Fabric has announced its ALM:HALO saddle range, with a claimed weight of 145g and a UK RRP of £299. The range updates the brand’s aerospace-inspired ALM platform, which was originally developed with engineers at Airbus. It combines a carbon unibody construction with redesigned leaf spring rails and introduces an Ergo option with a covered pressure-relief channel.
Florian Bont, brand manager at Fabric, said:
“While manufacturing techniques have shifted over the last decade, the fundamental design of the ALM remains timeless. The goal for the new ALM was never to replace an icon, but to evolve it.”
Fabric worked with engineers from the original Airbus project, now at the National Composites Centre (NCC), to develop the new design. The brand said its research focused on two issues in saddle construction: the centre sagging under load, which it calls “hammocking”, and wing flex pushing the centre upwards around the rail bonding points, described as the “pivot effect”.
Load-to-failure testing at the NCC informed changes intended to address both issues while retaining the original ALM’s leaf spring rail compliance. Development used Tailored Fiber Placement (TFP), a process that stitches continuous fibres into selected positions, allowing the team to prototype and test different structural configurations.
The resulting HALO design connects the rear rails into a single unibody base. Fabric says this increases rigidity and prevents upward pivot flex, while revised wing geometry retains compliance at the rails.
The prototypes informed a hand-laid carbon fibre thermomoulding process, with material placed according to the saddle’s structural requirements.
The ALM:HALO Ergo adds a pressure-relief channel to the ALM range for the first time. A lightweight foam pad covers the open base, which Fabric says is intended to provide pressure relief without the dirt and water ingress associated with an uncovered cut-out.
Specifications
- Carbon unibody construction
- HALO unibody rail design
- 145 Grams
- 265 x 142mm Dimensions
- 10 x 7mm Oval rails
Pricing and availability
Fabric lists availability through its dealers worldwide and via fabric.cc in the EU.
Recommended retail prices are £299 in the UK, €329 in the EU and $329 in the US.
