Jynx

Did you even read my original post? I am not an idiot when it comes to saddle questions. I know it is very personal and there are many factors contributing to saddle comfort. I even hesitated making this post and have been searching the site for weeks now because I know there is only so much information I can get from word of mouth. However there are still better choices out there. Some saddles just don't work, period. I am looking to try the saddles that have higher success rates. Yes, they may not work for me but I would rather try the saddles that 40% of people have had success with then a saddle that only 3% of people like. At >$100 a saddle I would like to narrow it down to tried and true saddles. That is why I am asking. To try out even just 4 saddles will run more then $500. That is money I don't have to just throw around. At this point I figure I have gotten it down to the 4 most popular saddles out there. Now it is a matter of seeing which of them is most liked which is why I made the poll. Anyway I got my answer. I am going to try the SLR first and see what happens.

kensuf

Talk with your LBS. They'd probably be willing to take a saddle back for credit towards another if you don't like it.

Jynx

going for a ride

ridethecliche

Woah, they changed the design a lot. The old one has a bit of a 'hammock' to it. I'll take a side view picture when I get back from my ride. Haha.

Methinks you'll want to nose it up a little on your ride

Jynx

Just walked in the door now. Went for about an hour (about 15 miles). I rode slow so I could get a feel for the saddle (It seems like an hour riding slow feels the same as 2 hours in the saddle at a faster pace).

Anyway the saddle feels pretty good right off the bat. I also didnt want to go out for too long of a ride since I am not used to the saddle and need to dial in the position still.

First Impressions:

I was VERY hesitant getting the Flite because it is listed as 130mm wide. My Arione is a little bit narrow and this is 2mm narrower. When I saw it in person it is pretty wide. I would guess it is measured differently then fizik. Definately not narrower then the arione.

I have ridden the alias which chafed/bothered me at the crease of my leg from the sharp edge on the side. The best part of the flite is the really rounded sides. At full extension there is no pinching like the specialized saddles. I liked the arione because of this (wing flex) but it was too soft and a little too narrow.

It is funny you mention that. Since I just got back I was about to post this:

I started the saddle at level. When on the ride I found every now and then I would have to scoot back on the saddle. When I scooted back it was super comfortable. About 10 minutes later I found myself forward and needing to scoot back again. My question is that seems like I should nose up a little bit right? Thanks

Flatballer

I switched from Arione to Toupe 130 and took my first ride on it today. I was having numbness issues with the Arione, and those are completely gone. The only problem is I'm not sure if my sit bones can handle the Toupe. After about 2 1/2 hours of somewhat easy (low tempo/aerobic) riding, my sit bones were screaming at me. I'm assuming that it'll get better and it's just becuase I haven't ridden on my site bones in a while.

What problem were you having with your old saddle? Did you have sit bone pain, or too much pressure and numbness somewhere?

Jynx

Any problem I have with saddles is always to much pressure on the perenium and soft tissues up front. I can take the pain on sitbones no problem as after a couple of months you build up an ability to not be bothered by it. The arione was good but to soft for me and would cause problems after 30 - 40 miles.

ridethecliche

Yeah Jynx, nose it up a little. I think you'll like that more. It'll put a little more weight on your sit bones, and you won't slide around as much.

An hour of slow riding feels like 2 of fast riding on a saddle because you lift yourself off less. I know a saddle probably won't work for me if I'm sitting up with my hands on the tops and pedaling easy, and it starts to kill me. Especially if I'm hurting in places I've never felt before on a saddle haha.

I've been riding mine for over a week now, and it still hurts like hell for the first 15 or so minutes. But only on the sitbones. I think I'm going to stick to this saddle till at least the winter when I might try a bontrager RL saddle or a toupe. Probably not though, I don't find the need to anymore!

I'm using the old school flites. I'm a little curious about the new one because it's flatter and more rounded. I like the saddle a lot but I'm finding that I'm getting a little bit of thigh rub/muscle annoyance from the edges. No deal breaker for me though, I'm happy.

Jynx

I nosed up a little bit (about 2* according to the seatpost markings) so it is just slightly nose up from level. Not sure if its enough but ill go out for another ride tomorow and see if its better.

Definately check out the new flites. I really think I found the best of all worlds for me. I am still curious about the SLR and will probably eventually try it but the flite is great. It has round sides for no chaffing and sharp edges, narrow for max movement but also wide enough for sit bone support. The flites are common for a reason and I really love this picture:

ridethecliche

From what I've been told (by botto and others) the old ones were better, or the people who liked the old ones don't really like the new ones, or something like that...

I think the lack of a rounded profile on the SLR is what caused my eventual issues. I'm also guessing that the titanio saddle had just a hair too much padding for me, especially after I put on a little weight.

Jynx

going for another ride

Jynx

It's an SLR XP. New, but a 2005 model judging by the stamp on the bottom. I talked to selle italia a bunch about their saddles (they have great customer support if you can get by the broken english lol). I wanted to know all about the team edition saddle since i know the pros are riding different saddles then the regular people. You can also tell because the SLR is 135g, team is 150g with carbon rails and the XP is 180g (mine is an older 165g model). So they said the team edition has the same thickness of padding as the XP but they use a more dense foam. Then they shave the weight back down with carbon rails. I figured I'd try the XP and see what happens since i dont like the carbon rails on the team edition.



I actually went back to the LBS were I bought the flite and exchanged it. I put in a bunch more rides and figured I should keep looking. It was good and I can see why people like it but I think there can be better for me. It was a little too flat from front to back. It was literally a straight line. After 40 miles I could feel it. I like something with a slight curve from front to back and flat from side to side. I did a quick ride on the SLR already and it seems better then the flite (more pressure on the sit bones). Ill give it a long ride later today and throughout the week. Plus the SLR was $50+ cheaper than the flight.

Brian Ratliff

Interesting. I used to have this very same problem, sores on one side and all with the SLR gel flow saddle. I did two things. I switched to the flite and I move the cleat backwards about 3-4mm on the shoe on the side with the sores. I figured it was a leg length issue with me; the leg on the side with the sores was longer than the other side, and I was tilting my pelvis and sliding to one side of the saddle to compensate, giving me the sores. I moved the cleat on the long leg backwards to compensate.

Now the sores are healing, finally (I had them for over a year).