Aliante saddles - it's like Baskin Robbins

54ny77 · #1 12-08-2018, 11:26 PM

Was looking to replace an old tried & true Aliante....only to find that now the Aliante comes in all kinds of flavors and shapes.

Anyone ride a new iteration having spent a good chunk of time on the old? What's your opinion? Cutout vs. non-cutout?

froze · #2 12-08-2018, 11:57 PM

Everyone is different, I happen to like the non cut outs, but I have rode on cut outs and can't recall anything really different between the two! I have two Fiziks currently one is an Aliante Gamma, and the other I can't recall and the model name has worn off of it when I went to read it for this posting, I think it was an Arione but that maybe wrong and I have no clue as to the sub model but it was probably the lower costing one. I kind of prefer the Aliante over the other one though.

Both of the Fizik saddles I got were takeoffs that someone bought a bike and didn't like the saddles they came with so they exchanged them, I paid $69 for the Aliante and the other was just $29 (the sale stickers are still on the bottom side of the saddles).

I did buy a Specialized Toupe Expert thinking it would be comfortable due to the flexible sides, but no I don't like it as much as either of the Fiziks, I got that one on sale too for $75. That saddle has a cutout, but I don't think the cutout is causing the reason for me not liking it.

pasadena · #3 12-09-2018, 01:35 AM

I have an Aliante as well and love it.
If it works, I would stick with it and not change unless you are having some issues.

Although the VS and Open models look more padded in photos, they are definitely more race saddles. They look great.

I tried a VS version and it didn't work for me.

Also, the Antares is supposed to be my fit according to Fizik but the normal Antares was just "ok" for me and the VS, I could not get on with.

I went back to happiness with the regular Aliante.
The regular Aliante goes R7, R5, R3 and R1
The difference is weight and rail material.
*note the carbon rail R1 requires different seatmast clamps- the rails are not round.

VS is the split saddle
Open is the one with the hole in it

macaroon · #4 12-09-2018, 04:47 AM

If you just want a like-for-like replacement then have a look on ebay as you can find the old ones quite cheap. I bought a Kium railed carbon shelled model for £20 not long ago.

The newer model is a bit lighter and a bit better looking in my opinion, but feels much the same. I weighed the R1 model at 182g, whereas the carbon railed version of the old Aliante was over 200g from memory.

I have no experience with the Versus or Open models so can't say whether these would be even more comfortable.

soulspinner · #5 12-09-2018, 06:25 AM

Thanks Pasadena for the heads up on new Aliantes...

Lionel · #6 12-09-2018, 06:51 AM

It's beyond me why they changed the shape. The new ones R1, R3 etc... are slightly longer than the old one and have less padding. If you like the old one (like me), the new one will work but I still prefer the old one and have been accumulating them when I find one with carbon shell and carbon rails.

happycampyer · #7 12-09-2018, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lionel

It's beyond me why they changed the shape. The new ones R1, R3 etc... are slightly longer than the old one and have less padding. If you like the old one (like me), the new one will work but I still prefer the old one and have been accumulating them when I find one with carbon shell and carbon rails.

Couldn't agree more with this. The only difference is that the ones I’m stockpiling are carbon-shelled ones with mostly kium rails, since I have a lot of seatposts with clamps that only take round 7mm rails.

I did pick up a couple of classic Rapha saddles on closeout, but haven’t had a chance to try them out. When held up next to an original style Aliante, they are very similar, except that they don’t have the notch in the back.

Lionel · #8 12-09-2018, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by happycampyer

Couldn't agree more with this. The only difference is that the ones I’m stockpiling are carbon-shelled ones with mostly kium rails, since I have a lot of seatposts with clamps that only take round 7mm rails.

I did pick up a couple of classic Rapha saddles on closeout, but haven’t had a chance to try them out. When held up next to an original style Aliante, they are very similar, except that they don’t have the notch in the back.

Interesting on Rapha saddle. Who made this saddle for them ? Fizik ?

GonaSovereign · #9 12-09-2018, 07:52 AM

If you like the original Aliante, have a look at the Aliante Gamma Kium model. It's the old shape.

If anyone wants to swap their comparable old Aliante for a new style Aliante OO carbon shell + carbon rail, LMK.

happycampyer · #10 12-09-2018, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lionel

Interesting on Rapha saddle. Who made this saddle for them ? Fizik ?

Iirc the saddles were fabricated by Selle Italia, but designed by Rapha. Not sure if it's a coincidence, but the profile and general shape of the classic Rapha saddle are almost exactly the same as the old Aliante. I'll take some photos later and post them. I wish I had moved quickly enough to get some of the ones with the white perforated cover. At $125, I figured that it was a cheap enough experiment.

R3awak3n · #11 12-09-2018, 08:39 AM

I hears people that liked the old aliante really like the fabric scoop shallow.

I had a few og aliantes but tbh dont remember how they ride, I remember liking them though. Now have fabric scoops on all my bikes and I am a big fan. They are cheap, look good and above all comfortable to me

Bob Ross · #12 12-09-2018, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macaroon

If you just want a like-for-like replacement then have a look on ebay as you can find the old ones quite cheap.

You could find them?!?! ? Last time I tried that they were rarer then hen's teeth!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lionel

It's beyond me why they changed the shape. The new ones R1, R3 etc... are slightly longer than the old one and have less padding.

And even before the length change, the rail insertion points and/or length of usable rail changed! So if you had your setback dialed in on an older Aliante the new(er) ones -- like, since 2010 -- are not just plug-n-play.

fwiw, after riding Aliantes for a dozen years and not being nearly as happy on any other saddle, I finally stumbled across something that might make an adequate substitute: the Fabric Scoop Radius Sport. It weighs more than the fizik, but my butt doesn't seem to care about that.

54ny77 · #13 12-09-2018, 01:39 PM

thanks for the info folks!

the aliante (old version) is my go-to shape having tried out a lot of seats. in my mind it most closely resembles the old concor saddle, which some old farts might remember. the general shape, level of padding and little "lip" at the back just does me right no matter the mileage or intensity.

ERK55 · #14 12-09-2018, 02:30 PM

Anyone know if the Rapha saddles will be available in the future?

froze · #15 12-09-2018, 02:42 PM

I have a Fabric Scoop saddle that came with my 13 Lynskey and it's the worse saddle that I've ridden in a long time, so I stored it.

I also have the same problem with saddle manufactures changing a design I really liked to something that I really hated, it frustrates the crap out of me because I have to start my saddle search all over again. I can't figure out why saddle manufactures do that especially if they hit on saddle that most people like and got high reviews, just leave the freaking thing alone and stay with a winning design, but noooo they have to "improve" it but all they do is muck it up.