Profile’s Gator race seat is one of those things that people are going to love or hate, there’s no sitting on the fence. It’s simply the look of it that will make the difference. “100% Real Imitation Alligator skin cover” has to be the funniest piece of marketing I have seen in a long time, but it’s the 100% Real Imitation Alligator skin cover that gives it character and makes it stand out amongst all others.

The 100% Real Imitation Alligator skin (sorry I just had to say it one more time) is protected by Kevlar Corners, pretty much a standard on any good BMX seats these days. So aside from the unique look of the seat another feature is the Titanium rails, which keeps the weight of the seat down significantly without losing the strength to keep the seat in the right shape. Anyone who has looked at a seat with Ti rails before know they come with a huge price tag, which is why they are mostly limited to MTBs or road bikes. Well Profile have managed to make a seat with Ti rails that’s both very light and very affordable.

I have found there are two main types of seats for BMX, those built for speed and those built for comfort. It’s usually the seats like the Profile Gator Race seat that’s built for speed and is so uncomfortable you just wouldn’t sit on it. If you want a comfortable seat you generally have to give up on the fact they would weigh a little more and generally be a bigger seat. If I was to rate the comfort of the Gator seat it would probably be somewhere between a 3.5 and a 4 out of 5. It’s really not too bad for cruising around on the streets with.

There’s not a lot more to say really, the first batch of Profile Gator Seats sold out, so these things are hotter than alligator poop on a summers day.

Rating 19.5/20:

Comments:

• A race seat with Ti rails at an affordable price, you gotta love that
• This has to be the lightest BMX seat I’ve ever put on my bike
• You can’t expect too much from a race seat, durability, strength and just to be there at the end of the race when you sit down, you can safely say that the Profile Gator Race seat will be there for you
• Love it or hate it it’s unique. I found the stitching was a little uneven, I imagine it’s got to do with the materials, but aside from that I can’t find any other faults.

Profile Racing is distributed in Australia by Elite Cycle Imports (ECI) www.eciimports.com

Reviewed by Shane Jenkins/bmxultra.com December 9 2008