Demo'ing fizik saddles may be hazardous to your masculinity

[MattTuck]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/29158552/IMAG0548.jpg

First ride on this Aliante demo. 21 miles. Interesting feel. nice amount of padding. No numbness. So far so good.

For what it's worth, I know they are from italy, and have that whole pink thing going on with the Giro... but still, I'd have preferred zebra stripes to this. :banana:

[54ny77]

i love my aliante and generally have no issues w/il junko, but does that grand canyon in the middle really feel comfy? are you used to a regular aliante by chance?

[MattTuck]

i love my aliante and generally have no issues w/il junko, but does that grand canyon in the middle really feel comfy? are you used to a regular aliante by chance?


The saddle I've used for maybe 7 years now is a Specialized with a big cut out. In my experience, at the weight I'm at now, saddle makes a pretty big difference in numbness. If I lose (which I'm trying to do) another 20 pounds, I think I could probably ride a regular Aliante.

[ultraman6970]

That one looks interesting because my ass cant stand arione.

[thinpin]

i love my aliante and generally have no issues w/il junko, but does that grand canyon in the middle really feel comfy? are you used to a regular aliante by chance?
Love the regular Aliante but this ^^^^ horror got 5 kms. I have never been so quick to dump a new saddle.
If you need a cut-out saddle my advice would be SMP.

[AngryScientist]

it's my opinion that the fizik versus line of saddles with the groove is a ridiculous gimmick driven by marketing and the public perception that a cutout = pressure relief. i love other fizik products, and can understand why they made these, but they are not well executed IMO. padding too soft, you sink right in negating the love channel effect. i've known a few folks to try these and ultimately dump them for standard fizik saddles.

just my 2-cents.

[Dekonick]

:: Sigh ::

Have you ever tried a Brooks? I know they are heavy...

[MattTuck]

Well, the original post was meant to be about the color, which is, in my opinion meant to make you NOT want to ride the demo for long.

Rest assured that I will not be buying the saddle unless it is comfortable. That's the point of getting a demo.


If I could demo a Brooks, I'm not opposed to them, other than the not being able to ride in the rain issue, which is only a small hassle.

I'll try an Aliante without a love channel, and even and arione as well, to see how I like it.

I'll repeat what I said above, I think a riders weight can make a huge difference in how a saddle feels. Not sure if it is extra weight putting more pressure on a finite area, or more tissue that causes compression/pressure when you sit on it...

I just know that I want a more comfortable saddle than what I have.

[cuda2k]

I've got one of the Aliante Versus, the gamma version, the channel worked pretty good for me, but I liked the shape of the original more, the rear doesn't kick up quite as much on the Versus which is something that my hips/IT band does appreciate. The Versus is on the Gazelle AB-Frame till I either sell it or I get around to putting something else on it.

[gavingould]

the color is yuck. though they do change the color every year or two and for some reason the test saddles seem to sell ok on the ebay.

fwiw, i ride a standard Arione CX and an Antares VS. have yet to try an Arione VS, but might work well too. other saddles i've liked were all Specialized 143mm Toupe, Avatar, Alias.