The Tioga D-Spyder EVO seat is the latest offering from Tioga’s D-Spyder BMX racing seat range. We first reviewed the original railed version Tioga D-Spyder seat just over 10 years ago. It was a unique blend of 2000’s technology and innovation with a 1980’s plastic hard shell approach. The D-Spyder EVO looks deeper to BMX’s 80’s roots to come up with the most advanced seat ever made for pro sized bikes.

Essentially the D-Spyder EVO seat is for extreme weight savings and for racing only. This feather weight is built for speed, not for comfort. It’s probably not the strongest seat on the market either, with the spider web like construction, so if you have a habit of dropping your bike a lot, it’s best to save this little beauty for race day only.

For Tioga to evolve to this point in the evolution of the D-Spyder series a number of things had to happen.

1. The creation of the 80’s classic UNI seat that it draws so much from
2. The Olympics and the desire to shave margins of a second from a lap time
3. Proliferation/Acceptance of carbon fiber in BMX racing
4. Cool down/Warm up extension posts and quick release seat clamps so you can change it out quickly

The Tioga D-Spyder EVO is like the modern day UNI seat, with the bonded seat and post becoming one unit. However this seat will fit 27.2mm seat masts only. Making it perfect for the Elite/AA crowd, and those who are looking for significant weight savings on a pro sized bike. The angle of the seat is locked into position, but realistically it’s not made for sitting on. If you are thinking of seat for sitting on maybe look for something more comfortable.

Manufacturer’s Description

Function meets new form in the 125g D-Spyder EVO Carbon racing saddle with integrated post.  A shape designed purely for track-use only, the EVO is uniquely sleek and slim to ensure zero disruption under any riding motion, sculpted with swooping contour lines to match the fluid lines of modern pro-sized frames.  The EVO is 5mm longer than the iconic D-Spyder Pivotal to complement the visual proportion with pro-sized frames.  Its width is 25mm narrower, assuring the saddle never interferes with any riding motion.  The integrated post is reinforced with carbon fiber insert, keeping the system strong and feathery-light.  For those with a dedicated warm-up/cool-down saddle, the EVO is the evolution of the ultimate race time saddle.

Specifications

First Thoughts

The Tioga D-Spyder EVO is a super lightweight seat for the serious racer, perhaps it’s a little lost on me. I’m the kind of BMXer who just enjoys riding my BMX bike, which often means cranking the seat up sitting down and cruising around quite a lot. But the EVO really is a race day only type of seat, so it would be the sort of thing you would only use when things get serious on the race track anyway.

How Does It Ride?

The post is super short but there is a little bit of adjustment, it doesn’t have to be slammed all the way down. I’m the kind of rider who doesn’t even cut their seat post. I generally have the post about 4 inches out of the frame, simply because that’s as low as it would go. Riding with a seat so low felt a little alien to start with. I didn’t realise how much I was using my seat from the gate to jumping to sitting down across the line. Come to think of it the EVO might actually be good for me taking some of the laziness out of my riding. I normally run the angle of my seat closer to horizontal than the EVO, so a little lower in front, but if I wasn’t sitting down that really wouldn’t matter.

Final Words

If you are looking for a seat to save weight the Tioga D-Spyder EVO might be exactly what you are looking for.

Rating 19/20

Comments

• A race seat that’s going to last and save a whole lot of weight, now that’s value for money
• Try finding a 125g or lighter seat and post combo that’s built for a full sized rider
• Built for speed, not for comfort. It ticks all the boxes for functionality, but Tioga might want to look at additional sizes to cover the whole market
• The Tioga D-Spyder EVO looks great, the artwork is subtle. There is no doubt about it the Tioga D-Spyder EVO seat won’t go unnoticed.

Tioga products are distributed across Australia by BMX International www.bmxinternational.com.au. See www.tiogausa.com/bmx for more information

Reviewed by Shane Jenkins/bmxultra.com June 3, 2019