2023 Ergon SMC Core Men

CORE 3D®: Ingenious Concept and Design - The floating ergonomic core saddle While you pedal, your weight is shifted back and forth to the left and right sit bones, resulting in pressure and discomfort. Ergon CORE 3D® reduces this pressure due to the special and unique material properties of the ergonomic core. The bike saddle is allowed to adapt to the pelvis with every pedal stoke resulting in an enormous gain in comfort.

Innovative Infinergy® - Cycling on clouds BASF's innovative Infinergy® material sets new standards in suspension and damping on the bike. The elastic saddle core supports the natural pelvic movements with every pedal stroke, absorbs road shocks and is easy on the lower back. When pressure is released, the Ergon Core, which consists of thousands of foam particles, returns to its original shape in a flash - even under continuous load. Leading manufacturers of performance running shoes also use this E-TPU foam worldwide with great success.

The advantages of the twin shell - Ergon CORE 3D® vs. standard saddle The revolutionary CORE 3D® saddle construction with twin shell technology takes comfort to a whole new level. In a conventional saddle, there is only one saddle shell. This single shell carries the load of the rider and must therefore be very rigid. The Ergon SMC Core, on the other hand, has two shells. A majority of rider weight is supported by the lower stiffer shell. On the upper flexible shell lies the cushion and sitting surface. In between the two shells is the floating ergonomic core made of Infinergy®, which isolates road shock, dampens vibrations, supports pelvic movements when pedaling and noticeably takes pressure off the sit bones.

The twin shell and inner core damper - Support that follows your pedal stroke The view below of the SMC Core shows the entire saddle surface - the high-performance elastomer damper decouples the two saddle shells from each other. This sandwich construction with elastic core allows the saddle to follow the natural pedaling movements more ergonomically in all three directions. Unevenness of the riding surface and vibrations are efficiently filtered out thanks to Ergon CORE 3D®.

Orthopedic Foam - Comfortable and durable The padding of the SMC Core is made of orthopedic comfort foam. The foam is supportive, soft, but does not collapse. In addition to the foam, specific gel pad inlays offer even more comfort under the sitting area. With this saddle, it is not absolutely necessary to wear cycling shorts. The saddle is covered with robust microfiber to prevent abrasions and maintain the durability of the saddle.

Minimizing saddle discomfort When cycling, a majority of your body weight rests on the small saddle surface. If body weight is not distributed evenly to the bony structures, unnecessary pressures are then distributed to the sensitive soft tissue areas. A relief channel helps, but is not the only important factor to overall saddle comfort. For an ergonomic distribution of pressure, the correlations between the sit bone distance and sitting angle must be taken into account. An ergonomic bicycle saddle should have sufficient contact surface, but still allow the thighs to move freely. Furthermore, cycling is not static. Pedaling uphill, the rider intuitively slides in the direction of the saddle nose to shift the body's center of gravity forward. The reverse is true when going downhill. Ergon takes all of this into account in the development of each saddle. We develop specific saddle models both for the everyday cyclist as well as professionals. Our saddles are available in different widths, are designed for dynamic sitting, are completely step-free and allow through their anatomical shape comfort in all riding positions.

Men's Health The Ergon development team carried out intensive research on the topic of men's health. They found that the main cause of complaints when cycling is the saddle. Often times, men experience too much pressure on their perineal area leading to pain, discomfort, numbness and the potential for more severe health problems. The SM E-Mountain Pro Men saddle relieves this pressure with a very specific relief channel as well as better surface area distribution under the bony structures. Through MRI, CT analysis as well as many prototypes and test riders, we have ergonomically adjusted the saddle to the specific anatomy and needs of men.

More freedom of movement Compared to women, the male pelvis tends to be less flexible. This means that men sit more upright on the saddle and put more of their weight distribution on their sit bones. Therefore the transition area between the rear of the saddle and the saddle nose can be kept narrow (Y-shape). This gives the legs more space to pedal.

Male and Female pelvic differences In contrast to the female anatomy, the male sit bones are more narrow and where the two sides of the pelvis come together in the front is much higher. This results in more pressure being distributed on the male's sit bones vs. a broader area of sit bones and pubic bones in women. We have taken this significant difference between male and female anatomy into consideration during saddle development.

Certified back friendly: Saddle with three seals of approval Back pain is the number one ailment, which can quickly spoil the enjoyment of cycling. In an intensive testing process by an interdisciplinary panel of experts consisting of doctors, orthopedists and physiotherapists, the back-friendly effect of the CORE 3D® saddle principle was certified with three quality predicates: the AGR Seal of Approval of the "Aktion Gesunder Rucken" (Healthy Back Campaign), the IGR Seal of the "Institut fur Gesundheit und Ergonomie" (Institute for Health and Ergonomics) and the "Formel Frobse" quality seal.

The correct size The shape and size of the saddle must match the sit bone width of the rider to maximize comfort and enjoyment. The pelvic bone has a unique V-shape and the saddle must offer the sit bones a large contact surface with the ability to meet the demand of different sitting positions. Various saddle widths are offered so that the usable seat surface corresponds to the riders unique sit bone width. The more forward and aggressive the rider sits, the further forward the sit bones contact the saddle.