MBACTION.COM Review: Prologo Nago EVO X10 CPC Saddle

A saddle: it’s a part of your bike that you won’t leave home without.  Prologo has been producing some of the best saddles for mountain and road bikes, and have developed a cult following of riders who won’t ride anything else. The Nago EVO X10 is a semi-round shape that Prologo has been using for quite some time, but the CPC (Connect Power Control) is a special material that Prologo has patented and put in some of their saddles and gloves. CPC was created to absorb vibrations and provide grip to give riders the best possible position during their rides.   Our test saddle came in a 135mm width, with TiroX rails, and a carbon-injected base. Overall weight is 240 grams and has a retail of $219,99.

Out of the box, the CPC coating felt interesting and peeked our curiosity. The coating sits slightly raised off the base of the saddle and feels like a bunch of tiny rubbery noodles. We mounted up the saddle on a Cannondale FSI and had no issues getting the tilt and position dialed in. The saddle rails allowed for plenty of adjustment. The CPC felt pretty subtle on our way over to trail, and really wasn’t that noticed. Once we hit the first climb and had to sit forward on the nose of the saddle, we could feel the CPC keeping us from sliding back. When in lycra, the grip wasn’t so much that it pulled on our shorts, but enough to keep us in the position that we wanted to be, especially on steep climbs. The grip was more pronounced when we were riding in baggy shorts. Baggies had a tendency to catch the CPC coating out of the saddle and would snag a little, but it never caused any dangerous moments.  We were worried that we would feel glued to the saddle going downhill or riding on flat technical sections, this was never the case.  On descents it was easy to move freely on and off the saddle.

One of our major concerns was how the CPC would wear. Since the coating sits raised it’s not protected. By the end of the test we could see some of the coating starting to flatten and even small spots that had pulled out, based on the position our test rider was riding in most of the time.  Prologo put a pretty generous amount of the coating on the saddle, but we will be keeping a close eye on the wear in the rides to come.

We didn’t notice much improvement in shock absorption but did appreciate the extra grip we had on steep climbs.  Buying a good saddle is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly, but we are hesitant that the CPC is worth the extra coin.