Joe Cote
12/4/2025 3:02 PM
Jane, Monica and I rode the El Tour de Tucson Century about 10 days ago. When I finished the ride, my "sitting area" felt like I hadn't been doing anything. Next day I couldn't tell I had ridden 103 miles over 8 hours and 15 minutes. No saddle sores, chafing, or tenderness. Absolutely NOTHING! I have never had this happen on such a long ride. Usually there is something tender. I attribute the lack of tenderness to a combination of my bib shorts and saddle. Both the shorts and saddle brands are small companies that you will never have heard about. So I thought I would give a quick shout-out.
My first experience was with RedWhite bibs The Long Distance Bib Short Company - RedWhite Apparel<https://www.redwhite.cc/>. This company was founded by an endurance rider and the bibs are designed specifically for long days in the saddle. I did a comparison among several top brands during 6 days of riding 60-80 miles a day. The RedWhite was a clear winner over Assos Mille GTs, Sugoi Rs Pro 2, Garneau Neo Power 2, and Pearl Izumi Pro shorts. In fact, after developing some tender spots from the other shorts, I went back to the RedWhite's on the last day to reduce the discomfort. If you decide to check RedWhite out, make certain to use the "get sizing help" form. If you don't you can't return if they don't fit - and these didn't fit like any other short I ride. I am normally a 2XL but needed a 4XL in the RedWhite.
I haven't had much experience with different saddles; just some stock saddles, a few less expensive options, the Koobi Pro, and several different Selle SMP saddles - but I don't have wide experience. The SMPs were good, but I would still had irritation and pain during long rides. The RedWhite bibs helped a lot, but didn't completely relieve the problems. At the El Tour de Tucson Expo I met Patrick from Zeta saddles Zeta Saddles - ZETA SADDLES<https://zetasaddles.com/>. Patrick is a rider and chiropractor who design his saddles to "help you ride free from sit bone pain, numbness and chafing" using a patented "multi density reactive padding." Yeah, blah blah, blah... But I was looking for a saddle and Patrick made me a good deal - so why not. I must say I was pleasantly surprised to find that the saddle did feel a lot better. Jane noticed it to. There was just something about the way you feel pressure from the saddle. It's more spread out (which is one of Zeta's claims). That's not to say the saddle was totally discomfort free. It would feel plenty hard when riding rough patches of road. But after shifting around a little that went away. In fact I would say that for most of the ride I didn't even think about being in the saddle (even on the last 20 miles).
I wouldn't normally give a product shout-out. But these are two companies you probably wouldn't know about otherwise. Plus my experiences were very good. Of course, everyone reacts differently to both shorts and saddles.
If you decide to give these companies a try a couple of things to know.
RedWhite has a satisfaction guarantee, but it isn't clear exactly how far that extends and it will cost you return shipping. I think once you ride in them you can't return them.
Zeta saddles currently has a generous return policy. If you don't like it after 30 days, you can return for a full refund (in fact Patrick shipped an exchange saddle even before I returned the one of the two models I bought - it was too wide for me). I am not certain about return shipping and it may differ if it is a return or exchange.
Second is pricing. Both these products are priced well below the competition. RedWhite NEVER has sales and only gives discounts for orders of 4 or more (any sizes). Patrick is trying to build his business and currently offers a (limited time?) 20% discount on any new saddle using the code EVENT20 or get $25 off using the code $25OFF. Zeta also offers "pre-owned" saddles at a significant discount. These are saddles that were returned for refund or exchange (mounted) and have very little wear.
If you have any questions I can try to answer them. But both company owners are very responsive, so you might contact them directly.
----------------------------------------
Joe Cote
"Each thing I do I rush through so I can do something else" Stephen Dobyns
"Half of me wants a cold beer. And the other half does too" Lyrics by Thomas Rhett