Serfas Ghost Carbon Saddle Review

Josh Ross

Review of the Serfas Ghost Carbon Saddle

In the “Do It All Bike Project”, I’ve talked about pedals and shoes. Now we are starting to get a bit more personal with the bike, and we’re going to look at a seat, specifically the Serfas Ghost Carbon Saddle…

When you go into a local bike shop and sit on a bike, they’ll ask you if it’s comfortable. They’ll tell you over and over that you’ve got to be comfortable.

If you aren’t comfortable, then this might not be the right bike or they might need to adjust things a bit to get you comfortable. Often, you are wearing street clothes and it might have been a couple of years since you were last cycling much. It might even be your first time on a serious road bike. If that’s the situation, and you sit on this saddle, there is no way you are going to be comfortable. It’s a cruel joke.

The Serfas Ghost Carbon isn’t a “comfortable” saddle for cruising around in your jeans. This saddle is a tool. It’s a tool to make you go faster. When you put on a good pair of bib shorts, and you sit down on this to go fast, then you’ll be happy you have it. This is a serious racers saddle.

It’s narrow at 133mm and it’s very light at 155 grams. If you squeeze it between your fingers, it’s hard, and it doesn’t give much. But get on it to go fast, and this saddle is awesome. And it gives you all this performance at a bargain price of $170. Saddles that price typically weigh twice as much, and carbon rails at that price are almost unheard of.

I want to be careful, though. I don’t want to scare anyone off because I said it wasn’t comfortable. As a part of the “Do It All Bike Project”, it still has to handle my list of needs. And I really believe that when you’ve been putting in the time on the bike, this saddle is perfectly comfortable. It might not be the kind of saddle that you’d gravitate to while in street clothes in a local bike shop, but it is exactly what feels comfortable when you’ve been doing hard work on your bike. I get on, and I don’t think twice about it.

It’s easy to get out of the saddle, I don’t bounce, the carbon rails soak up a bit of the vibration from the CADD9 — which no one will ever describe as plush — and it looks fantastic.

This isn’t just a racer’s saddle, this is a rider’s saddle. No matter the length of the ride, I’ve not had any issues with numbness, and I’ve been just as comfortable heading across town with a trailer in tow as when I’m heading up a steep hill looking for a new personal best.

And I just have to say it again… it does all this for a fantastic price.

There are a few downsides to a value priced seat. First of all, the covering isn’t particularly durable. It’s thin and pulled very tight across the seat. If your bike falls over, it will rip. Ask me how I know this!

But it also started to show a bit of wear in the white after not too long. This isn’t a deal breaker, but it’s worth noting that you’ll want to be careful with it. Be gentle when you wash the white. They do also make a black, but I looked at the white. And don’t expect it to survive unscathed from even a gentle fall.

The other thing about the Serfas Ghost is that while it does have carbon rails, it does not have a full carbon base. It’s still light, and it’s still stiff, but they have saved a bit of money using a carbon composite (carbon and nylon mix) instead of full carbon in the base. For the price, I still think this is a fantastic seat, but it’s worth nothing where a bit of money was saved.

Overall, I’d say if you’ve put in the time on the bike, and you want a fast, light, race ready seat without spending a fortune, then the Serfas Ghost Carbon saddle is a great option.

You don’t have to be afraid of having this as your only saddle, though. Serfas is a great company to deal with, and they even offer a 90 day return option. Give it a try, and if you don’t like it, they’ll take it off your hands for you.

Serfas Ghost Carbon Saddle RRP $170

Serfas

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