Ever since Specialized unveiled its 3D-printed S-Works Power Mirror saddle way back in 2019, I’ve been aching to try it. It has been hyped up by reviewers, internet commenters, and my riding buddies as potentially the most comfortable bike saddle ever made.
This year, I finally got my hands on a Power Pro Mirror, and I’ve put over a thousand miles on it. Was it everything I dreamed it would be and was it worth the high price tag? Definitely… maybe.
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What is Specialized Mirror Technology?
Before we talk about my ride experience, let’s take a quick look at what Mirror Technology is. As we’ve said, the saddle, or more specifically, the saddle foam is 3d printed. It’s made using a process called “Digital Light Synthesis,” which was pioneered by Carbon, a Silicon Valley-based company that designs and 3D prints products for multiple industries, including the automotive and medical industries.
The “foam” of the saddle is made from a liquid polymer that is printed into a honeycomb matrix. This structure allows the designer to infinitely vary the polymer’s density because it’s made up of 14,000 struts and 7,799 nodes which can each be individually tuned to provide a specific amount of support. To achieve the same level of density variation with traditional foam would require combining thousands of different foams into a single saddle.
Photo: Specialized
So what are the advantages of Mirror Technology? According to Specialized, it’s designed to “perfectly reflect a rider's anatomy” so it will improve sit bone comfort for both men and women, reduce soft tissue pressure, stabilize the pelvis, and dampen vibration. Specialized claims that sit bone pressure can be reduced by up to 26%. This can improve your performance, increase your comfort, and reduce the chance of injury.
Currently, Mirror Technology is available on the Specialized Power and Romin EVO saddles. (Also, the Romin EVO is a longer saddle with a slightly different design so it uses 22,200 struts and 10,700 nodes.)
What is the Specialized Power Pro Mirror Like to Ride?
Photo: Specialized
I don’t necessarily have any major comfort issues with “regular” saddles. I generally ride the Specialized Power saddle, or its Fizik copycat, the Vento Argo. If the Mirror version didn’t exist, I’d be content continuing to ride these saddles.
I was tempted to try the Mirror version though because the comfort claims being made by reviewers and Reddit commenters about Mirror Technology seemed unanimously positive. To add to that, one of my favorite current pros, Remco Evenepol, relies on the Power Mirror also.
I mainly compete in endurance events in the 100-200 mile range, where a bit of extra comfort might help performance. Generally, by the time I pass the 100-mile mark, I’m hurting all over and losing the will to pedal hard. But if I can ease some pressure in the saddle area, maybe I can enter the back half of endurance races with a bit more gas in the tank.
The only thing that made me hesitate was the high price. The S-Works version with carbon rails, which went on sale in 2020, costs $450! In 2022, Specialized released a Pro-level Power Mirror saddle which was “only” $325, and this year it released a more affordable Expert-level version that retails for $200. (To understand the differences between S-Works, Pro, and Expert level saddles check out our post: Specialized Saddles Explained.) All versions cost more than any aftermarket saddle I've ever purchased.
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I put the Power Pro Mirror on my XC bike for some multi hour trail adventures with the TPC crew.
This year, I finally decided to splurge and picked up the “mid-range” Power Pro Mirror, which uses a carbon shell and titanium rails. I’ve been swapping it between my road, gravel, and XC bike, and I’ve put well over 1,000 miles on it in the last 4 months. This included a couple of 2 hour trainer sessions, where saddle comfort matters most. My longest single ride was a 110-mile race with a mix of road and gravel that lasted just over 6 hours.
I want to stress that the Power Pro Mirror is NOT a highly-cushioned saddle. The 3D-printed honeycomb matrix actually feels extremely firm in the area where your sit bones contact the saddle. Just pressing it with my finger, it feels comparable to the firmness of the foam on my regular Power Pro saddle (which is slightly thinner and firmer than a Power Expert or Comp-level saddle).
If you’re expecting a squishy couch-like ride, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. This is still a high-performance saddle, not a beach cruiser saddle, and the shape is what provides the majority of the comfort. If a regular Specialized Power or a similar snub-nosed saddle fits you decently well, however, so will the Power Mirror.
Compared to a regular Power saddle, however, it does feel more comfortable when you actually sit on it. This is mainly because the density of the honeycomb matrix changes so drastically once you move away from the sit bone area. The firmness drops off sharply and the matrix begins to feel incredibly soft.
Unlike a regular foam saddle, where the density is more uniform, you never feel any hard edges or hot spots. Instead, the honeycomb matrix provides a gentle pressure throughout that supports you, but never presses into you uncomfortably. Where I really noticed (or rather, didn’t notice) this impressive softness is on the nose of the saddle.
For me, this provided one key benefit — and this might veer into the realm of too much information, so skip the next couple of paragraphs if you don’t want to hear about my nether regions — zero numbness.
Many riders who have spent multiple hours on a bike have likely experienced what I childishly call the “sleepy pee-pee.” As you can probably guess, an ill-fitting saddle (or a bad bike fit) is generally the cause, so the best solution is to find a saddle that is the right shape to promote blood-flow and prevent excessive pressure on your nerves and soft tissue. For me and many like me, snub-nosed saddles with generous cutouts like the Specialized Power and Fizik Vento Argo have been the perfect pick.
But it's still possible to occasionally get the dreaded sleepy pee-pee in intense race or training situations — usually when you're tired and your core gets weak. This can cause you to start drooping on the bike and until you end up tilting or sliding onto the nose of the saddle into a position that causes some distress. If I notice this happening, shifting around and refocusing brings things right back, but I’d rather it never happen at all.
Well, guess what, with the Power Mirror, I never had to worry about it. I never had to shift around to get comfortable again. In this respect, it’s the best saddle I’ve ever tried. It’s perfect for the type of rider that likes to pin their butt in place and hammer for long periods of time.
So Is a 3D-Printed Saddle Worth It?
Remco Evenepoel is one of many top pros using the Power Mirror. Photo: A.S.O./Maxime Delobel
Pros
- Legitimately the most comfortable saddle I’ve ever tried
Cons
- Expensive
- Mud gets stuck in it
- Expensive!
So is the Specialized Power Mirror more comfortable than the standard Power? Yes. Is it the most comfortable saddle I’ve ever ridden? Also, yes. So is it worth the money? Well, it depends.
Even though I love this saddle, I don't want to tell people to rush out and buy it because it’s so darn expensive. The $450 S-Works model is absurd. The $325 Pro model is far and away the most expensive saddle I've ever purchased. Even the $200 Power Expert Mirror saddle is more than I’ve ever spent on a saddle. Hopefully, as the technology proliferates, costs will come down.
The high price is why I kept switching it around on multiple bikes. There was just no way I was buying multiple Mirror saddles. So before any super long ride I’d just put it on whichever bike I was planning to use. Now I’m in this weird position where I have 4 bikes (which might be too many) and one Mirror saddle. Because I can still get by on the regular Power saddle, part of me wants to sell the Mirror saddle just to save money and ease my compulsiveness
I could try the Expert model which doesn’t have a fully exposed honeycomb matrix (which will keep mud out). It might not look as cool, but it’s much cheaper, and it’s also available in two additional widths — 130mm and 168mm — for riders who need something other than the standard 143mm and 155mm sizes. The big difference, however, is that uses 3D-printed inserts at the sit bones and regular foam everywhere else, so I’m not sure it will have the same benefits for me. I’ll have to test it to find out.
If you’re a performance-oriented rider who already likes the Specialized Power shape, and can afford a $325 saddle, I don’t think the Power Pro Mirror can be beat in terms of comfort on long rides. I plan to use it next year at my two longest races: Unbound (200 miles) and SBT GRVL (140 miles).
Of course, saddles are very personal, and even though I think this is the most comfortable saddle I've ever used, there's a chance it won't fit your body. If that's the case, it does have the benefit of likely being the easiest saddle around to resell.
A Note on Fizik Adaptive Saddles
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If you want to try 3D-printed saddle tech, but for whatever reason you’re not a Specialized saddle fan, Fizik’s Adaptive saddles use the exact same technology.
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