No pain, no pressure, no sweat. A tiny company with a big idea

Manta saddle & the Manta ray share kinetics

Manta Design development is based on Skye, an island off the Scottish Highland’s west coast, a supremely varied cycling environment.

“We are cycle obsessive. The bicycle is sublime fun, at the same time a supremely efficient transport machine; the future for cleaner, safer cities” – this was motivation to seek a solution to the [frankly] awful seating. Jon likes his bikes, he also likes the ancient cobbled streets of Edinburgh, he reckons there’s only one way to do both.

Manta Design Ltd is a proudly Scottish company that has created a world leading bicycle product. One Manta saddle has been 50,000km around the world, with the amazing Dominic Luther so far. Others are on their way.

Want a Manta saddle to do your bum a big favour? go get one here

Jon's idea for the Manta Saddle came following a move to Skye in the late 1990's. Inspiration for the design came from Jon finding himself with a lot of free time following the end of a job building footpaths in the Cuillin. As it turned out, the design required an even greater deal of time and meticulous development for manufacture, due to the complexity of forms, and those forms being in motion. "I had long been dissatisfied with how saddle pain impacts endurance - the legs are good for more miles, the backside isn’t. The designer in me felt I should attempt to find a better way to support the human body on a bike. So called comfort saddles were not really much more comfortable at all, because they are compromised. That was no good. The priority wasn’t temporary perception of comfort but an absence of long-term increasing pressure - not quite the same. The design problem needed turning on its head." Mock ups of what Jon thought might work (some existed as 'alternative seats') led to prototypes that began to show promise. Then there was a breakthrough. The new company, Manta Design, headed into a long product development for manufacture, primarily in-house but with vast assistance from friends and the likes of DuPont, to Taiwan and back to Fife. It took about 8 years, and a scary amount of money. "What kept me going,and still does - along with a ride like a flying sofa - is increasing evidence about the damage conventional saddles cause to blood vessels and soft tissues - the 'seat nose' was was clearly where it shouldn't be. They’re unsuitable for human anatomy. Just wrong. The mission was to get old, busted saddle designs left in the garage, and replaced with Manta saddles." - Jon The Manta is developed, manufactured, assembled and shipped from Scotland, worldwide

 

Manta Design Ltd [Reg. 04399997 VAT: GB939610796]
Manta Design Scotland Ltd [Reg. SC0355993]
5-6 Herebost
Dunvegan
Isle of Skye
Western Isles, IV55 8GZ

Registered Office: 
Smugglers Cabin, Rattle Street
Gorran Haven,
St. Austell
Cornwall, PL26 6JQ

MANTA Terms & Conditions, and MANTA Privacy Policy