IN BRIEF
Silca is adding a Mattone Ultimate to its saddle bag range, quoted at 44 grams — half the weight, according to the brand, of the original Mattone’s 90 grams. It is listed at €115 on Silca’s European store. The bag drops stitched fabric in favour of TPU composite panels joined by high-frequency welding, a seamless process meant to limit water ingress and hold the bag closer to the saddle rails. Closure is handled by a BOA Li2 dial, whose micro-adjustable tension pulls the bag upwards, according to the brand, to limit sway. Quoted capacity: 0.4 litres, enough for an inner tube, a CO2 cartridge, tyre levers and a multi-tool.
| Price | 115 € |
| Weight | 44 g (1.55 oz) |
| Capacity | 0.4 litres |
| Dimensions | 128 × 60 × 91 mm |
| Material | High-frequency-welded TPU composite |
| Closure | BOA Li2 dial, TX4 textile lace |
| Zip | Water-resistant YKK |
| Strap | Hypalon-reinforced |
| Other | Integrated mount for a light or a camera |
| Warranty | 2 years against manufacturing defects |
A saddle bag is a matter of compromise, between the volume you carry and how well the bag holds under the saddle. Silca, which has long sold expensive objects to people who weigh their bottles, offers its answer in the shape of a 44-gram bag closed by a BOA dial.
The Silca Mattone Ultimate swaps stitching for welding
The figure Silca leads with is the one on the scales: 44 grams, against 90 grams for the original Mattone, which is “a 50% reduction” according to the official spec sheet. The explanation lies as much in the manufacturing process as in the size. The brand says it is giving up “traditional stitched fabric construction” in favour of outer panels in TPU composite assembled by high-frequency welding.
Silca claims two benefits from this, which the spec sheet puts as follows: the smooth, seamless surface would allow a fit “closer to the saddle rails” while “limiting water entry points”. That is the usual argument of the welded bag against the stitched one, and it will be worth whatever the TPU’s ageing turns out to be — which will take a season to judge.
A BOA dial to stop the bag dancing
That is the other design choice. Where the original Mattone uses, according to Silca, a standard dial and an open buckle, the Ultimate gets a BOA Li2 system: a thin metal dial and a TX4 textile lace. The stated benefit is not ease of handling but hold: the spec sheet describes a “micro-adjustable compression that tightens around the TPU body and pulls the whole bag upwards to eliminate sway”.
The rest of the kit follows the same logic: a Hypalon-reinforced strap, a YKK zip said to be water-resistant, and an integrated mount for a light or a camera. Inside, the spec sheet describes a clamshell opening onto a single 0.4-litre compartment, plus a flat pocket in the lid.
€115 for 0.4 litres
The price is the house’s own: €115 on Silca’s European store, which ships from the Netherlands. For that money, the manufacturer quotes a usable volume that takes, by its own list, “an inner tube, a CO2 cartridge, a regulator, tyre levers and a multi-tool” — the puncture kit, then, and nothing more.
Silca is upfront about the target, too: the spec sheet describes a product “designed specifically for road cyclists and racers who prefer a discreet fit”. In other words, this is not a touring bag, and it will not swallow a windproof jacket. The warranty is two years against manufacturing defects.
