After riding a Selle Italia Flight Titanium saddle for a few years, I decided that it’s not likely the seat is going to “break-in” any more and the only way I’d get my butt to stop hurting after my rides was to try something else. I tried the SaddleCo Flow because it seemed like the perfect saddle: light, airy, and had a ‘suspension’ system kind of like my Herman Miller Aeron office chair. In theory it was nice, but it felt like I was riding a cookie-cutter so back to the store it went. I recently purchased a Selle Italia SLK saddle, but it went back to the store after just two rides. It looked cool, but was just too narrow and harder than my Flight.
I finally decided to bite-the-bullet and get a Fi´zi:k Aliante that I’ve heard so many good things about. My local bike store had some and I was really impressed… except I wasn’t impressed with the $260 price for the carbon version! So I bought a titanium version on eBay for $150… kind of a risky investment since that is a LOT of money for a saddle I’ve never tried and couldn’t return.
No need to return this puppy… I love it! After only one ride, it felt great (or should I say that my butt felt great!) I’ve never had a saddle that made me happy on the first ride before. I can’t remember ever coming back from a ride and not feeling any pain in my butt… it was almost unusual to me to be able to focus on riding and not how much my rear hurt.
What I think makes this saddle so nice, aside from its ample padding, is the carbon and Kevlar shell. My Flight saddle had a very hard plastic shell (and so did all the other saddles I’ve owned except the Flow) which doesn’t give at all. The Aliante’s Kevlar shell is rigid but has a little give to it which I’d assume helps absorb some of the road shock, kind of like the SaddleCo Flow saddle, only better because there are no hard plastic edges.
For anyone who’s looking for a ‘cool looking’ saddle that doesn’t weigh much and still offers great comfort, I’d suggest giving this one a try… if you don’t mind transferring the pain in your butt to a pain in your wallet!