Anyone cracked a Fizik saddle?

[Brucer]

I like Fizik saddles because they're comfortable and they're about three-quarters of an inch longer than most others. Since I'm a fairly tall rider, the extra length comes in handy. But I also weigh 180 pounds and I seem to exert enough force on the tail end of the saddle to crack it. I've now done it to two saddles. The first one was an Arione, the second, an Antares. (I think). Just curious to know if anyone else has had a similar problem. Thanks.

[rheosibal]

Cracked shell? Carbon?

I've cracked two, but it was where the rail meets the shell. Antares R1 and 00 Models. Was able to get both replaced from warranty.

[cadence90]

Odd. I have used Ariones for over a decade; "Classic", "CX", "R1", etc.; all rails; and all of mine are all still in use/rotation. 180# is not over any real rider weight limit, afaik.

I have never cracked one, not even close, even moving around a lot on the saddle, just as it is intended to be used. To have two crack would be extremely strange.

Did yours crack at the shell, at the rail, or at the shell/rail joint? In the same place in both instances? Were yours set extremely far back? Was the saddle rail torque correct?

Photos would help.
.

[Brucer]

On the first one, the plastic shell cracked about mid-way between the back and the nose of the saddle. The second one seems to be weakening in the same place (although I'm not entirely sure that it's happening. At the moment it's just making squeaking noises when I pedal uphill.) Photos are a good idea. I'll go take a couple.

[peanutgallery]

How old? They don't last forever

[Bob Ross]

I broke a rail on an Aliante Mg ...once.

[EDS]

On the first one, the plastic shell cracked about mid-way between the back and the nose of the saddle. The second one seems to be weakening in the same place (although I'm not entirely sure that it's happening. At the moment it's just making squeaking noises when I pedal uphill.) Photos are a good idea. I'll go take a couple.

I broke an original arione like that. Horizontal crack left to right down the middle. It happened in the middle of a race and I thought I flatted.

[deechee]

All the time. Arione. The middle area gets weak after two years or so and it cracks. The carbon ones don't fail but I dont like the surface material on the new ones...

[John H.]

I have cracked several Fizik Antares.

Try the warranty through their website- they ask you to upload pics.

Both times they sent me new saddles.

[Brucer]

I'll try that. Thanks.

[Ozz]

Timely thread....

Finished my ride yesterday...got off bike and put it away, thought to myself: "that is a funny looking wrinkle on the saddle?"

Fizik Arione...cracked all the way across the middle....didn't really notice much when I was riding though. It is about 14 yrs old

I better take a look at that "best saddle ever" thread....:cool:

[zennmotion]

Timely thread....

Finished my ride yesterday...got off bike and put it away, thought to myself: "that is a funny looking wrinkle on the saddle?"

Fizik Arione...cracked all the way across the middle....didn't really notice much when I was riding though. It is about 14 yrs old

I better take a look at that "best saddle ever" thread....:cool:

I've used at least one consistently from back when they were first introduced and its still a regular rider, have 3 others also, all Kium railed, no issues, although the original cover was the best, sadly no longer. FWIW, my second favorite saddle is a WTB silverado, sort of halfway in shape between an Arione and Aliante, a little curve front to back but flat across, I like it for gravel rides and long slow rides where I have more weight on the saddle. But Arione still the best, I'd continue buying them even they eventually fail. But then I saw saddles of all kinds broken in CX races, especially lower category races :bike: so I guess it has as much to do with riding style as weight.

Oh, and I've been meaning to post a couple of these in the classifieds, vanity rejects that are just the wrong color for me now, new never mounted white with yellow stripe and good condition white with apple green stripe (matches Fizik bar tape of same color)

[Avispa]

I like Fizik saddles because they're comfortable and they're about three-quarters of an inch longer than most others. Since I'm a fairly tall rider, the extra length comes in handy. But I also weigh 180 pounds and I seem to exert enough force on the tail end of the saddle to crack it. I've now done it to two saddles. The first one was an Arione, the second, an Antares. (I think). Just curious to know if anyone else has had a similar problem. Thanks.

I have helped many friends with this issue.... But to be fair to Fizik, they have been old saddles with more than a year of heavy use and with the composite bottom, not the full carbon ones. I have not seen this happen to any of their saddles other than the Arione. Another issue I have seen quite often is that these saddles start to deform and shape like a banana because of their length. Many a time I have seen that the result of this was due to improper positioning of the saddle in relation to the seat clamp. A properly fitted saddle should sit at the most center part of the rails between the curves going towards the bottom of the saddle; obviously plus or minus a few millimeters are OK for personal adjustment. But a saddle all the way back or forwards (more than 1.5 cm) is a good indication of a poor bike fit.

That aside, I think that this "longer than most saddles" statement on the part of Fizik is not really true. Almost 3 centimeters alone, in the rear of the saddle and towards the rounded bullet shape tip, are counted towards its overall length and those are two parts of the saddle we never/should never use. Saddle width, is way more important than saddle length.

Today, I find two saddles to be the best overall: Specialized and Prologo saddles. And I am not talking about the beach cruiser saddles... I am talking about the kind of saddle you will put on a decent road bike. With Prologo I was involved on a car collision and even with its carbon rails the saddle was usable afterwards. Some of my racing friends (not the skinny mountain goats) swear by the Specialized Toupe.

If you are 180 lbs, I'd recommend you do one of those fittings they do for saddles (these videos are a good start):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7j9LUVJrjA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4yqVzjE9_Y

But these fits are great:
http://www.gebiomized.us/
http://www.prologotouch.com/prologoTouch/my-own-fitting-system/

And don't just go by the recommendation from the marketing department of these companies, if you know what I mean. Also change or inspect your saddles often or if you have two bikes, alternate their use. I normally have two bikes set up identical and I try two rotate them every two weeks.

Saddles are expensive if you want to go super high-end. So, perhaps find a saddle that fits and feels the same, but don't buy its most expensive implementation... For instance, Ti rails are just fine and it's very hard to notice the ride difference, but they cost almost $100 less for the same saddle.

[Brucer]

Thanks for the links. I've found most saddles to be comfortable (as long as they don't crack), but this might help to narrow my choices.

Here are two photos, at last, of the cracked Fizik on my Lynskey. It looks as if it's at the tail end of the saddle. I have a good Selle Italia on another bike that I can use to replace it.

[Avispa]

...they have been old saddles with more than a year of heavy use and with the composite bottom...
There I said it... Lol... By the way, have you tried warranty replacement on this saddle?

A couple of years ago I was riding a Prologo Nago X10 that cracked on me after I hit a huge pothole. They replaced it after a couple of nagging emails.

I think Fizik warranty is just as good, just be persistent when you reach out to them.

[Climb01742]

That saddle looks, well, um, very well used. Sharing those photos with Fizik_may_not help the OP’s case.

[Brucer]

I think I'll have to bite the bullet and buy a new saddle. Probably another Fizik.

[Avispa]

I think I'll have to bite the bullet and buy a new saddle. Probably another Fizik.

Well if you insist... Get a Carbon braided one with the carbon shell. You won't be disappointed...