Any advice for an Arione trial

[dekindy]

I thought I would just try it for a 33-mile training ride but many cyclists have indicated a saddle felt really good at that distance but was reallly painful at longer distances. I think I can commute to this evening's ride and make it 50+ miles and get an 80-100 mile ride in this weekend.

Any other advice for trying it out? My LBS has my Aliante dialed in and my fitter is going to set the Arione up based upon it and the overall fit he has done for me. I know the Arione is longer and that has to be compensated for, but I am positive my fitter is aware of this and will take it into consideration.

[dekindy]

I rode it around the LBS parking lot briefly. My nitial impression is that it is extremely comfortable. Based on that brief initial impression I would probably switch from the Aliante. I am still hoping to commute to the 33-mile training ride and get a total of 50+ miles for a significant evaluation.

[Ken C]

I completely agree. When I first put that saddle on I felt wonderful, I loved how my sit bones fit on it, but when I went past the 25 to 30 mile mark it did become painful. I went online and the following advice helped me. Most saddles I set up with the saddle leveled back to tip, by putting the carpenter's level across the entire saddle. With the Arione I leveled only the front 3/4th of the saddle, ignoring the back ramp. This has made all the difference. I now love this saddle. I also came from a softer saddle, the Pave and my body needed some time to aclimate as well. It does take some time to experiment, but for me once I got it set right I now love it.

[pdmtong]

the rear 1/3 of the arione slopes upwards. DO NOT level it with an edge tip-to-tail. you need to level the first 2/3...or possibly even tilt the first 2/3 just a little down, so when you sit on the rear the forward section levels out. Now here is the strange part. I sit on the specialized ass-o-meter and it says I am a 143mm width. The arione is 130mm and I have ridden it for two years, longest 10 hours with ZERO issues. No numbness, no sores. go figure. clearly the only magic formula is what your own rear end tells you.

[Keith A]

Similar experience for me as well. I was all prepared to love this saddle, but when I first rode it I had leveled the saddle from front to back which put too much pressure where it shouldn't be. I played with the tilt until it was comfortable and realized during this process that the saddle kicks up in the rear. Once I got the first part of the saddle level, it has been the best saddle I have ridden so far. I've done a couple 5+ hour rides with no issues whatsoever.

[jmeloy]

to all, I just switched from a Koobi PRS Enduro (pretty soft) and had the same experience in that feels great for 15-20 miles (I may not be as fit as you guys!) and then gets uncomfortable. I'll check how its sitting tonight.
Thanks!

[dekindy]

I am glad I checked this before departing. I am going to get the level and verify where my fitter placed it. I am confident he knows the saddle well and set it correctly for me. But just in case!

[swoop]

its mostly longer on its back end... rather than its nose .. depending on what you're switching from.

[dekindy]

Ken C, Pdmtong & Keith A - I put the level along the entire length of the saddle and it has a slight down angle. I believe that is consistent with the setup that you are describing. My fitter has a short level that he uses to level only a portion of a saddle. Although putting a long level along the entire length of the saddle achieves the same objective if you angle the front down slightly. I think I am correct in saying that the Aliante set up that works for most people is exactly the same methodology as used for the Arione.

The ride last night was good but not conclusive enough to run out and buy a new saddle. I was getting uncomfortable about halfway through the 33-mile training ride. But once I started moving around some the discomfort went away for the most part. I got 55-miles in and hope to do the same Thursday evening and maybe a 90-miler on Sunday unless I get caught up in Mother's Day. Since the saddle seems to be setup as most recommend I will not adjust it and let my body get acclimated.

I could move around more on the Arione. The strange thing was that I really did not want to unless I absolutely needed to. I wonder if that is due to riding the Aliante and only having one sweet spot and not having the luxury of moving around. Is there an adjustment period to getting used to moving around to different positions?

[TAW]

I could move around more on the Arione. The strange thing was that I really did not want to unless I absolutely needed to. I wonder if that is due to riding the Aliante and only having one sweet spot and not having the luxury of moving around. Is there an adjustment period to getting used to moving around to different positions?

A group of us during the winter got the saddle demo from Competitive Cyclist which included 11 (?) different saddles. The demo had the Aliante and the Arione. The consensus seemed to be that people who like to find a sweet spot and stay in one position liked the Aliante and saddles which have a slight curve to them. Others who like flatter saddles and move around more preferred the Arione.

[Ken C]

I am not sure how the Arione set up would correspond with the Aliante set up since I have never used the Aliante. That said I chose the Arione because with the Pave saddle I had only had one confortable postion and I wanted to be able to shift around every so often. I grew up riding Turbos so I am used to being able to move around a little. With the Arioine I sit in the same position 95% of the time, but on long rides I like to be able to shift back a little. That said for some reason even after I had the saddle adjusted as I do currently it took me about 150 miles before it felt great. Because it is a plastic saddle I doubt that is was because it broke in. The company claims that the slots cut in the plastic fracture slightly and that helps it to form to your body, who really knows? I can post pictures tonight, with the level, of how I set mine for you to reference as a starting point.

How did it compare to your Aliante? Is the Aliante not comfortable to you and that is why you are trying the Arione, or is it just curiosity?

[Keith A]

Hey Ken -- I too came from riding the Pave and while I thought it was a comfortable saddle, it did indeed have a small sweet spot. Which is why I was anxious to try out the Arione with the extra area to move around on...and for me, the saddle delivered. I can move forward and back some and remain comfortable. I've been on the Arione for quite some time (years?) and haven't looked back.

[pdmtong]

Consensus here too is that Arione=move and Aliante=one position. I am a mtb guy at heart, so i WANT to be able to shift my weight fore and aft depending on what is going on. As set up, my boys don't feel anything (and that's NOT 'cuz they are numb)....the nose doesnt put any upward pressure on me. Look at the saddles side profile and you will see that whe the fron 2/3 is level the rear 1/3 ramps up. I'd also suggest being very deliberate with the tilt by counting the # turns on the bolt unl;ess you are using a thomson (which has the degree increments). that way you can apply some consitent science to how much up/down tilt you have established.

I feel like i heve pretty much nailed the fit on my ride...after awhile, it really does feel like the bike has disaapeeared underneath me and all I am doing is pedalling in space. the arione, ritchey evolution barrs and DA-7810 contact points I dont feel at all. As for the saddle cracking/breaking in, for me, it felt pretty good from day one.

Regarding mother's day, i solved that one too. wife daughter and i are going single tracking together after b'fast! My kid is 8 1/2 and she is absolutely nailing the climbs and up/down switchbacks now.

focus on the tilt. one approach wouldbe to over bias it downward and slowly bring it back up until you start feeling it.

[dekindy]

After about 6,000 miles on the Aliante I am finding myself fidgeting more and thought I would investigate if I liked a saddle that I could move around on some. Another reason is that out of 16 respondents to a poll, 10 switched and found the Arione to be a lot better, 4 thought they were about the same, and 2 switched back to the Aliante. That indicated to me that it was worth a try if I could demo an Arione. Most people are hesitant to let a 200 lb rider get on their Arione for fear that I will break it in more than required for them. I am not sure if that is a valid concern but I had not thought of that and since it has been brought to my attention I certainly would not ask anyone else to ride their Arione. My fitter did not seem to be concerned with this.

The Aliante is supposed to be leveled on the front part of the saddle or if a level is placed along the entire length then there would be a 1 degree down angle. The methodologies for the recommended initial setup of both saddles appears to be the same if I understand correctly.

My fitter just made the same recommendation as you guys. He said to angle the front a little more downward and that might alleviate the slight numbness I felt for part of the ride.

I just exchanged e-mails with my buddy. He is finding that the Arione is not as comfortable as the Aliante for 100-mile rides and is thinking about switching back.

[pdmtong]

dwight
IMHO it isn't worth paying attention to what others like/dislike. it's your rear end. Arione's show up on craigslist all the time. buy a used one. tilt it down. slowly tilt it up. if you dont like it, sell it. FWIW I weigh 180 and use PI microsensor shorts (the $120 ones). the biggest difference I think is the width. isnt aliante 143? Arione is 130. you might not like it more becasue of width than firmness or nose pressure. I like ot because you can move around. descending I can slide back. climbing I can get out on the nose if I want to stay seated. plus, I think it looks good too. And, if you care, it supports that saddle bag clip thing that fizik came out with last year
paul

[SoCalSteve]

dwight
IMHO it isn't worth paying attention to what others like/dislike. it's your rear end. Arione's show up on craigslist all the time. buy a used one. tilt it down. slowly tilt it up. if you dont like it, sell it. FWIW I weigh 180 and use PI microsensor shorts (the $120 ones). the biggest difference I think is the width. isnt aliante 143? Arione is 130. you might not like it more becasue of width than firmness or nose pressure. I like ot because you can move around. descending I can slide back. climbing I can get out on the nose if I want to stay seated. plus, I think it looks good too. And, if you care, it supports that saddle bag clip thing that fizik came out with last year
paul

I truly disliked the Arione at 130 (I'm a big guy).

Steve

[dekindy]

My fitter matched the fore/aft position of the Arione so that the width of the Arione would correspond with the Aliante sweet spot position and width.

The Aliante width varies from 116 to 142 in the back and the Arione only varies between 127 and 132. So I am not sure which saddle is actually "wider". I don't know the width of the Aliante sweet spot or if the sideways slope on the saddles is the same. This would make the effective width difficult to estimate also.

I will set the saddles side by side and measure how the widths compare at the Aliante sweet spot.

There is a 70% chance of rain today so I may not get to ride and compare the Arione original setup to a slightly more nose downward position as soon as I would like. The weather forecasters have not been very accurate the last few months so hopefully they are wrong.

[dekindy]

After 55-mile and 42-mile rides on the Arione I will look elsewhere when I have to replace my Aliante Sport. As my fitter said, the Arione was just not for his butt either! You either love it or hate it. And if you like the Aliante you probably will not like the Arione. This is definitely not cast in stone but after my experience I would agree with this rule of thumb.

My Legend broke a hub so I switched to my backup bike which has a Serfas Terazzo Select saddle that I purchased on faith when I started riding again. After a custom fitting I had ridden it with good comfort for 1,200 miles before relegating it and my Schwinn Paramount to a rarely used backup role. I was able to jump on it and ride 33-mile training and 80-mile leisurely rides with good result. I am not glad that my Legend broke but it was good to ride the Terazzo immediately after riding the Arione and compare the two. I will probably test more saddles but the Terazzo could replace the Aliante when it wears out. It will be nice to get the Legend back and compare the Aliante to the Terazzo. It looks like I am going to get several rides on the Paramount/Terazzo while I am waiting for my White Industries hub to be warranted.

I think next I will demo a Selle Italia from a local LBS once I get the Legend back.

[taylorj]

I truly disliked the Arione at 130 (I'm a big guy).

Steve

+1 and I am a small girl. I LOVE the SLR Ti 135gram baby!