Road Cycling - Selle Italia Flite Genuine Gel..Experiences??

Anyone tried one of these? I currently have a San Marco Azoto Gel saddle on my Bianchi and I hate it....the saddle feels like its pitching me forward no matter where I put it and it is just not comfortable to my anatomy.

Anyone have experience with the Flite Genuine Gel? Positive/Negative?

I love the Flite saddle and use nothing else on my road bikes. BUT...I bought the Flite Genuine Gel last year and had nothing but trouble with it. The little gel insert served no purpose except to cause chafing and irritation. I had a terrible time with saddle sores until I took it off and replaced it with a regular Flite.

I have a Selle Italia Oktavia Genuine Gel and love it. Once again though it depends on the person and how the particular saddle fits them.

It is a pain in the arse to find a good saddle...:crash:

Originally posted by RegularGuy
I love the Flite saddle and use nothing else on my road bikes. BUT...I bought the Flite Genuine Gel last year and had nothing but trouble with it. The little gel insert served no purpose except to cause chafing and irritation. I had a terrible time with saddle sores until I took it off and replaced it with a regular Flite.


Hm, my san marco has gel inserts in simlar places but they dont bother me, its mostly the shape of the san marco that I hate; to raised in the rear and seems short and stubby in the nose feels like its pushing me off of it, and is just not comfortable. Ive never had problems with chafing on any saddle. Hell, I suppose I will give it a try.

thanks everyone so far.....any more comments appreciated.

I've ridden two seasons on a Genuine Gel and it's going to be replaced next spring. The ridges on the saddle irritate my bottom. Not real bad, but after two years enough is enough.

Going to a Flite TT to match the one on my XC bike. I really like the TT and it's 70g lighter than the Genuine Gel.

I don't know how it's possible to listen to other people about a seat and conclude that it'll be just right for your posterior. Too many variables involved....

That said.... I've got the Selle Italia Flite Genuine Gel Titanium and after ~ 11,000 miles on it - the seat's a winner with me. I just wish I hadn't bought the yellow one. (It was on sale at the time and didn't clash with the bike I put it onto first.)

great saddle. just bought another one to replace my first one

I have one... it's a very nicely made saddle but I don't think it fits me very well so I'm looking for something else... I think I have very wide sit bones so I'm looking for something wider

I hear the pro link is wider... I hope the flite gel is a good saddle cause I just ordered one. I had a concor (frech for kill your nads) and hated it. Right now I have a saddle made by performance, I think it is the Forte classic sl with ti rails... if anybody wnats it let me know... i got rid of it because i wanted the blue flite.

Originally posted by Trekaholic
I don't know how it's possible to listen to other people about a seat and conclude that it'll be just right for your posterior. Too many variables involved....

That said.... I've got the Selle Italia Flite Genuine Gel Titanium and after ~ 11,000 miles on it - the seat's a winner with me. I just wish I hadn't bought the yellow one. (It was on sale at the time and didn't clash with the bike I put it onto first.)

I was asking out of curiousity with regard to others experiences....I dont think that just because one guy likes it, that it will be a great fit for me.

Hopefully it will work out though.

I totally agree with Trekahaloic, you shouldn't conclude that the saddle being discussed here will be good for you because we say it works for us,you really have to go and try it for your self......But with that I will say that I ABSOUTLY love that genuine gel saddle by selle italia, I run it on 4 of my bikes, and I hope they continue to make it, cause it's great in my mind and for my body..

Benjamin
in michigan

Originally posted by caadman
I totally agree with Trekahaloic, you shouldn't conclude that the saddle being discussed here will be good for you because we say it works for us,you really have to go and try it for your self......But with that I will say that I ABSOUTLY love that genuine gel saddle by selle italia, I run it on 4 of my bikes, and I hope they continue to make it, cause it's great in my mind and for my body..

Benjamin
in michigan

I wasnt concluding anything. Just wanted to know if others were happy with the product.

I just replaced one of these. It was actually really comfortable for awhile, but it got to the point where the gel was more uncomfortable than helpful.

I replaced it with a Selle San Marco Aspide that's much lighter and way more comfy. :)

Originally posted by Ritalin
I have one... it's a very nicely made saddle but I don't think it fits me very well so I'm looking for something else... I think I have very wide sit bones so I'm looking for something wider
Ritalin, Try the Trans-am its a wider saddle and has the
"anatomic cutout". I have one and its ok. I just switched
to a Brooks B17 and its the most comfortable saddle I've put
my butt on. One caveat to the brooks, its not for weight
weenies, its a good 1/2 pound heavier than the Selle's.

Marty

used one, but found San Marco Era to be even more comfortable.

If you don't mind a tiny bit more weight, try the Selle Italia XO - great value.

Richard

I ride a Selle Italia Flite Genuine Gel and also a regular Selle Italia Flite. They both feel right to me, but I also wear bibs with a gel insert. I also have found that changing the position of the gel saddle has helped in comfort. Sometimes the smallest adjustment backward, forward or up and down will make the difference. These Flites were a big change for me. I rode Brooks leather seats for 20 years.;)

I found this saddle to be the exact opposite of what I needed. The gel insert increased the pressure on my perineum, contributing to numbness and chafing. The saddle was also just a touch too narrow for my sit bones, which exascerbated the pressure problem.

This told me that what might work for me was a saddle just a trifle wider, with a cutout down the middle. The SI Max Flite Trans Am was perfect, and many thousands of miles later I'm very happy with them on both of my bikes.

The moral of this story is that trial and analysis will guide you to the right saddle. Using the "sit on something soft and measure the distance between the pits" method to determine your sit-bone dimension can at least help you start with the correct width saddle, however.

RichC

Where can you find the dimensions of the Selle Italia saddles? I currently own two ProLink TransAm's, I'm looking at picking up a ProLink Genuine Gel for another bike (need a red saddle to match the bike!).

I want to make sure both saddles are the same length / width.

Originally posted by Joe Gardner
Where can you find the dimensions of the Selle Italia saddles? I currently own two ProLink TransAm's, I'm looking at picking up a ProLink Genuine Gel for another bike (need a red saddle to match the bike!).

I want to make sure both saddles are the same length / width.

You can get it off Selle Italia's website (http://www.selleitalia.com/products/scheda.php3?itemid=7).

...

PROLINK GENUINE GEL: SIZE 275X139 MM (lxw)WEIGHT 335(grams +-8%) RAIL Carbon Composite

PROLINK TRANS AM: SIZE 275X139 MM (lxw)WEIGHT 305(grams +-8%) RAIL Carbon Composite

...

They look to be the same. I know most Selle Italias are this way... different versions of the same saddle have the same profile. This at least was the case between my regular Flite and my Flite Genuine Gel. BTW, I'm also thinking about switching to Prolinks even though I do like my Flites for the most part. I wonder if I should go with the plain one or stick with the Genuine Gel version.

Originally posted by Joe Gardner
Where can you find the dimensions of the Selle Italia saddles? I currently own two ProLink TransAm's, I'm looking at picking up a ProLink Genuine Gel for another bike (need a red saddle to match the bike!).

I want to make sure both saddles are the same length / width.

They're listed at www.selleitalia.com:

PROLINK GENUINE GEL: SIZE 275X139 MM (lxw)WEIGHT 335(grams +-8%) RAIL Carbon Composite

PROLINK TRANS AM: SIZE 275X139 MM (lxw)WEIGHT 305(grams +-8%) RAIL Carbon Composite

I don't know if overall width is necessarily going to tell someone whether a saddle with match their sit-bones (because the location of the support may be closer to the edge or to the center depending on the saddle) but at least this tells you both of those ProLinks are nominally the same size.

RichC

If you're willing to consider a saddle from a company that doesn't have "selle" in its name, you might look at fi'zi:k. I've got a pave`(Ti rails and Twin Tech gel inserts) and like it.

This newbee is happy so far with my new Selle Italia Flite Genuine Gel saddle. Give me another 3months and ask me again.

Well I bought the Flite GGel...........took it out yesterday for about 28 miles and it was a lot nicer than my old one. Narrower, which fits me better and it was longer than my San Marco. took a while to get the postion right but I like it so far. Hopefully Ive found my saddle......