How the Prologo Scratch EVA was designed with input from FDJ-Suez rider Marta Cavalli and others
The Scratch EVA is Prologo’s latest women’s-specific saddle, and was developed in collaboration with Women’s WorldTour cyclist Marta Cavalli of FDJ-Suez.
Prologo says designing a new saddle was motivated by the increasing awareness of the women’s-specific requirements for saddles.
By focusing on anatomy – the wider ‘sit bones’ of the female pelvis and the different distribution of soft tissue, for example – Prologo is looking to address the saddle-related discomfort many women experience when cycling.
We spoke to Cavalli and the design team at Prologo to find out more about how input from pro cyclists influenced the development process.
Pro-inspired development
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According to Prologo, the Scratch EVA has been years in the making, starting with research studying female-specific anatomy.
Field testing of the initial prototype saddles began in 2021. Cavalli would trial the saddles in training, and provide feedback on her experience with them, resulting in incremental improvements to the design.
She says critical to the end result was a comfortable saddle, given how many hours she spends on the bike, and the extreme conditions she encounters as a professional racer – whether cobbles, gravel, steep climbs, long back-to-back days or intense race efforts.
However, Prologo recognises there is no one size fits all for women, and involved a number of professional riders from five different teams in the testing process – each feeding suggestions in to try to adapt the saddle for a wide range of female cyclists.
This process of advancing and re-testing the prototype model took place over three iterations and seven months before the team arrived at the final design.
Speaking to BikeRadar, Cavalli told us one of the key adjustments made during this process was to shorten the nose of the saddle. Once this was addressed, the team began to work on other features of the saddle.
An unconventional but oh-so-comfortable design
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The result is an ergonomic women’s-specific saddle that is based on the successful Prologo Scratch M5.
Compared to its predecessor, the nose is shorter, shifting the anatomical centre of the saddle forwards, providing an improved fit with a wider support base for the pelvis.
The nose is also wider, and tilted down to ensure support without excess pressure on soft tissues.
The saddle itself is made up of variable-density EVA foam padding to give tailored support – absorbing impact where needed, without compromising on power transfer.
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The Scratch EVA has gone off the beaten track when it comes to some of the common features of women’s-specific saddles.
Notably, the central cutout has been foam filled to create a continuous and solid surface.
Prologo says this ‘active base’ is designed to eliminate the pain and numbness associated with excess pressure, while preventing any hot spots or pinching from a full-thickness cutaway.
In addition, the Scratch EVA comes in a single width of 140mm. Prologo says this is because the round shape of the saddle already provides a large support surface, thereby catering for a range of cyclists.
The finished product
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Cavalli says that, thanks to the new saddle, her rides are more comfortable, and she feels more stable due to the increased width, but still has freedom to move around on the bike, using varied riding positions.
Something is clearly working, with Cavalli stacking up wins in women’s classics including the 2022 Amstel Gold and La Flèche Wallonne.
The Scratch EVA is available in two options:
- NaCK: €219, carbon fibre rail, 183g
- TiROX: €139, light alloy steel rail, 232g