January 9th, 2009 by 
thien
I purchased the Aliante about 9 months ago — and found it to be the absolutely most comfortable saddle I’ve ever tried. I believe the secret to the Aliante’s comfort is its suspension; the seat is suspended like a hammock. Notice the gold mesh in the picture above; it’s essentially a fabric weave that allows floatation. The Arione and Antares have more traditional carbon shells (as does the SLR). The Aliante is supremely comfortable whether pushed back against the upraised back or pushed forward on the padded nose. With the Aliante, it feels like you sit “in” the saddle versus being perched “on” it. I can’t say enough great things about the Aliante.
So how would the Antares fair? Oddly, the Antares is the widest of the bunch and slightly longer than the Aliante. It has a much slimmer profile and weighs a very respectable 177 grams (there is a carbon railed version with a claimed weight of 145 grams that costs $30 more). At first look, I thought it would mimic the feel of the Selle Italia SLR: ridable but not exactly comfortable. Amazingly, the Antares was fantastic. Despite it’s slim profile, the padding is dense yet comfortable and it’s width fully supports your sit bones. As with the Aliante, it was comfortable sitting toward the rear yet still offered enough padding in the nose for spinning up hills. The saddle was very comfortable over a 40+ mile ride, something I could never say about the Selle Italia SLR. I’m looking forward to trying this on my tri bike–as I the nose has more extension than the Aliante while also offering enough cushion for forward position aero-bar riding.
Overall, I still think the Aliante is the most comfortable road bike saddle–ever. The Antares is my second favorite saddle — a lightweight alternative for the weight weenie crowd that might even prove to be a good solution for triathlons and time trials. I’ll update this review when I’ve spent some time on the tri bike with it.
Value
4 (50$ less than the Aliante)
Overall
4.5
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January 20th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Great review! thanks very much for taking the trouble. I have been batteling with the Arione for far to long now, is so uncomfortable and I hate it, without question! I’m just in the process of ordering the Aliante and when it arrives, I will burn the Arione in the garden…….the end of this Medieval torture device!
January 21st, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Isn’t it amazing how popular the Arione is, though? So many pros ride it.
BTW, here is the original review of the Aliante:
http://reviews.roadbikereview.com/blog/fizik-aliante-carbon-twin-flex-pro-review/
January 28th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
On my quest to find the perfect saddle for myself, I picked up a Fizik Aliante in red and black. After spending hours of research on various saddles, I decided to buy the Aliante. I have just spent 45 mins dialing the saddle in and my arse feels fine! The best way I can describe it as ‘ a moment’. My search ends. Forget Specialized, Sella Italia etc…….its the Fizik Aliante all the way. Just putting the comfort to one side, the look and attention to detail is amazing. They state handmade in Italy, and you can certainly see the workmanship! If anyone is out there on that same quest looking for the perfect saddle, just try the Aliante! It just may work for you! Aliante……..I love you!
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March 12th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
I too have had an Aliante moment as well - for me nothing comes close in terms of comfort once you get the angle dialled in and I have tried them all (other than Antares). Also had major numbness with the Arione - more than any other saddle.
I think if the Aliante works for you (for the reasons Twain has identified - construction and you sit around it rather than on it), it really works. So many people just swear by it.
March 23rd, 2009 at 3:47 pm
UPDATE: been riding the Antares a lot more. Have to say, it is very impressive. While it doesn’t appear cushioned, it flexes to absorb shock. I put it on the tri bike and it seems well suited; reasonably comfortable up on the nose.
March 26th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
I’ve been riding the Arione for years. I love the flat surface and how easily I can reposition myself on it, but I can’t quite say I love the saddle because it’s a little too narrow. I tried an Aliante, and while the extra width was nice, I found the rockered shape to be terribly uncomfortable. Just a matter of preference, I suppose. The Antares looks like it may be the best of both worlds.
Twain, obviously the Arione is the longest of the three, but it seems to me that the extra length is in the tail and not in the nose. Can you confirm or deny?
March 27th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Jeppsen-it’s hard to say exactly because the “sit area” ranges. But you are right; a lot of the length with the Airione is in the back. For instance, riding it tri-style, getting up on the nose doesn’t feel as elongated as say a Selle Italia tri saddle (i have one of those too…).
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:57 am
I tested out the Antares for a weekend, but decided to stick with my Specialized Toupe that I’ve been using for the past 3+ years. If I needed a back-up saddle, the Antares would work really well.
April 28th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
I have all 3 saddles on 3 different bikes and the new Antares is best of the lot, check my blog for extensive reviews and comparisons.
August 1st, 2009 at 8:24 pm
I’ve been riding the Arione on two bikes for two years now (one team CX, which seems to feel a bit stiffer, the other regular). It was my saddle of choice, but I have felt after a few years that it does tend to concentrate all the pressure on a single 1″ spot right in the middle, which gets incredibly uncomfortable on long rides. The range of motion one has on the seat is a plus, but I find myself shifting around on it just to avoid numbness/soreness.
I picked up a slipstream Antares (kium, not carbon) and have been on two short (10 mi) rides with enough climbing to get some flex.
Basing it on the measurements and positioning of my Arione (matching the angles and the wide points of the saddles, where i perceived my sitting area to be), it was incredibly uncomfortable at first, and I was feeling the wings dig in to my thighs (whereas the Arione’s gradually narrow design makes it almost disppear). I had to drop the Antares back about 5mm, then dropped the nose by about 1-2 degrees (had to move it around a bit, so I am not sure). After that, it seemed to establish the “hammock” center of balance one feels when positioned properly in a saddle, not slipping forwards nor backwards. So, I mention this because certain adjustments need to be made for a fair comparison between the two…
So far I’m very impressed with the saddle. When in the drops, the flex in the saddle makes it seem as if the cushioning rolls forward with you (see Clive’s review linked above — he mentions this too). It also catches my bibs a lot less than the arione does after a standing climb, which was a major annoyance about the Arione.
Anyway, so far so good, I do recommend anyone with any gripes about their Arione to try this out.
November 1st, 2009 at 11:53 pm
I’ve been trying different saddles for years, looking for that perfect saddle. When I found the Brooks Swallow I was in heaven. I had finally found the saddle that really worked for me. Then I became some what of a weight-weenie and my 400+ gram Swallow was not working for me anymore. I needed to find something light. So many people love the Selle Italia SLR I decided to try that in the Kit Carbonio version. That saddle said OUCH from day one. I wanted to like that saddle but it just wasn’t working.
Then I decided to try the Fizik Antares with the Carbon rails. Right off the bat I was saying, “I like”. It really reminded me of my Brooks Swallow. It has a nice flat back. The padding is just right. I set it up and rode my stationary trainer for a while and tweaked the saddle’s height and angle. I got it really close to ideal. Then I went on some longer rides and tweaked just a little more. It turned out that I needed the saddle pointed down ever so slightly. Once I made that final adjustment I was in heaven. I recently rode 100 miles with the least amount of saddle pain I have ever had. Did the saddle completely disappear under my butt? No, but it was not uncomfortable at all. I’m a medium build rider (160 lbs.) with medium flexibility. Fizik’s marketing idea to match the rider’s flexibility to the saddle is what drew me to the Anteres. I really like this saddle and think I might replace the saddles on all my other bikes with the Anteres.
Other saddles I’ve had in addition to the Brooks Swallow and the SLR are the Specialized Toupe and the Specialized Alias, The last 3 saddles listed did nothing for me. The Fizik Anteres is just a great saddle and I’m so happy I bought it.
If there is a negative point to bring up, I would say that with the Carbon rails, you really should have a seat post clamp the clamps down vertically. A seat post that grabs the rails from the sides may not work so well as the rails are a deep oval shape and a side clamping seat post works best with a round rail.