Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Fizik Aliante?

Supposedly this is for clydes? I'm 230 and dropping, but my saddle kills me two minutes into the ride.

Anyone with experience with this or the Kurve?

Thanks.

What saddle do you have?

I have the specialized body geometry (avatar?). stock seat for the 2008 roubaix.

Start out with the saddle Level.

Make nose adjustment up or down, ever which way feels good to you.

Wear bike shorts, no underwear. Use chamois lube.

Pull you junk up in front on your shorts.

Do frequent rides as compared to long rides.

Takes some time for your body to adjust to your bike.

I have aliantes on two of my bikes and absolutely love them. I have the higher end version where the whole underside of the saddle is carbon. I've tried the model down where the underside is mostly plastic with a small carbon relief cutout and didn't find that one as comfortable.

Saddles are extremely personal and unfortunately the good ones are all expensive. I would see if you can find a shop with a loaner/rental program to try it out first. There's also some online sites where you pay a deposit and they mail you the saddle so you can try. If you decide to keep it they credit you the deposit towards the purchase. My friend used one of these sites a few years ago and tried 3-4 saddles, (that's how I found the aliante) but I can't remember the site.

+1 to what 10 wheels said. Making sure the seat is the right height is critical.

I love my Aliante.

A lot of stores that sell Fizik saddles have a demo program. Go borrow one for a week and see whether you like it or not.

Absolutely demo the Fizik saddles before you plunk down your hard earned money on one. About mid summer I tried out a bunch of demo seats from the LBS before settling on a Arione CX. I am your weight and 6'2" so you may want to try several diff types of seats. I found the Aliante uncomfortable. Like paisan said, saddles are very personal so test as many as you can before deciding.

I have the specialized body geometry (avatar?). stock seat for the 2008 roubaix.

Have you been measured (sitbones)? The BG seats come in 3 widths. I have several of the Avatar/Alias on my bikes and they're very good for me up to about 50-60 miles. About the same weight as you. Mine killed me until I got the right width.

Saddles are so personal, so it's hard to say what someone will like without trying it. I know people that love the Aliante. I tried one and it felt like I had been to the proctologist.

Personally I love the Specialized Toupe. Very minimal saddle, but works for me.

I used only Specialized Toupe for 3 or 4 years. They were always fine up to about 80 miles or so, which is not good when you're riding a 100... Last summer I switched to the Alliante, and it's much better except for one issue. Because it has no cutout, I have to get up off the saddle more than on the Toupe to avoid numbness. That's normally not a problem since I'm up and down a lot anyway, but on long flat stretches I have to be sure to get up off the saddle from time to time. But I find it's much easier on the sit bones than the Toupe was.

Have you been measured (sitbones)? The BG seats come in 3 widths. I have several of the Avatar/Alias on my bikes and they're very good for me up to about 50-60 miles. About the same weight as you. Mine killed me until I got the right width.

I've tried numerous Specialized BG saddles (Toupe, Avatar, Alias, Phenom) and hated them all. They're all too long, and a bit too flat for me. As others have already said: everyone is different, so there's no guarantee that what works for you will work for them. FWIW, I like Selle SMP, ISM Adamo, and WTB saddles.

I have an Antares and I'm 205 ...... very good for me so far.

All saddle questions should be replied to with some variation of "nobody knows what's good for you". I'm a clyde who spent time on an Alliante (sp?) and hated it. I bought a Romin and love it. I tried it out for two days before committing to it. Every saddle has those who hate and those who love. The ONLY solution is to try a variety of saddles of different styles and pay great attention to varying the nose from level to slightly up or down. The smallest change in angle can have a big affect on how a saddle feels. If you raise or lower my saddle nose by a quarter inch I can tell and it makes all the difference.

I just bought the Aliante Versus on Saturday after testing via the demo program at my LBS. I'm 265 lb. I didn't feel any real difference between the Gamma and the Aliante Versus (versus has the cut out). Never had problem with my perineum on the bike, so I wasn't necessarily looking for a cut-out seat. I went with the Versus based on the advice of the guy at my LBS (who is also a big guy) and the fact that they had the versus in stock, but would have had to order in the Gamma.

Saddle comfort is personal, and if you are gonna drop more than $50, try before you buy.

I adjusted my Fizik (Arione?) and turned it into a Brooks. Much more comfortable than the old ass hatchet.

YAMV.

I tried an Aliante, and didn't like it. Spent hundreds of dollars on other supposedly "can't miss" saddles, and didn't like them, either. Now every single one of my bikes has a Selle An-Atomica saddle, and I'm happy as can be.

they don't have to be expensive. I've settled on Charge Spoon Ti, and they run about $60. Try as many as you can. There was a company (can't recall who) who had a loaner program. For a fee, they sent you a case full of 7-10 saddles for 2 weeks. Try em all, return the case, buy happy.