rousseau

The plastic wing on my Toupe saddle has cracked after 7,000 kms of use. I'm a large guy, so my guess is that the 3 1/2 hour odyssey I went on on Sunday did it in. The Toupe was the first "nice" saddle I ever owned, and I liked it just fine, but I'm a bit curious about other saddles, and was hoping to get some feedback.

Tonight I did a ride on a generic 1980s-era racing saddle, and while the first hour was fine, during the second hour I started to feel like someone had slid a ruler in between saddle and my perineum and twisted it onto its end. I appreciate the Toupe for the fact that you don't get your knickers in a bunch down there, so it's very comfortable. My question: If I'm the type of guy who needs some spacing in the middle, would the Fizik Arione not be a good choice? Or is the Arione a better quality saddle that should not be compared to a low-priced generic saddle?

You may be thinking that I should just get another Toupe, but the reason I hesitate is because with the Toupe you get one saddle position and only one, and I'd like to see if sliding back and forth on the Arione is everything it's, erm, cracked up to be according to the ad copy.

Or would the San Marco Aspide be a better choice because of the gap down the middle?

Thanks for any personal experiences and feedback.

cedricbosch

If you liked the Toupe, why switch?

Tequila Joe

Arione certainly has a large sweet spot, I can change back & fourth position on it and still have my sit bones on it.

I have 3 Selle Italia SLR Gel Flow saddles on various bikes (the one with the cutout) I thought that was my saddle for life. However, my Vortex came with an Arione so I thought that I would give it a try. It is more comfortable than the Gel Flow, I love it for longer rides and the lack of cutout didn't pose any discomfort.

Your results will vary but, for me, the Arione is "the bees knees'

Cheers,
TJ

jjiggajouncer

i've gone from a generic fuji cushy saddle to a toupe to an slr gel flow to an arione.

i haven't been using the arione for very long but i do like that i can change positions a bit sliding sliding forward or back during a ride.

that said, i went on an hour long ride tonight and ended up having some burning and general discomfort in my perineum area. hopefully it was just a fluke, but if it happens another couple times then i'll be on the search again for the perfect saddle.

good luck finding a perfect saddle, it's a long and expensive road to travel.

ridethecliche

See if you can get the Toupe Warrantied.

Nekura

I own both. I prefer the Arione. I find myself easily sliding to find the sweet spot. On the Toupe if it isn't the correct width and fore/aft set up properly it's REALLY uncomfortable.

eugkim

I've used Ariones, Toupes, SLR Gel Flows and San Marco Rever. While I would love to have the Arione as my favorite (bought a limited edition), I couldn't shake the significant numbness it gave me despite all kind of fitting. After a year of messing around, I think I finally got it with the Toupe Team.

If you were happy with the Toupe, stay with it.

umd

I had a toupe and I hated it, replaced it with an Arione CX. I also have an Arione k:ium on my old bike and an Arione Tri for TTs.

sigg.switz

Ok - I've been trying out an arione tri2 or a while now probably 250-300 miles on it. I switched from a Toupe. Anyway, it feels good, but after about a half hour to 45 minutes in the saddle my perineum (grundle) is in severe pain (only when I stand up and blood rushes back to the area). Has this happened to anyone, should I give the saddle more time? I've tried moving further back on the saddle, so my sit bones are at the widest point of the saddle, but this still doesn't solve the problem. Any advice?

rousseau

Well, so far it's looking like the Arione might be a bad move if you're susceptible to perineal discomfort or numbness. Which I am, and which I struggled with until I got the Toupe.

I'm curious, though: does anyone get that "bunched up" feeling down there on the Arione due to the lack of cutout? Or might that be an issue with my shorts?

umd

no

JeffS

With all the used Arione's on ebay it might be worth trying. If it doesn't work out you'll be out, at most, shipping costs.

Asian Sensation

toupe

Cdy291

I would say the Selle italia SLR Gel Flow would be the closest feel to the Toupe that I know of. I consider the Airione to be a Ass Hatchet and prefer the Aliante. And the Selle should be a bit stronger the the Toupe.

unbelievably

A friend of mine developed a crack in his Toupe.
LBS sent it to Specialized and got a new seat through warranty.

eugkim

The Arione gave me the worst case of numbness and discomfort. My penis had sustained paresthesias for about 2-3 months until I finally switched to a cutout saddle. I found immediate relief from the numbness with the Toupe Team 143, but it was so uncomfortable on my ischial tuberosities (sitz bones). I switched to the smaller size, 130, then the SLR Gel Flow. I settled with the Toupe Team 130, but it started to give me total numbness after about 45 minutes. I'd stand up, pull on my penis and the blood flow would return. As it turned out, I noticed that my saddle was tipped up just a bit - I tipped it down and it feels great. The tipped saddle was causing my chamois to bunch up, creating a traffic jam in my perineum.

Hammertoe

As with any saddle, saddle tilt is key...

You need to get it just right and it takes time to find that position...

This is especially true with the Arione...

Once it has been set up properly the Arione can be a very comfortable saddle...

George

I was at the LBS last week and I asked about the cracking issue. They told me that if it cracks 6 years down the road, they would replace it free of charge.

nfrank

I switched from an Arione to a Toupe Team 143, and it was the best biking decision I've ever made. If you were on a wider Toupe, the Arione is going to be too thin.

dekindy

I would stick with the Toupe if I were you.

I ride the Aliante. It would be similar to the Toupe in that there is only one sweet spot. I tried the Arione and did not like it. My fitter positioned it for me and did some adjustments. It was not for me. In the meantime my primary bike broke and I had to ride my backup bike which had a Serfas Terazzo Select that I had previously ridden 1,400 miles without any major discomfort. After riding those two saddles I could not wait to get back to the Aliante. Right now it is the only saddle that I would consider. A local LBS has a Selle Italia demo program so I may try one. But I am wondering if it is worth it since I have ridden the Aliante comfortably on centuries and RAIN(160 miles one way in one day).

I liked the Aliante but wondered if there was another saddle out there that was better. For the most part my curiousity has been satisfied. Maybe I will feel differently if I lose the 25 pounds that I would like to rid myself of.

gbr

my 2cents: i have the aliante, the arione, and the toupe. the aliante is fair imho. i rode the arione on a bike tour for 3 days and became numb in a particularly disadvantageous location. i took it off that day and will never ride it again (about 1000 miles, will sell). i put on a toupe. 9000 miles later, no numbness. i'm kind of fond of my toupe.

rousseau

Well, I'm not the original purchaser of my Toupe that cracked, so I'm not sure if I'll get a replacement. My LBS said they'd give it a shot. In the meantime I went and bought an Arione via Craigslist for $100 (not bad, it was new), and took it out tonight for a first ride.

So far so good, I'd say. I quite like it. I like the fact that you can slight back and forth on it, unlike the Toupe. The Arione really does give you more positions to play with. I only went out for one hour, but I felt less pressure on my sit bones than with the Toupe, and my weight felt it was being displaced over a larger area (I got lots of area to work with!). I don't know if I'm ready to say that the Arione is more comfortable than the Toupe--that needs a few more rides to suss out. But preliminary reports on this end (Ba-doom tish!) are encouraging.

rousseau

Just in case anyone's keeping score here, I've now ridden the Fizik Arione for one week, and...I love it. This is coming from a lard-arse widebody, so I figure that's no mean feat. I think I've broken it in. It feels comfortable. And just as I suspected, I'm really enjoying the fore-aft mobility a lot, something I really missed with the Toupe.

Seriously, with the Toupe you get one position and one position only, but with the Arione I'm sliding back and forth like a bull in heat. Wanna shift down, slide forward, and spin like crazy up a hill? Check. Wanna stay in a high gear, slide back, and power yourself up the next hill? Check.

Goodbye Toupe, hello Arione. Know what I mean?

umd

Yes

stevesurf

Nope; 103 miles on the Arione (Saturday's ride) and it is an a*s spreader. The only reason why I haven't replaced it with a Toupe Team (have that on the Merlin) is that there's no Celeste.