bit tiring for longer outings. Fortunately, it’s easy to find a Scoop saddle with more padding if this is the case, and Fabric sells saddles with more suspension to them, ones with a pressure relief channel, a tri saddle and the super-light 140g ALM so there are plenty of options available.