Sella Italia

Selle Italia is a saddle manufacturer based in Asolo, Italy. The company prides itself in being one of the market leaders for high-end saddles across the world.

History

Founded in the small village of Corsico just outside of Milan in 1897, Selle Italia originally made saddles to help the masses get from A to B. Over the next century and a quarter, it narrowed its scope, developing innovative saddle designs for elite cyclists.

Selle Italia launched as a company when cycling wasn’t even considered a sport, just a means of transportation. It began producing comfort-orientated saddles from a small workshop in the outskirts of Milan and this focus remains at the heart of the company’s ethos to this day.

Until the 1960s, Selle Italia steadily built its business around saddles for the masses to get around on. However, when the Bigolin family took over the company in 1967 it marked a change in direction.

A focus on performance cycling and innovative designs followed. Selle Italia collaborated with Bernard Hinault in 1980 to produce its Turbo saddle design. The likes of Eddy Merckx, Felice Gimondi, Miguel Indurain, and Marco Pantani also worked with the company, impressed by its continual desire to improve its products.

Selle Italia went on to launch the Flite in 1990, a saddle that allowed for both comfort and flexibility, something that hadn’t graced the market yet. This led the company onto its IdMatch measurement system which allows each rider to be matched with their ideal saddle thanks to scientific studies and research - guaranteeing maximum comfort, well-being and performance during activity.

Nowadays, the company produces saddles for a range of cycling disciplines, from road and triathlon to gravel, off-road and e-biking. Selle Italia has also incorporated 3D printing into its manufacturing process to create a new dimension of comfort.

Key Moments

1999 - Pantani’s custom Selle Italia saddle

To celebrate his 1998 Giro-Tour double, Selle Italia produced a custom saddle for Marco Pantani in 1999. Easy to spot thanks to its yellow colour and ‘Il Pirata’ design, the saddle is one of the most famous personalised saddles to have graced pro cycling. 

2021 - Selle Italia goes green

The company has always been keen to innovate and move with the times, so when it launched a saddle with an eco-sustainable Greentech production process, few were surprised. The Model X Green Superflow saddle is free from harmful glues or polyurethane adhesives and produced entirely within Italy to minimise its carbon footprint.

2022 - Selle Italia launches the SLR Boost 3D

The company’s first 3D-printed saddle arrived in October 2022 after being teased at Eurobike earlier in the year. The SLR Boost 3D combines Carbon DLSTM technology with the company’s high-performance design and a 3D-printed cover.

Selle Italia's saddles

© Selle Italia

Fabian Cancellara with a lightweight carbon saddle from Selle Italia

Road: Selle Italia has a broad range of saddles for all types of road cyclists with its Superflow cutout, SLR, Flite and Novus profiles. It also offers saddles in both standard and Boost lengths. The company uses Carbon DLS and 3D printing technology across its road range to keep the saddles as light as possible. Selle Italia also has a Greentech range of road saddles made using eco-friendly materials and manufacturing processes in Italy.

Off-road: The company’s off-road range consists of flat-profiled X-LR saddles, neutral-fitting X-Bow saddles, and carbon SLR saddles. Its off-road products all aim to provide comfort regardless of the trails that riders choose to tackle.

Gravel: For tackling gravel terrain, Selle Italia has three different saddle profiles at its disposal. The SLR Boost Gravel offers a neutral shape to help with pelvic rotation and the Flite Boost Gravel offers a flat profile for more significant movement. Meanwhile, the Novus Boost Evo Gravel aims to help riders with pelvic tilt. All saddles use TI 316 shock-dampening rails and feature a pressure-relieving Superflow cutout.

Triathlon: The Watt saddle aims to ensure an ideal riding position for maximum efficiency in every race. It features a Superflow cutout and anti-slip insert to ensure the rider keeps the perfect form.

Leisure: Selle Italia also offers saddles for e-biking, touring and some heritage models, predominantly focused on being as comfortable as possible whilst still keeping hold of the company’s sleek design style.

Did you know?

Pro cycling

© Velo Collection / Getty Images

Selle Italia saddles are widespread in the pro peloton

Road sponsorships: Alpecin-Deceuninck, Israel-Premier Tech, Cofidis, Lotto Dstny, Team Arkéa Samsic, Tudor Pro Cycling Team, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, Human Powered Health, Team Corratec-Selle Italia, Fenix-Deceuninck, Massi Tactic, Lifeplus-Wahoo.

MTB sponsorships: Thomus Maxon, Ghost Factory Racing, KMC MTB Team, KTM Factory MTB Team, MMR Factory Racing, Trinx Factory Team, Buff Megamo Team.

Previous athlete sponsorships: Eddy Merckx, Felice Gimondi, Miguel Indurain, Marco Pantani, Bernard Hinault, Mario Cipollini, Jan Ullrich, Alberto Contador, Alejandro Valverde, Alexandre Vinokourov, Richard Virenque, Claudio Chiapucci.

Highlights

• Selle Italia proudly provided saddles for the likes of five-time Tour de France winners Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain during their careers.
• Marco Pantani used the Selle Italia Flite saddle as he achieved the Giro-Tour double in 1998.
• Between 2007 and 2015 Alberto Contador used Selle Italia saddles to help him win multiple editions of all three Grand Tours. He is the only Spaniard to win all three major three-week races at least once.
• Alexandre Vinokourov used a Selle Italia saddle as he stunned the world to win gold at the London 2012 Olympics road race.
• Mathieu van der Poel won the 2020 Cyclocross World Championships whilst using a prototype of the Selle Italia Flite saddle. As of 2023, the Dutchman has five CX rainbow jerseys on his palmarès.