Berk PROTO-TYPE Composites

[Berk]

I love the look of this monocoque saddle!

Berk - Is it similar flex to the Lupina long? I have the Lupina short too, and I notice it is a stiffer saddle (not quuuuuuite so comfortable for me)

Will you offer the monocoque in a wider version like the Lupina? I haven't ridden the thinner Lupina, maybe I should give it a go.

Thanks!
Yes it is simialr, we developed teh monocoque with the main focus to have the flex we want, althought that doesn't mean it is the lightest saddle. At the end of this season we will have a few test saddles for all those who would like to try it first, it is something we will also have to discuss with our dealers/shops, hopefully there will be more interess also from the shops to offer test saddles.

My Berk Lupina Short 132mm came in the mail today. Great packaging, quality and so light in the hands.


Came in under the advertised weight of 95g.

Thanks! We usually put the advertised weight a bit higher in order to be under that number, of course the weight depends from each product, since it is a handmade product, but giving our best to keep it in the lower side.

@ryanw
thanks! That is one of the first ones, we did had to put the weight a bit higher for the production, but will continue in the monocoque direction also with our standard saddles.

@Yoln
sorry for the trouble, may I ask what happened and what happened to consider them eventually broke? Any idea how many km or years did you used them? If it is a warranty case please cotnatc us or our shop, we do our best to keep our customers so your email would be much appreciated, you can contact us at info(a)berk-composites.com

We had some material problems in the past, recalled those saddles and replaced them, that was a few years ago. It caused us a lot of troubles but we contacted and replaced all saddles, it was already mentioned in this topic and sorry once again if that was the case back then. We were contacted by the material supplier that a material we already used was recalled, but we already had more than 200 saddles out and affected. Since then we check every material, every batch, every day, in order to keep it the way it should be. We do bond the saddle rails to the saddle shell in a way that also some other manufacturers do, and we also started with the development of the monocoque saddle, we will use that technology in the future also on our standard models.

Our saddles are ISO tested and maybe it depends from the riding style or just the milage that caused to eventually fail? Since MTB and Gravel are the type of riding that should affect more the durability of any product. Our products are on the limit since it is a ww product, but still it is ok for a 100kg rider, so sorry if there were any problems, please contact us and we'll see what we can do. We are on the market more than 10 years and I dare to say that we always responded and took care if there is a warranty case, otherwise we wouldn't stay for too long. I have to admit that if we have a warranty case it is the glue that can sometimes cause problems, but since a few years back we also test every batch to ensure everything is as it should be.

[Jimmyrn85]

I love the look of this monocoque saddle!

Berk - Is it similar flex to the Lupina long? I have the Lupina short too, and I notice it is a stiffer saddle (not quuuuuuite so comfortable for me)

Will you offer the monocoque in a wider version like the Lupina? I haven't ridden the thinner Lupina, maybe I should give it a go.

The Monocoque is oddly comfortable. So different to the million saddles I've tried in the past.

It essentially acts as a spring, with a lot of compliance to the rear, stiffening up to the nose, as you'd expect.

Mine is the leather covered model (not for comfort, but grips the bibs better IMO), and I have been super impressed with it.

Time will tell on its durability, but as far as design and aesthetics goes, it's hard to beat.

Thanks RyanW for the info!

If Berk make a 150 width version, I'm in!!

[Yoln]

I love the look of this monocoque saddle!

Berk - Is it similar flex to the Lupina long? I have the Lupina short too, and I notice it is a stiffer saddle (not quuuuuuite so comfortable for me)

Will you offer the monocoque in a wider version like the Lupina? I haven't ridden the thinner Lupina, maybe I should give it a go.

Thanks!
Yes it is simialr, we developed teh monocoque with the main focus to have the flex we want, althought that doesn't mean it is the lightest saddle. At the end of this season we will have a few test saddles for all those who would like to try it first, it is something we will also have to discuss with our dealers/shops, hopefully there will be more interess also from the shops to offer test saddles.

My Berk Lupina Short 132mm came in the mail today. Great packaging, quality and so light in the hands.


Came in under the advertised weight of 95g.

Thanks! We usually put the advertised weight a bit higher in order to be under that number, of course the weight depends from each product, since it is a handmade product, but giving our best to keep it in the lower side.

@ryanw
thanks! That is one of the first ones, we did had to put the weight a bit higher for the production, but will continue in the monocoque direction also with our standard saddles.

@Yoln
sorry for the trouble, may I ask what happened and what happened to consider them eventually broke? Any idea how many km or years did you used them? If it is a warranty case please cotnatc us or our shop, we do our best to keep our customers so your email would be much appreciated, you can contact us at info(a)berk-composites.com

We had some material problems in the past, recalled those saddles and replaced them, that was a few years ago. It caused us a lot of troubles but we contacted and replaced all saddles, it was already mentioned in this topic and sorry once again if that was the case back then. We were contacted by the material supplier that a material we already used was recalled, but we already had more than 200 saddles out and affected. Since then we check every material, every batch, every day, in order to keep it the way it should be. We do bond the saddle rails to the saddle shell in a way that also some other manufacturers do, and we also started with the development of the monocoque saddle, we will use that technology in the future also on our standard models.

Our saddles are ISO tested and maybe it depends from the riding style or just the milage that caused to eventually fail? Since MTB and Gravel are the type of riding that should affect more the durability of any product. Our products are on the limit since it is a ww product, but still it is ok for a 100kg rider, so sorry if there were any problems, please contact us and we'll see what we can do. We are on the market more than 10 years and I dare to say that we always responded and took care if there is a warranty case, otherwise we wouldn't stay for too long. I have to admit that if we have a warranty case it is the glue that can sometimes cause problems, but since a few years back we also test every batch to ensure everything is as it should be.

Thanks Jure, appreciate you taking the time to reply. I'll follow up in the email.

As far as glue/material issues, I had no idea about the bad batch. When did that happen? I would say my saddles were mainly purchased in 2021-22. But on your comment about gravel/MTB I don't agree. I feel like the issue is mainly due to the brittleness of the glueing material when receiving a very sharp shock (think pothole on high pressure tires and stiff road frame, rather than hitting a big rock dampen by larger low pressure tires and shock). Never had an issue with the glue breaking on Gravel/MtB bikes, and those have gone through hell. It only ever happened on road, and unluckily enough, several times during a race (I guess you tend to hit more potholes when tucked in a peloton, and brace less for it, so that makes sense to me).

As far as design, the monocoque design looks promising indeed. The thing I'd really like to see is a saddle with a releaf channel going all the way to the tip though, for better comfort on agressive positions, and favoring a hips tilted forward type of position. Have you ever thought about that? Something that would have to change the saddle tip design that is on all of your saddles at the moment

[justinfoxphotos]

First decent ride today with my new Berk Lupina short saddle. It felt instantly comfortable. It’s noticeably harder than my old S-WORKS Power saddle, but it’s definitely comfortable enough! Definitely happy with it and 100% leaving it on.

[lukaszzsch]

It’s also noticeably stiffer than łupina regular version and if you think that more flex would is better option for your butt don’t hesitate to swap.
I bought short initially but because of short rails I couldn’t have adjusted my fit, when I swapped to regular version I immediately noticed difference.


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[kode54]

I wanted to try something different from the regular Lupina...so went with the new MONOCOQUE version. Ride is nice and I still have to see how it compares, ride-wise to my Short Lupina. But so far, a great saddle.

[gabpolitely]

Anyone running the Monocoque with a saddle bag? I'd be interested to see how you'd mount it.

I'm considering trying it out but I'm not too sure if my Mori Mono saddlebag would work. Cheers!

[Berk]

Hi to all, thank you for your trust!
The shorter saddles do have a bit less flex, that is also why we use the Innegra hybrid fabrics only in the shorter saddles.
Regardign the saddle bag it really is a bit problematic, have to admit that it looks a bit funny since it forces the saddle bag to a bit more vertical position.

[Prusoli]

Question to Berk :
I love the standard lupina 132. The monocoque lupina is 12 mm wider. Is it wider at the back or also wider at the "hot spot " (like 12cm from the front) ?
Will you condider making a monocoque 132 cmlupina ?
Thanks

[wheelbuilder]

Question to Berk :
I love the standard lupina 132. The monocoque lupina is 12 mm wider. Is it wider at the back or also wider at the "hot spot " (like 12cm from the front) ?
Will you condider making a monocoque 132 cmlupina ?
Thanks

Put me on the list if you do this. 132 standard Lupina is the very best. Would love to try monocoque.

[justinfoxphotos]

Just bought my 2nd Berk saddle (this one's for my SL6 Tarmac). Berk Lipa which is 10g heavier than my Lupina short (which I'm super happy with!).

[wickedstealthy]

Anyone here riding a Lipa 133 saddle ?
I currently ride a flite boost. I had lupina saddles in the past but they where in no way so supporting as the flite boost
I really need a flat design and sit pretty forward on the sitbones (closer together). So the cutout shouldn't be pronounced as it will feel like sitting on steel cords
I tried Gelu ones but after 10min needed to stop riding due to stinging pain exactly because of the pronounced reinforcement around the cutout

[Berk]

Hi to all,
sorry for the silence in the past few posts, had some crazy weeks, here are my answers:

Question to Berk :
I love the standard lupina 132. The monocoque lupina is 12 mm wider. Is it wider at the back or also wider at the "hot spot " (like 12cm from the front) ?
Will you condider making a monocoque 132 cmlupina ?
Thanks

Glad to hear that, the Monocoque has a slightly redesigned shape - to describe it in a few words, we studied the flex of our standard Lupina and took the shape of our Lupina during the load of a 85kg rider. We took then the shape under the weight and made an updated Lupina shape, as a base, and made some small changes, in my opinions small improvements which we'll for sure use also in our future development of the saddle shape. In general it similar, it looks wider because teh saddle nose is shorter, but not really noticable, will try to prepare some graphics to show how it looks like (we do have some on our website).

At this moment we only have the 144mm and will see in which direction will we go as soon as we sort out the production a bit, since there is still quite some waiting time for the Monocoque model, to be honest I didn't expected that much request and we will most probably soon present also the 132 and 150mm model, but time is flying and will for sure keep you updated as soon as I have some more updates.

Thanks to all for your trust and support!

@wickedstealthy, maybe drop us an email, inside EU we do offer test saddles, maybe we can direct you to a shop close to you where they could borrow a test saddle?

[Tpduke112]

Just ordered a Lupina Short 150 in Gold to finish my SL8 build. Anyone with a light colored saddle, have you noticed any discoloration? Certain things cause it?

Excited to get it. Thanks for making great products!

[jc5650]

Will there be a plan to have integrated mount for light/gopro etc... in the future? I think most people would need to mount the light or something else anyway, that mount could be factored in the saddle to achieve a better look imo. Could be like what specialized and pro had bu in a WW fashion.