This week’s selection is the AERIS bike saddle by Mahdi Naïm Studio.
This item is a bike saddle, and we’ve seen several 3D-printed bike saddles previously. But this one is a bit different.
It is indeed 3D-printed, but also includes handmade components mixed together. Most of the time we see complete 3D-printed objects, but this saddle is a hybrid design.
The 3D-printing component is made using resin with the SLA process. You’ll note in the images that it is a lattice, but it’s not just any lattice.
This lattice includes three different zones for differing structural properties. The studio explains:
- Ischial zone — high density for firm support in aerodynamic position
- Transition zone — progressive density to accompany postural shifts
- Perineal relief zone — open structure, minimizing pressure points
And this leads to a question: where is the comfy foam you’d expect on a bike saddle? It turns out there is no foam on this saddle, because the design of the lattice implements the same effect. The lattice is designed to bend slightly in ways that provide comfort.
The leather, which by the way is “full-grain vegetable-tanned leather, hand-stitched in France”, is more than just decorative. It’s been designed to provide additional strength to the saddle by complementing the underlying lattice. They explain:
“Full-grain leather works mechanically with the resin, distributing pressure and shear forces differently, and provides durability that neither synthetic foam nor elastomers achieve at equivalent weight. The interface between the two materials is as much a technical decision as a formal one — designed from the modelling phase, not added as a finish.”
That’s quite a design feat, something rarely seen in the industry: combining additive, traditional, aesthetics, and function all in a single design.
