Strong Bad

I just picked up an Aliante saddle. Why?
Ischial tuberosity bursitis is a pain in the A_$_$ and I'm frantically looking for a saddle that will help.
I would like feedback as to the angle that people are dialing in.
I know it is an individual thing, I just want to see if there is a trend.
I've put the saddle on today, and statically, it feels pretty good level front to back using an on-edge yardstick across the center of the saddle (sitting in the V groove in the rear).
Tell me how you've got your Aliante set up.
(If you don't own an Aliante, you have nothing to contribute to this thread. I don't want any saddle wars).

botto 

i like them flat, with the ass up a tad, like so:

Godwin

I have mine set up pretty much flat, so that the tail is at the same level as the nose. I've only felt any discomfort after days of all-day riding.

BarracksSi

I think that's about how I've got mine set, too. It's also the version with the plastic frame instead of carbon-kevlar; my LBS had it in a bin along with other saddles that buyers swapped off of their brand-new bikes.

Soil_Sampler

nose down, 2 degrees.

dgasmd

I have that saddle in one of my bikes. I pretty much have it like the two posters above. Pretty flat. However, 2 other people in my area that ride them have them tilted up a tiny bit. I would say 5-8 degrees or so. They claim it is more comfortable that way. I have never tried it that way since I find it comfortable enough the way it is, so I cannot comment on that any more.

oilman_15106

Set mine up level using a real 2 foot long level.

coppercook62

Mine looks likes botto's

Psydotek

Nose angled up:



Yes, it's a Fizik Aliante under the seat cover. It took alot of miles for me to finally find the right adjustment...

AnthonyG

I use a Fizik Vitesse which is almost identical to an Aliante, just a little wider. I like mine set so that the highest point on the nose is absolutely level with the highest point on the tail of the saddle. In comparison to botto's picture the nose of my saddle is up a little higher. I've got to this position via trial and error. If you stand back and look at my saddle it looks like its a little nose up but I've just put a level across it from the highest point on the nose to the highest point on the rear (off to the side, not the middle) and its come up dead level.

Regards, Anthony

NealH

I don't know about the saddle but, looking at those blooming trees and green grass makes me wish for Spring all the more.

botto 

where are your panniers and fenders?

Strong Bad

Thanks for the input.
I'll try to get some miles on mine today, and let you know what I decide.

jimbud

I have yet to get mine perfectly dialed in. That being said this angle is close to how I like it.

Strong Bad

I got out today and tweeked the seat a bit and got in about a 25 mile ride.
I ended up with the nose slightly higher than I initially had it, but not much.
Here's how it is now, and it seems to feel pretty good.
I think I'm gonna like the seat.

phoenix

My Aliante is pretty close to level. I like the nose just barely sloped down a few degrees, but not quite enough to shift too much weight forward onto the bars.

RiPHRaPH

I ride with the nose tilted upwards a bit. This works when the Aliante is set up more 'fore' than 'aft' > This allows you to have the seatpost raised up a bit more. I sit on the sitbones on the rear of the saddle the correct way rather than always having that feeling that you are falling forwards.

Intuitively it might not sound right, but that is the way Aliante's are supposed to be set up.

wannaride

Mine is actually nose up a bit. Works pretty well for me.

Psydotek

On my other bike. Well, the fender is... No panniers yet (they'd be useful for carrying my clothes to work though).

rjtokyo

Aliante: I use a bubble level and set it perfectly flat. Works great! Wouldn't ride anything else.

Cheers! - RJ

RC2

Mine's flat, but why not experiment a bit? Love the Aliantes.

lotek 

very slight rise at the nose, maybe 1 or 2 degrees? very similiar
set up to my Brooks B17 on a different bike.
love the aliante once it's dialed in right.

AnthonyG

OK I'll bite. Those who are claiming that they set their Aliante up flat what are you measuring? The whole issue with the Aliante is that there isn't a 'flat' section on it! As far as I'm concerned my saddle is flat when putting a level on it from high point to high point but if you look at it, it looks like it has some nose up angle. State where you are positioning the level or it doesn't mean anything.

Regards, Anthony

midorix

I think Botto's picture of "Flat" is what we're saying.
That's where I started and I had to adjust the distance and the angle very slightly here and there during my ride. It was only way I got comfortable. Today, I don't even think about it. The bike shop I purchased the bike (which came with plastic Aliante) did say the seat is great but very sensitive to small adjustments. I agree with him. Take an allen wrench and experiment in your ride.

Nachoman

FYI,
Here's what Sheldon Brown says about saddle adjustment (angle).

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html#angle

The angle of the saddle should be pretty close to horizontal. Some men prefer the front to be slightly higher than the rear; some women prefer the front slightly lower than the rear, but extreme angles should be avoided.
If the saddle is nosed up too far, it is likely to increase pressure on the soft tissues, and cause all sorts of problems.

If the saddle is tilted down in front, the rider will tend to slide forward onto the narrower part of the saddle. Women who are riding on saddles that were designed for men frequently tilt their saddles down. This will relieve some of the discomfort from the saddle itself, but creates new problems: The downward slope of the saddle causes the rider to tend to slide forward, and this can only be counteracted by pressure on the hands. Thus, poorly-angled saddles often are the cause of wrist, shoulder and neck problems, due to carrying too much of the rider's weight on the hands.