Velo Angel Glide Saddle
Top shelf saddle from the largest bike saddle saddle maker in the world.
For the last 14,500 miles or so, I’ve been riding on an ultralight climbers bike with a Berk Lupina saddle. You can check out my review, but the short of it is that it’s light, way more comfortable than you’d expect, and beautifully made. It also makes conceptual sense on a Fuji SL frame where lightness is king.
This is the first review on a new bike, though. And that bike is an aero disc frame designed with comfort in mind, the Look 795 Blade RS. I could have moved the saddle over, but I like things to conceptually match. It was also an opportunity to explore something I’ve been curious about for a long time. Way back in 2015, I reviewed the Serfas Ghost Carbon saddle, and it’s stuck with me since then.
The Serfas Ghost Carbon saddle I previously reviewed was manufactured by Velo saddles.
Other saddles have come and gone for various reasons, but the Serfas saddle has stuck around. It has remained an efficient, and comfortable, companion for many thousands of miles. Unfortunately Serfas discontinued the saddle long ago, but it has a stamp on the bottom bearing the Velo name.
Despite heavy use since 2015 my Velo manufactured Serfas Ghost Carbon saddle is still in perfect condition.
In the US, Velo isn’t a well known name, but Velo is the world’s largest saddle manufacturer. They produce over 15 million saddles a year and have over 10 million users around the world. Velo does show up in reviews from time to time as well but rarely with purchase information.
The Velo Angel Glide is the spiritual successor to whatever Velo model the Serfas Ghost was a rebrand of. Its blend of minimalism and performance focus is an excellent conceptual match to the Look 795 Blade RS it now resides on.
So, how did I decide to test the Velo Angel Glide? Simple, I took it for a 9 hour and 150 mile ride. New saddle on a new bike and 150 miles. What could go wrong?
I tempted fate by riding an untested saddle for 150 miles.
That kind of distance isn’t something most people are ever going to do. 150 miles is a long ride and if there was going to be an issue, that’s how I’d find it. The Angel Velo Glide performed beautifully. I had no saddle sores and no issues of any kind.
After 9 hours and 150 miles I had no issues.
From a design perspective, the Velo Angel Glide leans towards a flat design, but it’s not entirely flat. The very tip of the saddle points down, and there is a subtle wave as you move back. It puts your sit bones in a small valley that helps lock in your position but still allows movement if you want it.
Starting close to the tip, the saddle splits into a right and left section, and it’s only tied back together at the very end. This creates a large pressure relief channel and despite the Angle Glide being a more traditional silhouette, instead of following the modern trend of short nose, I did not experience any numbness even when in the drops for extended periods of time.
It also allows a bit of independent flex for each side of the saddle. The Velo Angel Glide is available in 5 colors and measures out at 275mm long by 128mm wide. If you’d prefer wider, Velo does offer the Angel Glide+ which is a bit shorter and quit a bit wider at 265mm x 143mm. Whatever size you choose, the base and rails are both carbon with minimal foam padding and a hard wearing microfiber cover. The Angel Glide weighs in at 125 grams on my scale vs a manufacturer quoted weight of 127 grams.
Velo saddles are difficult to purchase compared to more well known brands. I don’t have a good explanation for this. Velo is the world’s largest saddle manufacturer and in the US they have distribution through QBP. QBP, or Quality Bicycle Components, is the bicycle industry’s largest distributor.
In the US any local shop that has a QBP account can source Velo saddles.
It’s very likely your local shop has a QBP account. That means for $290, and a special order, a Velo Angel Glide saddle could be yours. Unfortunately, in the UK things will be more difficult as there is no distribution. Despite some small distribution issues, the Velo Angel Glide is a saddle I expect to last for years. It’s a very light, performance oriented saddle that is also comfortable and well made. The Velo Angel Glide has a similar design to the Serfas branded Velo saddle I also own. That saddle has well over 10,000 miles on it with no sign of wearing out anytime soon. If you are comfortable on a waved, race saddle, I would have no problem suggesting you place an order sight unseen.
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