De Ingenieur Award

De Ingenieur 2011 award

"Often, and long bicycle trips can lead to saddle soreness and worse, pinching off of several vital nerves and blood streams. In some cases this can lead to impotence.

A British designer [Jon Catling] presented last year the radical new saddle "Manta", with it support is diverted to the Ischium and muscle areas.

The company Manta Design, formed to manufacture the design, was contacted by a new British marketing team (United Sport), wishing to have exclusive control over the saddle's marketing. "Our first action was working on a different way to bring the Manta saddle to the market", tells Matt, chief operating officer at United Sport, "The saddle we named the 'Evolve'" (we now use the original name - Manta*).

In contrast with some adjustments to the traditional shape like the groove in the middle or the gel inlay piece, the Manta has a total, and complete different shape and construction. The saddle is built-up by several elements with a round centre piece, holding "side ribs" (levers, or elements) which are getting narrower from front to back.

All the elements are turning along the centre "spine" and are moving in the same rhythm as the leg movements of the person riding the bicycle

This construction diverts the pressure from the perineum to the Ischium.
Instead of locally a pinch-off in the blood circulation as happens using a traditional saddle are there no restrictions in the blood circulation when using the Manta. According the developers "after cycling, your 'butt' is not feeling as if you had been sitting on a bicycle."

Matt announced that, since new production started "a few thousand Manta have been sold worldwide, and there are not many countries where we haven't delivered".

"Manta Design already had a distributor in Germany, which we uphold, and we are negotiating with an important distributor in the United States.""
Addendum: updated for factual content – the “Evolve” is now marketed as the Manta*, and the Relax IQ in Germany.