I've used the various older Toupe and Alias up to about 7 years ago, and I want to consider them again. I would be interested in getting one with gel in teh sitbones area. I already know I should use a 143.

Which one actually rides the best? The price range is huge, from a little over $100 up to $300. Is there a sweet spot in the product line? The main differences seem to be rail material, i.e. weight. Is that it?

The sweet spot is going to differ based upon your willingness to spend. I think that the Ti rail version is probably the best value, but I do have a carbon rail version, too. Both of the current carbon and Ti models indicate Level 2 padding, so I would expect that they'd be the same (my Toupes are both from different generations - I find my Ti one to feel stiffer, which I actually prefer). Also keep in mind seatpost/clamp compatibility - the carbon rails are ovalized, so they don't work with all posts/clamps.

when are they going to retire the Toupe and launch the Threepe?

I don't know which model this one is but I got it off of eBay for $35 used in great condition. It has TI rails. Great saddle but I bought a 143 before I started experimenting with a more narrow saddle and now I wish I had gotten a 130 instead.

Next week - I read it on the Internet!

I took a good look at the specs, such as they are. I don't want any of the Power series, since their paddings are all #1 . I have a Toupe Expert Gel on my ELOS Mondon, and it's great. It also is my sweet spot, since it has rails better then steel, but not the carbon rails where I figure I don't have the seatposts for it. The even cheaper ones are steel or don't have gel. So for me, the gel and the Level 2 rating is what does it for me. I looked a lot an a modern Alias (or Avatar?) earlier this week and it is Level 3, but I think that will be too soft for me. My earlier Alias were ok, but not for long distances. The Toupe Pro for $75 more has carbon rails and no gel, though it is still a Level 2 saddle.

So unless I hear strong information from the personal experience of the Roadie community here, (such as you really have to wait for the Threepe), I'm ordering the saddle from an LBS when I can get out there.

Nice piece! I started my exploration into Specialized about 12 years ago when a nice bike sales girl said, well, you'll probably like this skinny Alias saddle. Captivated, I took it. It was pretty darn good in terms of enabling a fast spin, but as I went on I realized it was a rather too narrow. I tended to skooch sideways on it and one sit bone would fall off "the platform." The 143 was better. Later on I made a return to Brooks and later yet to a good experience with a few Selle Anatomicas. Now I've tried an S-A H1 and a Rivet Pearl Pass, and I went back to Spesh with a used Toupe Gel RBX. I have no clue what modern version is correlates to, but it has TI rails and gel, so today it's a nice ride. Yours looks very similar to that. I also tried a Toupe Expert Gel in 155, and it should not work as well as it does! Now my 650b needs a better saddle and I've retraced my experiences on this bike trying what's in the Saddle Box, and it just needs another Toupe Gel.

But I looked at some on Ebay, and I could not see how to correlate which new one is the equivalent of some of the older ones.

That one in the pic is an older Gel model. I have one of those. To me its the most comfy out of three Toupe models in 143mm I had.

Although I'm currently riding a Selle Italia SLR Kit Carbonio Flow which is a bit narrower and has a bit more flex.

I'm holding out for the Specialized Toupée.

Surely to become your #1 saddle.

Longer than that. About 9 or 10 years ago I bought my first Toupe from you! Time flies!

Thanks, Nacho! I think I sold my Alias', a Brooks Pro, and a few Sella Italias of differing flavors, at a bikie garage sale here in Ann Arbor. The S-Is were purchases in terrible condition, but dirt cheap to experiment with saddles in prep for a tour. I haven't gone back to that brand.

I just bought another Toupe Expert Gel 143 with Ti rails. I'm gonna again try my B17 Imperial and my B15 Swallow Select leather before I try the new Toupe, but keep an open mind. I also might swap the 155 Toupe onto the 650b Terraferma, and put the 143 Toupe on the ELOS Mondonico, with its more aggressive seated position.