The OP , you much riding do you do a week? How far? Basically, how much saddle time do you actually put in. 9 months of on and off riding? Everyday?

Fizik has demos. So do other brands though for some reason I can't find shops with Specialized demo saddles. Find a shop that sells Fizik and try them out.

If you buy one of the Bontrager saddles and don't like it you can return it within 30 days no hassle. It's called the "Comfort Guarantee".

Are you sure you have enough experience to be making these kinds of recommendations? I know you're not the only one around here doing it, but I personally think people should have more than one year of riding in before telling others what saddles or wheels "can't be beat".

I have a Selle Italia Flite Gel Flow on my Lemond and put an SLR Carbonio on my Parlee. For me the non-padded SLR is more comfortable. You need to experiment but also don't assume that more gel or padding will make it more comfortable. Brooks is great if you want to ride with a lead brick.

A really good shop will let you test ride the saddle for 6 months (like Wallingford Bicycles does with their Brooks saddles).

A good shop will let you test ride the saddle for a month (I think Terry does, and I've heard of others that do as well).

A decent shop will let you test ride for at least a week.

As far as I'm concerned the Brooks B17 is the best saddle for me because it is the most comfortable ... and I like the look of it. I have B17s on all my bicycles now. :)

Please feel free to disagree with my comments.

I called around a few shops. One had a program with specialized, if you didn't like the saddle, you could trade it in for another specialized. The other place deals with bontrager and their 30 day comfort policy (which is money back). problem is, nobody has said anything about these brand of saddles!! Looks like the Selle Italia has the majority vote. Maybe i'll just start buying and returning if i don't like em.

I looooove my Tune Speedneedle, but good luck finding one. They're no longer produced

EXCELLENT choice!:thumb:
I have it on 2 of my 4 bikes.

BTW Here is a mail-order saddle demo program: http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...T&BRAND.ID=118

Finding out exactly what is bothering you about the current seat will help you search. I.e. No point buying same sized saddles if it's a sit bone issue, etc...

+1 with a minor modification to make it more friendly:

190 grams isn't that light weight.

I have used a Flite, and a Flite gel for years; Recently needed a new saddle and bought a Forte Pro SL from Performance on sale. Decided if I didn't like it, I can return it.
Loved it. Has the basic shape of the Flite, which allows me to move around on the saddle, with the relief cut.

Fizik Arione = ass hatchet.

FIzik Antares = bliss for my bum.

I tried a Brooks B17 for a while. For me, the Bontrager Inform RL works. I have one on both of my bikes. Bontrager has a no questions asked return policy for 90 days.

That's about 1/2 a pound. Doesn't get much lighter than that unless you go with a straight CF seat with no padding. It's pretty light.

So it's not light weight then.

What do you consider light weight? About 130g is as light as they get. I bet you couldn't even tell a difference in 60g if you held them.

I wouldn't argue with a true weight weenie! They pay top dollar to save a few grams. Totally ridiculous IMO.

All carbon saddles can get down to 70g odd. A typical saddle like a Selle Italia SLR is about 125g these days.

Agree.

I'm not a weight weenie, all I am saying is calling a 190 gram saddle "very light weight" is false.

Isn't there still a full carbon saddle sold on eBay by Merek? Cheap, too, around $100. Another forum member got one and reported on it some months ago.

Weight = comfort? The butt is a bit more complexed. I wont point in any given direction but Selle Italias different set ups works for me.