Posedla 3D Printed Custom Saddle

Could a Posedla 3D printed saddle mean the end of the sore bum?

As a cyclist there’s one condition we’ve all experienced, whether you’re a commuter or Tour de France winner; the sore bum! Sitting on a bike and pedalling puts pressure on your rear end and even with cycling shorts, that can get painful. Saddle companies go to great lengths to try and design a comfortable saddle. Unfortunately there are so many variables involved that finding the right saddle for you can be an expensive and time consuming task. Which is where Posedla come in.

Posedla is the brainchild of two friends and passionate cyclists from the Czech Republic, Martin Ripa and Jiri Duzar. Dissatisfied with the level of comfort their saddles provided, they decided the answer was to make their own. Becoming the first company to make a custom saddle was no easy task though, there’s a reason it hadn’t been done before.

Early days, algorithms and investors

They spent two years developing an algorithm that could take a rider’s fit data and combined it with a ‘bum-print’! This data then allowed to them to 3D print a saddle that would fit that rider exactly. They also attracted the interest of 3D printing pioneer Josef Prusa. With his knowledge and backing Posedla went from an idea dreamed up on long rides, to a finished product, the Joyseat.

So how does the Posedla Joyseat work? The process isn’t as simple as choosing a regular saddle, which isn’t that simple when you think about it. If you’re happy with your current saddle you simple choose another, yes? But what if that model has changed or is no longer available? What if you’ve changed, got heavier, less flexible, injuries, all these things affect how you sit on the bike. You could now be looking at having to choose from many differently shaped brands and the only way to truly test a saddle is to ride it. Which means having to buy one or more until you find the right shape.

What is a bum print?

With the Joyseat however the process is different, once you’ve paid for your saddle you receive a parcel through the post. This is the Smiling Butt Kit. It’s a cardboard box with a foam filling that can hold an imprint of your derriere. You sit on the foam and then take nine photos from different angles; bum-prints! You send these off to Posedla who take measurements using photogrammetry. This is the technology geographers use for long-distance surveying of the Earth. As Posedla say “they map hemispheres, while we map bums.”

This information is combined with ten other parameters pertinent to you. Things like your age, flexibility, weight, height and riding style. All this data is put through Posedla’s algorithm and sent to the 3D printer. This prints out a TPU saddle that has different levels of support built into it based on your needs. This means you have a saddle that is built just for you and is unique. The TPU upper is then bonded to a carbon-fibre shell and oval rails to create the final product.

Posedla co-founder Martin Ripa said “We managed to break the mould of assembly-line production of saddles by taking full advantage of industrial 3D printing with Multi Jet Fusion technology. We are driven by positive feedback from our customers who appreciate comfort and welcome the possibility of finally having a fully customised saddle”

3D printing, the way forward?

Of course a custom printed saddle is never going to be cheap, the Joyseat currently retails at £390 (maybe a little extra thanks to the Brexit Bonus!) However if you do find it difficult to find the perfect saddle, maybe this is the answer? It seems to have satisfied many riders, with customers in twenty countries worldwide so far. While the Joyseat is being used around the world, it’s produced in North Bohemia. Does that mean it is in some way a… Bohemian rhapsody?

We have looked at custom 3D printed kit before in the form of the HEXR helmet. Are 3D printed components going to become more common. Or are they going to remain in the custom and bespoke space? 3D printing is great for these one-off custom items, but will it ever spread into mass production? We’ll ask Posedla if we can get one of their Joyseat saddles to try out for ourselves and let you know what the finished product is like.