When SDG’s founder and chief visionary – Jerome Mezzassalma aka Jerome "Mel" - coined the phrase Speed Defies Gravity and placed it on his surfboard in 1991, little did he know that 15 years later he’d be at the helm of an enterprise that manufactures some of the world’s most innovative products for both bicycles and motorcycles.

Back in the early ‘90s, Jerome’s first product was a motocross seat cover that utilized a little-known material called Kevlar. Taking the concept he made a mountainbike seat cover designed to protect the fine leather that was used on top-end Italian racing saddles of the day. 

Operating from a small factory in Southern California (an area we still call home), we then introduced our own saddles, becoming the first saddle maker to use Kevlar.  SDG became the first premium brand to hand-craft saddles in America, slowly carving out a niche among the mountain bike faithful around the world. During the mid-1990’s, SDG introduced some of the most popular, durable saddles, featuring super-light foams and distinctively stitched covers. It wasn’t long before SDG Saddles appeared as OEM equipment on large scale bicycle manufacturers like GT Bikes.

Many have become “classics” like the Bel Air, which is still in production. As the seeds of the Freeride movement germinated, Jerome created the Grand Prix, a saddle that achieved the “King of All Freeride Saddles” designation.  As riding became more and more extreme, Jerome saw that traditional rail design - over 100 years old - needed a facelift. Integrating a single fiber composite base and clamping area,

the I-Beam System was born. Today, many of the world’s top mountain bikers - in all disciplines – race and win on the I-Beam technology.

Jerome also applied his innovative thinking to produce the industry’s first complete motocross seat. He saw the time and money that riders spent applying aftermarket covers and foams to their bikes, and so he developed the first complete, affordable aftermarket MX saddle. Today SDG offers over 60 models, and its seats are ridden by such top racers as Travis Preston, David Vuilemin, Tim Ferry,Robbie Reynard, Shae Bentley, Kyle Lewsi, Nathan Ramsey and Mike Alessi of the Red Bull-KTM team, Kurt Nicol of the Factory Super Moto KTM Team, Factory White Bros, Ty Davis Racing and many more.

In 2002, sales of SDG’s XR50 tall seats were exploding, signaling the emerging popularity of mini motocross bikes. Enthusiasts were piecing bikes together from costly aftermarket components. As the mini movement grew, SDG joined the party in 2004 and developed the Speed Mini (107cc), the industry’s first race-ready pit bike.  By 2005, SDG introduced two additional models, the Lil’ Mini (50cc) and Pro Mini (125cc). All three bikes are industry standards which the competition is judged.

SDG continue’s to innovate and produce some of the most popular products in their respective industries. Our moto seats and bicycle seats and now the I beam seat/post system are riding by some of the best riders in the world.