In March 2019 Paralympic cyclist Hannah Dines made headlines in the UK national press detailing her experiences as a female cyclist. She recounted enduring years of friction, pain and swelling whilst riding, resulting in her needing a reconstructive vulva surgery. As Dines shared her story, many other women came forward about their riding experiences. Alison Tetrick, a professional US cyclist, had the same surgery as Dines and had insisted that the area be researched by her sponsor, Specialized.

The bicycle manufacturer Specialized developed this saddle in response to the discomfort of riding a bicycle for extended periods of time. Women especially experience pain as a result of the design of saddles, that traditionally have been developed according to the needs of the male anatomy.

Following a 2-year research project, Specialized released the Power Saddle with MIMIC technology in 2018. This was a “women’s saddle” that increases comfort for female and male users designed by Andy Pruitt. He had already ventured into this field in the 1990s creating body geometry technology and the women’s Power Saddle with MIMIC was his last product before retirement. For him, this saddle is his greatest innovation, stating: ‘Everything we learned and all the technology we discovered with the MIMIC will go into the Mirror, the 3D printed saddle project. It’ll only get better.’

The S-Works Power with Mirror saddle launched in 2020 and is produced using 3D printing from a liquid polymer. The complex honeycomb structure enables a flex not possible to achieve with more traditional foam saddles and provides a more responsive and comfortable riding experience. The polymer saddle is also lighter than traditional designs, with rails and a carbon shell.