Product Review: Fizik Alliante Road Saddle

As expected, part of the recent road bike fitting included a saddle replacement. I originally put on the Serfas RX saddle not long after I bought the road bike a few years back. But I'd been noticing it's cushy top and wide profile seemed to have some ill effects. It almost seemed to rob power, and I felt like it was throwing my hips out of alignment as I compensated for the width.

During my first fitting session with Oscar, owner of Great Lakes Cycling and Fitness, the saddle was one of the first things he commented on. He diplomatically said that, "nomally we don't put this type of saddle on this sort of bike." What he didn't say was, "...because it's mostly designed for Grandpa cruisers..."

The options were dizzying, and more importantly looked like some sort of medieval torture device. I settled on a mid-priced Selle Royal saddle. More aggressive than my previous one, but not nearly full-out racing gear. Great Lakes has an excellent 7-day trial period for saddles. So, off I went. After a couple of rides, I found that while it was comfortable, it lacked the center channel feature I liked about the Serfas and that made certain southern regions less comfortable. Plus, I found that the narrower profile and lower padding were surprisingly comfortable.

So, back I go to the shop. After some discussion, I decided to move to a Fizik model - actually one of the torture devices I'd seen earlier in this journey. A little more expensive, but with less padding, an even narrower profile, and an anatomical center channel.

From the first mile, I knew I'd made the right choice. I'm not sure how a saddle makes a bike feel faster, but it did. Comfort was surprisingly good. Plus it just looked COOL on my bike.What was surprising was realizing how much I'd been riding almost bowlegged compensating for the wider saddle. The whole ride felt more efficient and I could tell my ergonomics have improved.

The only downside? Minimalist padding means I need to put in some time on the road to toughen up. By the end of a ride, my butt's a bit sore. However, I know this can only be addressed by riding more miles.

If you're looking for a great, high-performance saddle, I highly recommend the Fizik line. Not cheap, but worth it!

-Sean-