Aeolus RSL AirLoom was made for Trek’s world class athletes before being brought to the masses

The brand new Aeolus AirLoom saddle was borne from the same minds who outfit Trek’s pro racers with the fully custom parts they need to perform at the highest levels. 

Prior to the project, Trek engineers were working closely with individual Lidl-Trek riders to create custom, 3D-printed saddles that were both stiff enough and soft enough in exactly the right places to stave off pain and sores that crop up after hours upon hours of training and racing. Eventually, they realized they had the know-how and technological capability to create a lattice saddle that was better and lighter than anything they found in the market. And thus: AirLoom.

Trek’s patent-pending, 3D-printed “truncated octahedron” cell shape helps make Aeolus AirLoom both incredibly supportive and ridiculously light.

Kayla O’Neill, a design engineer for Trek’s on-the-bike products, oversaw the project, and watched as Trek’s bespoke athlete support morphed into an offering that can benefit all riders.

“We were making custom solutions for riders, and we were seeing a lot of success there,” O’Neill said. “And I think because of that, we really believed in lattice technology for the masses. So we decided to make a general product for our lineup.”

AirLoom is the name of Trek’s lattice design, which uses a repeated, patent-pending “truncated octahedron” cell shape that offers the best combination of strength, performance and light weight. In layman’s terms, the biggest benefit of lattice saddles is that they offer riders finely tuned support, especially when compared to foam saddles. Aeolus AirLoom offers strong support directly beneath the sit bones and flexibility under soft tissue areas, helping riders who spend long, intensive hours on their bikes remain comfortable and pain free.

I’ve been using the AirLoom for about a year now, and I can’t believe the difference it’s made.

– Haley Hunter Smith, Trek Driftless rider

One of the biggest engineering challenges with lattice saddles is compression. Apply enough force to the saddle and the support can buckle and become virtually stiff. But AirLoom’s truncated octahedron cells are designed to remain supportive under heavy load, providing even hardened gravel and XC mountain bike racers with a nice progressive squish, not unlike a well-tuned mountain bike suspension.

O’Neill tested dozens of shapes with pneumatic presses in Trek’s testing labs. Nothing beat the truncated octahedron.

“Like the spring constant on a mountain bike, you want a nice even force-to-compression ratio. You don’t want to all of a sudden hit a point where you’re applying just a little bit more force and compressing at a way faster rate,” O’Neill explains. “I literally took all the options available to me, smushed them, and identified cell types with near constant spring rates. What we landed on supported the most load and weighed the least.”

AirLoom on the World Cup podium in Nové Město.

The Aeolus RSL AirLoom weighs in at a wickedly light 164 grams (and the Pro and Elite versions are no slouches at 180g and 242g, respectively, with the Elite saddle priced below most lattice saddles on the market.) That’s a remarkable engineering achievement, given that lattice saddles are made with denser material than foam. But that was Trek engineering’s mission all along: Spare no effort in pursuit of ultimate performance.

Trek’s stable of world-class athletes is an invaluable resource for testing new bikes and products. But putting a product in athletes’ hands is also often one of the most nerve-wracking parts of development. They are the most discerning riders imaginable, after all, and negative feedback can send engineers back to their whiteboards. From that standpoint, no news is the best news. Instead of feedback, AirLoom received rave reviews.

“When you race and train as much as we do — 900-1,000 hours of riding per year, and races that are 4-12 hours long — you can’t afford to be uncomfortable on your saddle.” Haley Hunter Smith, a gravel racer on the Trek Driftless squad, said. “I’ve been using the AirLoom for about a year now, and I can’t believe the difference it’s made. No saddle sores, because I’m not shifting around to find a better position. No more sit bone pain. And probably most importantly, no more soft tissue pain.”

AirLoom on the WorldTour with Lidl-Trek.

In other words: Exactly the sort of comfort and performance that O’Neill and company had been providing custom to Trek athletes, but now available to the masses. AirLoom was a labor of love that involved many people at Trek, including Robb McCollough, who led industrial design, Sammy Suarez, who shepherded AirLoom through final testing and launch, and Kyle Russ, whose biomechanical expertise helped Trek create the highest performing saddle possible.

When you work directly with some of the best riders in the world, you get really good at making bike products, it turns out. Now anyone can get a taste of the same care that Trek athletes experience on a daily basis. You may not ride 1,000 hours a year, but you can always always look after your comfort. Quite simply, your seat deserves it.