Fizik Aliante -- sumbitches were right...

[bulliedawg]

Listened to y'all; tried one; bought one; went for a short fast ride this afternoon; you sumbitches were right.

It's pretty durn comfortable. More comfortable then any of the three Koobis that broke on me. Now if the durn thing will last as long as my Avocet 02 or Flight Titanium, I'll really be happy.

Went with the titanium version. Don't trust plastic rails under my 180-lbs of sculpted mighty girth.

sic'em

oh, yeah -- my arse thanks you!

[CIII_bill]

I have been riding an Avocet O2 for years. How does it compare to the Fizik?

[gwk]

Anybody ridden both versions (carbon & ti) of the Fizik Aliante? Are there any noticable differences?

[Climb01742]

i can't tell any differences. but since they're on different frames, any subtle difference in the saddle might be masked by the different frames.

and bullie, knowing your butt is now happy, well, my man, it makes my day :p

[dnovo]

". . . sculpted mighty girth" Bullie, my man, did you say that with a straight face?

I have tried both, can't tell that much of a difference, surely not something you will notice other than the carbon version is lighter, as will be your wallet. (My wife thought the blue would go nicely with the paint on the Tecno, so she bought it for me as a Christmas present. It does look nice, and the ti version is now on another price, but can't see ponying up for the carbon in the future.) Dave N.

[bulliedawg]

Counselor:

I was 2/3s joking.

CIII Bill:

My arse is more comfortable on the Fizik than the O2. Comfort is hard to describe. The best I can say is that the Fizik is more substantial feeling, less amorphous, absorbs shock better. My O2 got too soft over the years. I guess the padding broke down.

I'll just say that usually when you switch to a new saddle, no matter how much it mimics the shape of the previous saddle, you feel the difference for the first few rides. The Fizik is supremely comfortable from the git-go.

sic'em

[dnovo]

That's okay, Bullie, at my age, the only thing sculpted about my butt is the marks from sitting on the can. I am just envious of you. Speaking of saddles -- and youth -- one of the kids that rides TTs was telling me that his latest weight savings device, a carbon saddle (AX Lightness? or something, all I know is it looked shiny) was 'really not bad!' Yeah, compared to riding on a slab of concrete? And I used to think a Brooks was hard, but once I broke it in, it was great. I doubt if a carbon saddle breaks in at all, but at about 100grs I am sure that would make a weight weines day. Dave N.

[M_A_Martin]

How does the hip like your new saddle?

[bulliedawg]

Dnovo:

I saw one of them carbon saddles at the Calfee booth at Interbike. Even Craig Calfee commented that the thing looked like a pain in the arse.

BTW, "sculpted" and "mighty" was the 2/3s I was joking about.

MA:

Thanks for your concern. The hip pain comes and goes, but it seems to be going more than coming. Knock on George Washington's dentures...

sic'em

[Kevin]

Bulliedawg,

Welcome to the Aliante family. It is a great saddle.

I weigh 175 pounds and have riddent the Aliante with the carbon rails for over a year without incident. It seems to be pretty durable.

Kevin

[mikemets]

Same here. I'm 175 lbs and have a few thousand miles on my carbon railed Fizik Aliante. Really like it! I had some numbness issues with my previous saddle, but not anymore.

All day comfort too.

[quattro]

I ride both the Aliante carbon rail and the Avocet o2 Mens, not the racing version with Ti rails. Rode the Aliante today for the first time on my new IF Crown Jewel Ti as I thought I would give it a second chance after switching to the o2 on my last bike. Well, it gave a comfortable ride but I still think the wider o2 gives me a more comfortable ride and certainly for century length rides. I weigh 163 and find that my rear end prefers a wider saddle.

[SPOKE]

seems that of all the saddles i've ridden the Flite always seems to be the most comfortable. fortunately i can ride just about any of them and be pretty comfortable. the exception is the Trans Am. it just doesn't work for me.

[bostondrunk]

Anyone care to compare the aliant to say a Regal saddle?

[Ray]

The regal is wider in back, is pretty much dead flat from front to back, is relatively flatish across the back, and is VERY firm. Almost identical to the Rolls except for that very firm part (the rolls having more padding). The Aliante, OTOH, is a bit narrower (although it doesn't feel like it), has a pronounced dip in the middle of the saddle (or a swept-up lip in the back, depending on how you like to look at it, sort of like a Concor in back), is a bit more rounded in the back, and uses some sort of carbon weave that miraculously seems to have captured the suspended hammock effect of leather (without a break-in period). So, it's a different shape, supports your sit bones differently, and is a lot softer than the Regal, but without being mushy or pushing the padding up into the soft parts (since it isn't really padded so much as having some give to it).

Personally, I get along with the Rolls and am ok on a Regal, but I'm in a bit'o heaven on the Aliante.

It seems to really be coming into it's own. On one of the local centuries in September, I pulled into a rest stop and 5 of the 6 bikes at the stop ahead of me had Aliantes. Another 6-8 cyclists came in before I left and about four of them had Aliantes as well. Getting to be nearly as common as the flite was a few years ago.

-Ray

[Jay Torborg]

I've ridden my carbon railed Alliante for about 7000 miles. I weigh about 200 lbs. So far, the saddle has held up well, although I am starting to notice a little scuffing along the lower edges.

I put the ti rail seat on my new Concours, then swapped to the carbon rail seat to see if it provided any better ride. I couldn't tell the difference, although I didn't ride them both on the same day. The differences are pretty subtle if they exist.