I first noticed little strips of plastic sticking out the back of the saddles of pro riders on the Tour of Italy and thought at the time that I should investigate. But I forgot. Then I started noticing ‘ordinary’ people riding with a plastic tail. So I remembered.
The plastic tail is an ‘Ass Saver’. A highly flexible strip of plastic designed to snap into your saddle at a moment’s notice to act as a mudguard and save your precious ass. Play the video to see how simple this is.
I have used temporary mudguards before. I have one that clips to the seat post and holds a much longer strip of plastic much closer to the wheel. I still get a wet butt. So I was dubious. But at an outlay of less than £10 including international postage I took a punt.
When the Ass Saver arrived I eagerly snapped it onto my saddle. Well, not quite. My saddle has tension pads in the back so it didn’t fit. But a bit of thought and some extra folds to the plastic and it was in. Not about 10 seconds, more like 10 minutes.
The video also shows how easy it is to remove the Ass Saver and store it under the saddle. I’m sure it is if you don’t have saddle bag. Sadly, not having a team car following me around, I do have a saddle bag to carry spare tubes and tools. So my Ass Saver stays on permanently but that is no problem because it weighs as good as nothing and the disruption to my aerodynamic flow makes little difference to my performance compared to my rounded gut.
For the whole month of September I rode around with my tail up but didn’t get lucky: it never rained. Or maybe that is getting lucky? Either way, you have me to thank for the lowest rainfall level for September on record.
The rain finally came in October and I am able to report that the Ass Saver works surprisingly well. Whilst the extremities of my butt get a good soaking the rest remains relatively dry and comfortable. For someone without mudguards the Ass Saver is certainly £10 well spent.
