As luck would have it, I’m bringing you a fairly exclusive scoop, as the RideOut website doesn’t reflect this information, and their press release hasn’t even been sent out yet. I’ve been following RideOut Technologies and their Carbon Comfort saddle since I first saw it at Interbike 2009, as it seems to be a well thought out product that does exactly what it claims to do – make riding more comfortable. This week, I checked in with Jeri, the developer of the saddle, to see if there was anything new and exciting going on. She provided me with a sneak preview of their newest version of the seat, with pink trim, as well as an update on distribution and a new program for “giving back”.
First, the saddle. All the comfort of the original, but now with pink trim. Adding a splash of color is hardly a technological breakthrough, but it will certainly add to the appeal an already great product. When I showed the photos to my wife, she immediately commented that not only did the seat look comfy, but she really liked that it’s offered with a more “girly” look. Win! Expected availability is mid-May, 2011.
Next up, sales and distribution. The popularity of the Carbon Comfort Saddle translates to brisk sales, and they have just signed up a Canadian distributor, in addition to their South Korean and Brazilian partners. Expanding Internationally is always a good sign, especially for a new company, and in these somewhat uncertain financial times.
Finally, they have joined the growing list of companies that are “giving back” as a way of saying thank you for choosing to do business with them. RideOut customers will be able to direct 2% of their purchase price to be donated to either cancer research, or Rails to Trails. While this hasn’t been coded into their website yet, they did have someone working on it as I was writing this article. I’ll post an update once it’s live.
One of the things that I enjoy about meeting people in the cycling industry is how much enthusiasm they have. At Interbike, Jeri was just as cheerful at 4PM as she was when I spoke to her at 10AM, after demonstrating her saddle who knows how many times. And her emails are always punctuated with exclamation points, underscoring the fact they even with all the long hours and hard work to bring her product to market, she remains excited about it. That kind of energy, along with her design efforts, are certainly major components to her success.
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