Caution: Fizik Adaptive saddle issue
 

The one with the plastic, rather than carbon shell.

There seems to be an issue or perhaps a manufacturing defect with the plastic shells, perhaps that manifests in cold weather. Each of the last two weeks, I have broken one of these saddles in precisely the same manner. I was on my gravel bike climbing a relatively significant grade, and the temperature was just above freezing. Both saddles snapped at the nose.

The saddles were Fizik Antares Evo Adaptive R1 saddles, both of which were purchased last season. They felt great, and I really like the shape and the 3-D printed surface. But the plastic shell appears to be an issue.

Both days I ended up rolling back to the Start/Finish alternating between standing and sitting on the naked rails of the saddle, which remained fixed to my seat post.

Fizik is refunding my purchase price on the saddle I broke last week. We’ll see what it does with the second one.

That's nuts considering the price of those saddles.

A search for that model + the word "broken" came up with this instance of separating layers on WW.

https://weightweenies.starbike.com/f...61773&start=75

Ouch! FWIW I've had excellent experience with their customer service in the past - hope they do the same for you.

I saw the first one last week while we were riding, but now a second saddle! Seems like manufacturing defect?

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That's crazy. I can see a recall coming. Those are not cheap saddles and two identical failures? Something is wrong.

Glad it sounds like you didnt get hurt djg

Hopefully Fizik gets this figured out fast.

I remember the early Kurve saddles cracking in the carbon shell part but they seemed to have sorted that out in time.

Adam. Same exact thing. Same exact road in opposite direction.

I actual sat on the rails much of the ride back to Nassau. Last week I could strap the seat on part of the way using a Voile strap (never ride without one around my saddle bag). This week the nose broke off immediately and no such luck.

Jeez! Glad you didn't get hurt, but what a PITA!

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Interesting. I have the saddle, and my only issue is it flexes on harder bumps and ejects the saddle bag which you can snap into the back of the saddle. I stopped using the saddle bag, but the saddle remains great.

I think it is why the link bags now have straps

Saddle No. 3
 

Now it’s the Fizik Vento Argo 00 Adaptive Saddle that I purchased after Fizik refunded the money I had paid Fizik for the two Antares Adaptive saddles that I broke on consecutive weekends. I love the feel of the Argo, and it has been the most comfortable saddle I’ve owned. I thought that it would prove durable. Fizik actually suggested it to me and advised that it was more suitable for use on gravel than the Antares Adaptive, and would be much more durable. I do like the fact that the 3D-oriented cover isn’t susceptible to wear when they get wet, which seems to be every gravel ride I’ve been on this Spring. But this saddle also has started to fall apart after less than a season, albeit, the failure wasn’t sudden like it was with the two Antares.

Getting my bike ready for Raputitsa, I noticed that 3D cover is becoming detached from the shell at the nose of the saddle. I’m going to use a dab of two-part epoxy to at least temporarily fix the saddle to get me through the weekend, but a warranty replacement already is on the way.

I purchased the saddle from BikeTiresDirect at a decent discount, and BikeTiresDirect customer support is awesome. I called, was asked for a photo of the saddle, was sent a return label while I remained on the phone, and a new saddle was shipped almost instantly. I was told that because I have a been a regular customer, I didn’t even need to secure the return with a credit card number.

BikeTiresDirect is one of The Paceline’s sponsors, and I am happy to be a customer. I don’t know what to think about Fizik. I’ve used Fizik saddles for years and don’t like switching when I find something that works well for me. But I’m not impressed with the longevity of Fizik’s 3D-printed saddles thus far.