Any female riders that liked the Fizik Aliante but found something better?

[IJWS]

My girlfriend has been riding bikes since October and has been on the saddle hunt. She has tried some "women's specific" saddles (selle italia, specialized mimic, ergon) and likes the position of the cutouts, but they are generally too wide for her and cut into the sides of her legs. The best luck we've had so far is a fizik aliante r3-open (the series with the cutouts) which is a decent baseline but could use slightly more padding. Saddle selection is really important--especially as we're starting to do longer rides (40miles+). If anyone has found a silver bullet, I would be very interested to know.

Thank you!

[semdoug]

My wife likes the Liv saddle that came on her Liv Brava gravel/cyclocross bike. She has tried several other saddles, Selle Italia Lady Flite gel flow and a WTB Speed She (not sure of the exact model names but something like that).

The Liv saddle she likes does not have a model name that I can see. It does have a center cut-out channel and is narrower than the other two I mentioned.

In case you are unfamiliar, Liv is a women specific line of bikes and accessories from Giant.

[Irishgirl]

“Life’s short. Anything could happen and it usually does, so there is no sense in sitting around thinking about all the if’s ands, and butts” Amy Winehouse

To start my bike came with a women specific saddle and it was not very comfy....in many aspects...my a** hurts just thinking about it. With so many options I was curious when my LBS offered a saddle fitting(and that experience may deserve its own thread). My fitter recommended a seat and I didn’t like the way it looked... I thought the seat that he recommended was like an ugly pair of shoes and I wanted the pretty/fancy ones...one that matched my bike better - had different designs. My bike fitter being wise encouraged me to test ride...so I thought this is awesome - why don’t they do this with shoes?

I did...and

He was right

What I realized just like some of my shoes (or boots) are made for walking you definitely do not want to be hiking miles in the pretty heels made only for walking from the car to the bar with a seat. One needs a seat that fits and just like everyone’s feet are different so is everyone’s bottom.

My recommendation is find a seat fitter and/or try out the seat in the environment.

The one my fitter and bottom recommend is the Bontrager Montrose Elite.




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[chazzwazzer]

The Aliante Versus Evo might be a good one to try, as I found the Open to be quite firm despite appearing to have more padding. The Versus Evo’s shell seems to have more flex in use (I have and actively use two of these). Additionally, I read somewhere that a women’s pro team was quite fond of the older Aliante VSX model (which I have and enjoy as well, though it’s probably firmer than the Evo).

Disclaimer: I’m not a female but use and love the Aliantes

[bikinchris]

My wife won't ride anything but the Avocet 40W. Gotta look on EBay to find one.

[tab123]

I’m a woman and have tried almost every saddle out there. I definitely need a cutout. My saddle for several years has been the Selle Italia SLR Superflow. Huge cutout and narrow in the front for good thigh clearance. There’s a “lady” version with a bit more padding for my gravel bike.


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[fa63]

There was a period where I was experimenting with saddle height, and found out that having my saddle just a little bit too high (~10 mm) made even my favorite saddle unbearable to ride on over longer distances. So please check to make sure it is not a fit issue before spending a ton of money on different saddles.

[stien]

There was a period where I was experimenting with saddle height, and found out that having my saddle just a little bit too high (~10 mm) made even my favorite saddle unbearable to ride on over longer distances. So please check to make sure it is not a fit issue before spending a ton of money on different saddles.

This. Almost dropped a ton of dough on the new specialized women's saddle for my wife who gave birth 11 months ago (I thought body changes might be contributing to discomfort in the saddle). On a whim I asked her to try moving the saddle back a little bit. Comfortable now!

[Black Dog]

This. Almost dropped a ton of dough on the new specialized women's saddle for my wife who gave birth 11 months ago (I thought body changes might be contributing to discomfort in the saddle). On a whim I asked her to try moving the saddle back a little bit. Comfortable now!

To follow on this, Aliantes are very sensitive to set up. Changing the tilt of the saddle a few degrees can make the difference between pain and bliss. It may be worth trying some adjustments to the tilt before you jump down the rabbit hole of trying new saddles.

[charliedid]

My girlfriend has been riding bikes since October and has been on the saddle hunt. She has tried some "women's specific" saddles (selle italia, specialized mimic, ergon) and likes the position of the cutouts, but they are generally too wide for her and cut into the sides of her legs. The best luck we've had so far is a fizik aliante r3-open (the series with the cutouts) which is a decent baseline but could use slightly more padding. Saddle selection is really important--especially as we're starting to do longer rides (40miles+). If anyone has found a silver bullet, I would be very interested to know.

Thank you!

Have her try something flatter, similar to IrshGirl's suggestion. The Selle Italia Gel Gel Flow Max has been a very good saddle for all sorts of people who are sensitive to saddles and fit.

It's weird but some people can just ride anything. Damn those people!

That said fitting saddles to people you can't see over the internet is so weird.

[FlashUNC]

Fabric makes several saddles that are comparable in shape to the Aliante, with channel cutouts.

[douglas]

I rode a Fizik saddle for one ride a while back--don't know which model. It didn't work for me. I prefer the Specialized Toupe and Romin. Unlike your girlfriend, I need a wider saddle but Specialized saddles come in widths so maybe she could find one that works for her.

[SpeedyChix]

Fabric shallow race and Ergon SR pro women’s saddle in appropriate width have worked wel for me. The Ergon is a bit more forgiving in setup and if a cutout is desired. I don’t like saddles with a wide nose or are too broad in the middle range from front to rear.

Locally I’ve seen a lot of gals on the Specialized Mimic but that has a very broad nose. It also has a rapid transition to the rear which is another no go for me as they tend to be too wide too soon.

[semdoug]

You could also see if there is a Selle SMP Test Me program dealer in your area. That program lets a cyclist test saddles over a period of time.

[IJWS]

Thank you all for your comments. This is why the forum is such a great place!

-That Bontrager Montrose looks pretty promising, as do some of the high-end LIV saddles
-A more padded Aliante would probably do the trick as the open is very close to working
-The cutout on the selle italia SLR Lady Flow was really comfortable, but the width was hurting her sit bones...nice cutout though
-Dropped the seat by 1/2"/12mm last week and I'm seeing improvements in her pedal stroke, but not more comfort
-I have a feeling that one of the SMP saddles would be great but she won't entertain the notion of a gonzo saddle...on the one hand, I'm stoked to see her being particular about how her bike looks, on the other, I wanna get some longer rides in!

I think this will be an ongoing project. I'm happy that she has something that is reasonable, would love to find the "that's the one" saddle.