Specialized has released a new version of its Power Pro saddle with Mirror technology, a 3D-printed structure upper said to reflect your anatomy “perfectly”.
This is the third saddle Specialized has released with Mirror, and the first not to bear the ‘S-Works’ moniker, following the S-Works Power with Mirror and the S-Works Romin EVO with Mirror.
While the upper has the same Mirror technology as those two saddles, the difference lies in the rails, with the Power Pro with Mirror trading carbon for titanium.
Specialized claims the Power is the “strongest Mirror ever” because of the titanium rails and says it's suitable for road, mountain biking and gravel riding as a result.
The saddle is also described as Specialized’s “first step on the road to closed-loop production” because it uses reclaimed carbon fibre in the base.
The Power Pro with Mirror is suitable for men and women, and is available in two sizes: 143mm and 155mm. It costs £290 / $325 / AU$500 / €370.
Mirror technology
This isn't the first time we’ve seen the Power Pro come with additional technology to aid comfort – we reviewed the Power Pro with Elaston in 2018, which used a foam construction made with expanded beads said to feel like “sitting on 1,000 pillows”.
With Mirror, Specialized says it's looking beyond foam. The Power Pro is made by 3D-printing a liquid polymer into an “infinitely tunable honeycomb structure”, which is claimed to keep you comfortable, powerful and healthy because it ‘mirrors’ your anatomy.
The upper is said to be the same Mirror pad design as the one used on Specialized’s S-Works Pro with Mirror. The two saddles have 14,000 struts and 7,799 nodes to create the open-lattice design. This is fewer than the S-Works Romin EVO with Mirror, which has 22,000 struts and 10,700 nodes.
Specialized says the saddle’s patented Body Geometry design is lab-tested to ensure blood flow to sensitive areas.
Reclaimed carbon
Specialized says the Power Pro with Middle’s base is made using the brand’s new reclaimed carbon process.
This process sees scraps of carbon from factory production combined with injected nylon to create a base that is 15 per cent reclaimed carbon fibre, according to Specialized.
This is the first step the manufacturer says it is taking to develop “closed-loop production”, a process whereby materials and products can be recycled almost indefinitely without losing their properties.
When it comes to reducing emissions and waste material, carbon fibre poses difficulties for the cycling industry because it's tricky to recycle. Trek explained to BikeRadar that it worked with a carbon fibre recycling company that used a similar process of injection moulding to reuse fibres, but said the problem was the company couldn’t make it a sustainable business.
We’ll have to wait and see whether Specialized has more success with its recycling of the material.
