One of the most crucial components of your bike is the seat (saddle). It’s also one item that can be very rider specific, the saddle I like you may hate.
My saddle for the last 2 years has been a [Specialized Romin Comp Gel][romin] and while it’s served me well I have a few small sores on my posterior. Certainly nothing that has stopped me from riding my few hundred km per week, but I’ve been wondering if I can find an ’amazing’ saddle. Enter the [Fi’zi:k Aliante][aliante].
### Fi’zi:k Aliante
[Fi’zi:k][fiz] is a well known and respected saddle maker and the aliante is recommended by a number if riders I know. If you’re using a Fi’zi:k product you can be sure that it’s a quality product with well considered thought put in to it’s design.
The Aliante has a slight dip in the center of the saddle which means that you should be installing it in a slightly nose up fashion. This is contrary to most saddles where you should be level or slightly nose down.
My testing time was spread over a week and a half and 300km with one ride of 100km. Despite multiple adjustments and going back to my local shop for some time on the fit rig, I was never able to get it quite right. It always felt a bit like riding a [Narwhal][nar]. For my final ride on the aliante I adjusted it to a slightly nose down angle and while this greatly increased the comfort (no longer felt like a narwhal) I was always sliding forward on the seat.
It’s important to note that the Aliante does not have a ’groove’ down the center like my Romin does. This lack of a groove is why I feel more pressure in my nether regions. Fi’zi:k does make a version with a groove ([Aliante VS][avs]) that I’d like to try if I can get my hands on it.
### Verdict
Well it’s not for me. I certainly would recommend that you try it though. I know lots of cyclists that love the saddle and I can’t knock the quality craftsmanship that Fi’zi:k saddles have. I’m hoping to try some of their other models in the future to see if I can find the ’perfect’ saddle. My local shop has an [Airone][air] that I’d like to try.
[romin]: http://www.specialized.com/us/en/ftb/saddles/road-multisportsaddles/romincompgel “Romin Comp Gel”
[air]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001330R42/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=strugwithfait-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001330R42 “Fi’zi:k Airone”
[aliante]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004M0SQG4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=strugwithfait-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004M0SQG4 “Fi’zi:k Aliante Gamma”
[nar]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narwhal “Narwhal on Wikipedia”
[avs]: http://www.fizik.it/versus.aspx “fi’zi:k VS saddles”
[fiz]: http://www.fizik.it/ “Fi’zi:k – High Performance Saddles”