Specialized Toupe Saddle Review
Specialized Saddles have become legendary around the cycling community as being some of the best performing products on the market. Specialized patented Body Geometry saddles take into account your human anatomy and they've spent countless hours testing and testing and testing to come up with a line of saddles that look great and perform even better. The Specialized Toupe is a perfect example of the quality that Specialized brings to the market. Check out the reviews below and if you end up buying one, come back and leave us your own Specialized Toupe Saddle Review.
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Saddle Review
I am a big fan of Specialized saddles and have been for quite some time. I remember when I first started cycling how difficult it was to find a saddle that worked for me and I went through a dozen or so before finally finding out about sit bone width and ended up purchasing my first Specialized Saddle which was the Alias.
I still ride that Alias on my Trek but recently had the chance to road test another extremely popular Specialized Saddle and that is the Specialized Toupe road saddle. The similarities to the Alias are many and my expectations were very high that I would like the Specialized Toupe saddle.
First Impressions
One thing you should know about Specialized saddles before you ever put your butt on one, is that they are a firm saddle. By firm, I don't mean hard, they are padded but it's a firm ride. One that your sit bones will have to condition themselves to somewhat. An experienced cyclist should be ok but a new rider will likely have to give it a few weeks before your sit bones get accustomed to this type of saddle.
It's a difficult concept to grasp but you WANT a firm saddle for long distance rides. The more hours you spend in the saddle, then the worse your behind will do with a plushly padded saddle. Trust me on this...firm is good.
Specialized Toupe
Like the Alias, the Toupe offers a very perineum friendly center groove as well as three different widths to choose from as opposed to many seats that only offer a 1 size supposed to fit all model. That's one of the reasons that I like Specialized so much, they get the idea that all people are not the size of a 130lb Tour de France rider and come in different widths, so the seats should too.
It's important to mention that the Specialized saddles being firm, will work best with a rider the sits on the saddle correctly. What I mean by that is you should ride with your hips rotated slightly forward, relaxed arms and shoulders and using your core, legs and arms to support some of the weight of your body. If you plant all of your body weight on the saddle like you were sitting in a kitchen chair, then you may not like the Specialized seating surface. If you do have decent form, then you should love it.
A gel version is available but honestly, you should work on your posture on the bike anyways, it's just good form and will make your pedaling more efficient and your rides more enjoyable. You could almost consider the seat a built in cycling coach. Once your butt starts hurting, you know your form is off.
Toupe Conclusion
The bottom line is that the Specialized Toupe is a great saddle at a decent price that comes in enough different varieties that you can pick one custom tailored to your own body geometry. The specs compare to other saddles in this category with the weight being very rider friendly.
The proven Body Geometry designed saddle features a very familiar center groove for those who might have issues with prostate or perineum soreness and the padding is designed for longer distance riding. It's firm but very butt friendly if you ride the bike the way it was designed to be ridden. Most saddles in this category will require that you practice good habits in order to be comfortable so do not be mistaken that this saddle is any different than most.
We're big fans of the Specialized lineup and the Toupe is practically their flagship model so give it a look and if you buy one then come back and leave your own Specialized Toupe Review.
 SPECIALIZED TOUPE TEAM CARBON SEAT SADDLE TITANIUM NEW  US $120.00
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 Used Specialized Toupe Gel Saddle White Ti Size 143mm US $68.43
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 Specialized Toupe Team Saddle seat White Blue US $41.00
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 Specialized Toupe Team Saddle 130 US $50.00
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 Specialized Toupe Ti 130 US $45.00
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 Specialized Toupe Team Saddle Black Red 143 US $138.06
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 Specialized Toupe 143 Black Hollow Ti Rails US $15.50
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 Specialized Toupe Team 143 Black Grey Hollow Ti Rails US $16.27
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 Specialized Toupe Saddle 145 Titanium US $15.00
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 SPECIALIZED GEL TOUPE SADDLE US $51.00
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 Specialized Toupe 143 Seat Ti Hollow Rails Black US $12.50
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 2010 Specialized Toupe Saddle 143 NO RESERVE US $41.77
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I purchased a 2009 Specialized Roubaix Comp Compact a few months ago. The more relaxed riding positions provided by the Roubaix , as well as the comfort offerd by reduced vibrations offered, were the deciding factors for this 60 year old.
The bike came with a Specialized Toupe 143mm gel seat in white.
I found that I was riding forward on the seat and if I moved back it was not as confortable. After a month or so I noticed that the seat was taking on a yellow sheen, I tried to clean it to no avail. The selling dealer looked at the seat when I was in to change out the original Shimano 105 shifters for the Shimano Ultagra style ST-R700’s built for smaller hands. I mentioned the issue of riding forward on the seat. He made a butt measurement and found that similar to my hand issues, my butt was smaller than the size needed for the supplied 143mm seat. He called the supplier and had the seat exchanged for a 130mm black Toupe gel. While waiting for the new seat, he installed a Specialized Alias 130mm, I found the reduced width allowed me to sit in the proper position on the seat comfortably. I like the Alias seat, although it feels more firm that the original larger 143mm Toupe. I am sure I will enjoy the miles when the new Toupe sized for my small butt is installed!!
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