June 2nd, 2008 by 
pro review
Fizik Aliante Carbon Twin Flex – By Twain Mein 
- Cost: $250 MSRP
- Soft Gel-Like center supported by Carbon Frame
- Replaceable Scuff Guards
- Natural Leather Seat Cover
- Made in Italy
- ICS bag compatible
- Weight: Claimed 199 grams. Actual: 215.
Finding the perfect saddle isn’t easy. In the olden days, a hard saddle was said to be preferred because you don’t bounce in the seat. But at 40+ years, it’s nice to have a little cush for your tush! I’ve had the famous Selle Italia Turbo, a bunch of Avocets, Selle Flite (135 grams of masochism), and the highly acclaimed Fizik Airone (I find it too wide in the wrong places and numbness-inducing). My favorite of late has been the Selle Gel, but it’s a bit portly at 285 grams, and it’s no longer made.
I was in the market for a new saddle for my new rig, a Cervelo R3. I’d always been intrigued by the Aliante because, gad, it seemed to have soft padding but was reasonably light. Finally decided to get one—and I’m totally pleased.
The Aliante features a narrow though padded nose with a wide and high back. This essentially allows 2 positions on the seat. Sitting forward you can spin, Lance Armstrong style. Pushed back against the seat, you can use your quads to power up hills. In the middle you can cruise away happily. But the padding isn’t too excessive; you won’t bounce in the saddle losing efficiency.
It does take a while to dial-in the seat height, though. Because of the stepped up rear, the saddle is significantly higher in the back. It’s a good idea to set the seat height biased toward the (lower) front. Otherwise you can get knee pain from pushing from too low. Once dialed, however, it’s awesome.
Best saddle I’ve ridden.
Value:
Overall:
June 12th, 2008 at 7:55 am
I also have this saddle, and I’m very pleased with it! If you remove the rear scuff guards, you can bring the weight down to 196g !!!
June 12th, 2008 at 9:36 am
I picked up a braided white carbon Aliante saddle a few seasons ago, have not used it yet, but I can say it is light and beautiful indeed — and yes, I will remove the scuff guards to releive some weight and make it look cleaner.
June 12th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I have exactly the same problem with the Arione, numbness, which leads me to think that I will give this saddle a go.
June 12th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
I’ve had this saddle about 4 years and it’s been my best by far. Sometimes 150+ miles/day without any problems.
Most comfortable saddle for me so far.
June 13th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
I have the Sport version and have found it very comfortable. I wholeheartedly agree that you have to “dial it” in. My fitter did a great job. I tried the Arione for a couple of tries and experienced the same numbing as you describe. I have seen a lot of reviews that you either like one or the other but not both and I would agree with that.
July 5th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
I also had numbness with the Arione . It was light, but just couldn’t handle the numbness I got …. especially climbing.
So far this saddle has been very good. Best I’ve ridden so far. No numbness, no saddle sores or abrasiveness, and butt doesn’t get sore. It’s only drawback (other than being fairly expensive) is that even the full carbon version is 200 grams whils some other racing seats can get below 150 grams. But for the comfort, I will take that any day.
August 3rd, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Scuff guards don’t do squat. I had a minor spill going into a turn and got taken out by loose gravel in the turn. I had ended up replacing a Fizik Aliante, with Ti rails, that had less than three months of use and because the edges got torn up when the bike went down. No great loss. I moved the scuffed Aliante to the mtn bike and bought an Aliante with carbon rails as a replacement.
August 9th, 2008 at 7:37 am
Per the saddle, I know you can remove the scuff guards. This may save an ounce of weight, so tell me, does it screw up the integrity of the saddle performance?
I am seriously considering removing them — leaning the cycle up without them should not scuff the saddle any way.
Question: Have you taken them off then ridden the saddle? I want to remove them, but let me know if it just screws the saddle up in any way.
Thanks much!
August 19th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Thanks for the review, it’s a good saddle, sadly the price is not very good may be it will be down within a few moment..
August 24th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
I found that with the Aliante I kind of sunk in and was stuck to one postion only and it was not possible to change positons to gain more circulation. The Arione allowed more positions and room to move and was very nice until it split in half (although it was 3 years old). Now I am back in the market.
August 28th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Any suggestions/anything unusual about mounting this saddle to the seatpost? I just picked one up today and want to get started using it but am just a wee bit concerned about making sure not to break the carbon rails. The saddle comes with a torque guideline for installing, so presumably using a torque wrench should prevent any problems. At the price of this saddle, though, I thought I’d ask.
September 3rd, 2008 at 8:10 pm
I have both the Arione and the Aliante and I concur with the previous posts regarding the superior comfort of the latter saddle. As regards the scuff guards, they are merely cosmetic. My saddle developed a scuff which proceeded to scruff up my brand new shorts. I removed the guards and I must say aestically the saddle looks better.
October 1st, 2008 at 7:22 am
Regarding Brian’s comment on mounting the carbon-railed version.
The rails are wrapped in a kind of sticky tape which seems to add friction. Mount the saddle in the post and torque down; just do it a little slower.
And instead of yarding on it, just try to tighten it a few turns past snug. Try moving the seat backward and forward; if it’s snug, you are good to go.
October 8th, 2008 at 6:28 am
This is a lovely saddle for those who like a bit of curve to the profile and find the Arione too straight in the mid-section. There are several models ranging from steel rails, titanium and carbon – my preference is for the ti rails as it rides a bit smoother and I’ve seen too many broken carbon bits.. This is my saddle of choice for my trips to Europe where I’m in the saddle 6-8 hours a day.
As for removing the scuff guards: come on you guys – are you really serious about 20 grams?? Do you honestly think it will make any difference to your performance? Sadly, the hype seems to have worked because the market seems to have shifted everything away from ‘real’ performance factors in favor of ‘lightness’.
Bottom line; a great saddle if it suits you, and it seems to fit a lot of people. Like any saddle though, you need to try it, it’s not for everyone.
October 28th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Just another comment on this saddle. I’ve been commuting to work (bike-train-bike) recently on my old Nishiki road bike. I had an old Selle Gel on it but was definitely experiencing “saddle sore” from riding in street clothes.
Just swapped out that saddle for the Aliante.
Amazing how comfortable it is — no need for bike shorts under neath.
One caveat-it is also remarkable how I had to lower the seat post ~ 3/8″. Make sure you adjust accordingly.
This saddle continues to impress.
October 28th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
If Andy Hampsten rides one, I’m in.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/tech.php?id=/tech/2008/probikes/andy_hampsten_may08
December 14th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Been riding on the Fizik Aliante saddle for years and can honestly say it is at the very top of a small group of saddles in terms of comfort (the edges of the cover around the bottom of the nose and bottom length of the saddle do tend to scuff and peel from regular wear and tear quicker than some saddles with a thicker covers), and it will be the saddle I buy again no doubt.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:22 am
Saddles are definitely a personal thing – saddle comfort is a complex mix of individual riding position and style, body shape, bike set up, frame and bar lengths, etc. etc. I’ve had the old version of this saddle with Ti rails for 4+ years, and it has been awesome. Even after very long days (up to 10 hours), I’ve never been saddle sore, nor suffered any chafing whatsoever.
However, after this amount of use, I decided to upgrade – like RIA, mine was showing signs of wear. I’ve gone for the model here with the Carbon rails, but plesae help – can I use my existing seat post and clamp, or is there anything special about the carbon rails I need to know? (e.g. need a different clamp….)
August 10th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Andy-the carbon rails are taller and more oval.
They do work with an Easton EC90. However, I couldn’t get it to work on my Scott Plasma tt frame.
Ritchey makes adapters for their seatposts to specifically for them as well.
September 20th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
I upgraded from a standard Aliante (which I loved) to the Carbon Railed Aliante and found it to be the absolutely best seat I have ever riden. I have used it for several thousand miles and still rave about it. Very comfortable. I am thinking of upgrading to a carbon seat post but am concerned about damaging the carbon rails. Richey WCS with the 2 bolt adjustment seems like a good choice. Any cabon seat post suggestions?