What is your preferred saddle -- the Aliante or the Arione? This is not a thread comparing all saddles, nor discussing the top 7 or 8 preferred models, nor discussing the price of a Brooks saddle. This thread is narrowly tailored to the question of whether the Aliante or the Arione is preferred.

Don't own, know about and never tried the Aliante, but the Arione is nice.

I liked the looks of the Arione the best (it came in white) so I bought one. It did help that I never read a bad review. I never really considered an Aliante.

ditto

The Aliante does not have the additional length or the wider nose of the Arione, but it is lighter. If you want comfort choose the Arione if weight is your end all goal take the Aliante.

Same here, too ...

That is going to be a difficult one, because it will probably be a rare person that has actually tried/owned both. I went with the Arione based on great reviews, and I liked the fact that I could get one with a red stripe down the top to match the red in my bike. It was also highly favored by the shop that I bought my time trial bike - a racing oriented LBS - due to not only comfort, but variable seating positions due to the very long nose. It helps when you get a bit tired to slide up or down the seat a bit, and the Arione allows that. It took me about 4 rides to adapt to it - I was used to my Specialized Alias on my road bike - but now that I have, I love it.

i have ridden bikes with both saddles and prefer the arione...which is why it is the saddle on my bike now!

it is a non-tradiotional design but it was comfortable from the first ride, offers multiple riding positions and is cheaper than the aliante..

I have never heard a bad thing about the Arione, I consider mine to be the single best biking investment I have ever made. I am thankful to this forum for making me aware of them.

I love my Arione. I had been wanting to try one and luckily it has started to come stock on a bunch of bikes so trying one before buying is easy.

I love my arione. I got it used (barily), paid about half retail and I love it... now to get one with the red center to match my bike...

I tried both before I bought. Turns out I'm shaped more like the Alliante. It's got a slight concavity which fits me better than the Arione does. The Alliante is the most comfortable saddle I've ever ridden on.

I've got a gold Aliante that matches other parts of my bike. Other than having a cover that is easily snagged the saddle iis great. It is both incredibly light (cf/cf) and comfortable.

I just bought an Airone saddle. I've heard only good things about them. A fellow I ride with did not have to go through a break-in period. He has a lot of money is always buying the latest and greatest, so I paid him no mind. My seat was tearing up my bike shorts so I needed a new seat. After reading this review from bikesportmichigan.com, I purchased an Airone saddle from Nashbar with the 20% coupon. I should get delivery tomorrow. I am a female. Here's the part of the review which convinced me to get the Aiorone:
"More subtle innovations on the Arione are the longer rails that allow your bike fitter a greater range of positions above your bottom bracket. This is particularly important for women and triathlon bikes. This may be the only “real” women’s saddle, a complete departure from the opposite approach to less successful designs that were only 25 cm. long and compounded the problem some females have with reach measurement"

After reading some discussions here and while looking for a new saddle I asked the manager at the lbs what he would use if he were me.. He handed me the Arione and said if I didnt mind the cost it was the saddle to have... He installed it on the spot and five rides later Im thankfull he did..

I've owned both, and chose the Airone. Wish I could give a very technical comparison of the fit, however all I can say is I put 500 miles on the Aliente and never really got used to it. Put an Airone on my bike and in less than 100 miles it fit great. Just at 1300 miles on it - bought a second for my rain bike, and got a third on half-price for a backup.

One thing to note: these are very, very sensitive to angle to make sure you have a reliable, adjustable seatpost (read: Thompson). A half of degree adjustment and this is a totally different saddle.

I tried both the Arione & Aliante on a trainer. The Aliante had some give and had one really good spot, the Arione was too stiff for my low-mileage (2500 per year) butt. I've found that I can drift a little more on the Aliante than at first and am very happy with it. The Arione just wasn't comfortable for me.

Owning both, I have to give a slight edge to the Aliante, I find it just a bit more comfortable. I've gone back and forth on the Arione - loved it, hated it, back now to liking it. I find it very sensitive to height - if it's off by a bit it goes from heaven to hell. And I hate the slots in the leather - I covered mine with fabric tape since they were wearing a spot in my butt. Just like the embroidery on Selle San Marcos saddles.

Not sure I'd buy another Arione, I would buy another Aliante but you know what? Among Fiziks the Pave is still my favorite.

Loved the Arione but missed having a groove down the middle so it's on the shelf. Too bad--I felt like it made me faster.

After trying both I give the Aliante two thumbs up. I liked the idea of being able to move around a bit more on the Arione, and at first found that awkward on the Aliante, but the Arione just was not comfortable for me. After getting used to the Aliante, I don't have any problem moving around on it and it kindof disapears underneath me and I forget it is even there, don't know that I can pay it any higher compliment.

I bought an Arione to replace my Aliante. Took the Arione on its maiden voyage of 50 miles today, and I like it. My initial impression: the Aliante seems to conform a bit better to my anatomy, but it also generates a bunch of friction for me on the inner thigh, which causes localized heating to that area. The Arione immediately solved that friction problem, which is great. But it felt harder. The hardness is not so bad because I think it targets the sit bones well, which can be supported on the harder surface. The hardness did cause some discomfort after awhile though. So, I figure I will give it a few more rides to see if I adjust, maybe try changing the angle slightly. I haven't really explored the "positions" yet, although I did sit way back on it to relieve pressure during the last 5 miles.

I am a longtime ROLL saddle users with all my older bikes.But the Arione is one of the modern saddles that I tried and hooked.It is quite comparable to the comfort of the classic ROLL saddles but without the weight penalty of the older design.

My GT came with the Arione and I found the two longitudinal seams gave me instant grief. It's on the shelf, replace with a TT Flight.

I took both out for a head to ass test. Swapped out after several miles each. The Aliante just felt so much better.

well... after about 600km on the arione, i find that i like it quite a bit. no numbness, no hotspots. my longest ride on it so far is only 110km, so we'll see how it fares on a century.

i do find that it has to be adjusted dead level, but it like my saddles like that anyway.

i should point out that i have a 4.5cm drop to the bars, so i'm in a reasonably aggro position.