Review: RideFarr.com Relief Zone S-RZ Carbon Rail Saddle – For All Genders

ridefarr carbon saddle review

“We’re a team of bike-minded individuals with a passion for all things bicycle. Always tinkering, always inspired by the freedom of riding our bikes and always thinking about how to offer products that are better suited to your needs and ours.” – RideFarr.com

ridefarr carbon saddle review

Saddles, along with products such as shoes, pedals, shorts, and more, are a deeply personal choice. For many years, I chose the Fizik Arione saddle, one known for its racy shape, padding in the right places and good looks. No saddle is perfect and the Arione is no exception, but none of the current trend of shorter styled saddles were of interest to me until a prominent saddle manufacturer convinced me to try their design. The review of that particular saddle is coming later.

ridefarr carbon saddle review

I’m glad I chose to be more open-minded about the possibility of a shorter saddle being a viable choice, as one or two of them have provided relief from discomfort and pain over the long-haul of gravel cycling.

ridefarr carbon saddle review

RideFarr’s take on the short nose saddle is the S-RZ Carbon rail variant with these features:

  • RZ (Relief Zone) aka recessed channel that doesn’t feature sharp edges, and does not feature a cutout like many saddles on the market
  • Short-nose design that RideFarr feels is ideal for endurance rides
  • Flat and Wide rear profile provides comfort and support
  • Anti-slip nose detailing
  • Ultralight carbon rails
  • Ultralight carbon injected base

ridefarr carbon saddle review

Other specifications:

  • Width, 148mm
  • Length, 244mm
  • Weight, 211 grams
  • Intended use, MTB / Road / Gravel / Racer / Enthusiast

The last line of the specifications equals anything goes!

With that said, throwing the RideFarr saddle onto the gram scale is a good idea. Note the weight, 204 grams, seven less than spec!? Is it April Fool’s day?

ridefarr carbon saddle review

Lower weight is all well and good but how does a carbon rail saddle with carbon base hold up over the long term on a gravel bike?

ridefarr carbon saddle review

How does the RideFarr.com Relief Zone S-RZ Carbon Rail Saddle Ride?

I’m always skeptical about the weight benefits of a carbon rail saddle. I’ve had past experience riding carbon rail saddles such as the Fizik Arione K-1 and the original AX-Lightness saddle. The AX saddle was circa 2002 and despite featuring steel-wrapped carbon rails, one of the rails eventually cracked. However, carbon fibre has come a long way in the past 18 years, especially with mitigating clamping forces on carbon.

ridefarr carbon saddle review

The latest and fanciest saddle tech is meaningless the very first time you plant your arse atop the saddle. Hour five or six is when the real impressions of how a saddle feels are truly made, ideally during a ride where you focus on the experience versus wincing in pain. This is where I remind you again, this saddle may work for you, but it may not work for me. Additionally, RideFarr.com has attempted to make this saddle gender-neutral. Not easy to do, but I know of women who prefer men’s specific saddles and vice-versa.

ridefarr carbon saddle review
Anti-slip material at the nose

I learned recently that saddle length isn’t the most important part of a good saddle feel, rather positioning the saddle’s “peak” area to deal with pressure distribution, and positioned in just the right spot beneath my sit bones. RideFarr.com’s saddle also features a light air foam top cover to help with overall comfort.

ridefarr carbon saddle review

RideFarr’s S-RZ saddle feels good to the touch and responds well to my thumb pressure compression test, but not to the point of a very soft spring mattress. You won’t bottom out the foam beneath the cover but the padding feels balanced and appropriate with enough material for the job of supporting one’s rear end.

ridefarr carbon saddle review

My first seated plant onto the RideFarr.com S-RZ saddle felt good, no issues, but as mentioned earlier, there’s little to be learned from sitting on a new saddle galavanting about the bike shop car park.

ridefarr carbon saddle review

The RideFarr.zom S-RZ saddle was installed onto the Ritte Satyr review gravel bike, and served as that bike’s saddle for the duration of its review. Whilst I didn’t put the bike and S-RZ saddle through its paces at a gravel race (thanks Covid-19), I rode the bike and saddle consistently over a period of four months. Those rides averaged 70 to 90 miles, with many eight-plus hour rides logged.

Saddle reviews are difficult to quantify. They are either comfortable or not, but only through your own experience will you discover what truly works for you. My experience proved the RideFarr.com S-RZ saddle plays nicely with my anatomy, with no discernable issues relating to comfort in the saddle. High-quality shorts are another factor that will have a bearing on overall comfort, so keep that in mind.

ridefarr carbon saddle review

Would I still prefer a saddle featuring Titanium rails? Affirmative, only because I hold reservations about the long-term durability of carbon saddle rails, particularly one installed to a gravel bike, and more so if you swap saddles between bikes? As a reviewer, that’s something I do on a regular basis, thus I am diligent about not over-tightening saddle rails regardless of the rail material. Thankfully for you, RideFarr.com offers saddles with CrN-Ti alloy rails, so there’s something for everyone!

ridefarr carbon saddle review

RideFarr.com is not a household name, but its line-up of saddles is noteworthy and an option for you to consider. Priced at $US 145.00, the RideFarr.com S-RZ carbon rail saddle could be for you? In addition to saddles, RideFarr.com has a range of gravel-related products including lower-cost saddles that may take your fancy, including the RideFarr.com Aero Carbon Bolt-On that I reviewed earlier on the website.

ridefarr carbon saddle review

Thanks for reading!

RideFarr.com

1 Comment

  1. Avatar stephen

    Funny this article drops now as I just switched from a Fizik Arione R1 to a Fizik Vento Argo R1 140mm. I loved the Arione but the shell has cracked on 3 saddles (always replaced free), the last time just a few days ago, hence the switch. So far, the adjustment to a shorter saddle hasn’t been bad at all, but it does taking bit of getting used to.
    Also, the setup for fore/aft was easier than I thought and the height went up 1cm.
    I have a OPEN UPPER with a 0 degree setback.

    cheers and thanks JOM

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