A couple of months back, I wrote a post about my favorite performance saddles, the Bontrager inForm line and the hard science that went into their creation. Since my article was posted, several people have added comments to the post asking if there were saddles available for their hybrid/city bikes that would provide them with the same level of comfort and support as the original line of inForm performance saddles had for road bike riders. When the article was first posted, there wasn’t anything to be had. But in August at the Trek dealer show Trek World in Madison, Wisconsin, a new line of inForm saddles called the Nebula Plus inForm was unveiled. This saddle is designed specifically for the more upright riding position of a hybrid/city bike. I’m happy to announce that these saddles have finally landed at your friendly neighborhood Bike Gallery location.

Much like the performance-oriented R/RL/RXL inForm saddles, the Nebula Plus line utilizes size-specific curvature to best fit the skeletal structure of the rider. Thus, it is available in three widths for men and three widths for women.

However, the Nebula Plus inForm has been designed for the unique support needs of someone riding a hybrid or city bike where their torso is much more upright and more of their weight is born by the sit bones (the performance inForm seats are designed to bear more weight on the pubic arch, also known as the iscial rami). To further increase comfort, Bontrager has integrated the Contour Relief Zone (a relieved section on the top of the saddle that removes material that would otherwise create pressure on soft-tissue (this feature was originally offered on the inForm WSD performance saddles) and Flex Form Technology, a rubber elastomer, which allows the saddle to subtly rotate side-to-side while pedaling to accommodate the natural movement of the pelvis.

A lot of saddle manufacturers place cut-outs of various sizes on their seats, claiming that this leads to increased comfort. But, you might notice that the Bontrager inForm seats don’t have them. Pressure mapping performed as part of the research that led to these saddles actually showed that a cut-out can increase pressure, sacrificing comfort.

Determining your correct size is crucial as an apparently large-framed rider may take a small size and a small-framed rider may require a wider saddle. Fortunately, figuring out your correct saddle width is simple thanks to a special sizing device that takes an imprint of your sit-bones in a material called Z-FLOW. A color-coded slider then helps determine what width of inForm saddle you need.

Trying one out comes with almost no risks as well. Between Bike Gallery’s 100% satisfaction guarantee and Bontrager’s 90-day comfort guarantee on the inForm saddles you have to time to experience the inForm saddle yourself and discover how it works for you.