Fizik Aliante to SMP

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Master-Ti
Posts: 74
Joined: Tue May 15, 2007 5:54 pm

by Master-Ti

My favourite saddle for too many years to count has been the Fizik Aliante, but as I get older and start having prostate issues, I am looking for a similar saddle with a cut-out for pressure relief. I've tried the Fizik Aliante Versus, and found this to feel the same as the regular Aliante, with no improvement in pressure relief, presumably due to a combination of the softness of the extra padding beside the pressure relief channel, and lack of the more flexible centre in the shell of the saddle.

I am interested in trying an SMP saddle, given the many favourable reviews. Unfortunately they are not sold at any of my LBS to try out, and I have only test ridden the Evolution and Drakon for less than a week each while on vacation. I found neither of them as comfortable as the Fizik Aliante. I couldn't tolerate the Evolution even for an hour, but I'm not sure whether that was due to lack of padding vs the wrong shape vs the wrong setup angle, while the Drakon was good for up to an hour, after which it felt like the sit bones were sitting on railway lines.

I'm 172cm tall, 68kg and wear US waste size 31-32", so according to SMP's website, I would be either on the higher side of the narrow saddles, or the smaller side of the medium saddles. I was thinking I should try either the Stratos or Dynamic, but it gets a bit expensive to experiment with special orders that cannot be returned.

Has anyone who loves the Fizik Aliante been able to find an SMP saddle that feels the same? I recognize that everyone's butt is different, but thought it might be worth asking if someone else has done this and found the holy-grail of saddles.

Thanks in advance!

by Weenie


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Wheever
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2015 2:22 pm

by Wheever

Have you thought about trying the Aliante VSX? It's an Aliante VS with a deeper pressure-relieving channel.

In my saddle search I tried the Aliante and didn't love it. I also found that the padding around the channel had too much "give". I was quite happy with a Selle Italia MAX FLOW GEL, but found, after I lowered my bars, it no longer worked as well. I decided to try the SMP saddles, and found they were the correct choice for me.

The Drakon and the Dynamic are basically the same saddle shell, with the Dynamic having less padding. The Lite 209 is also the same saddle shell with more padding. An alternative might also be the glider, which is less radically contoured and slightly shorter, with the same padding level as the Drakon. I settled on the Drakon, myself, but it was a close race with the Glider.

A couple of things to remember about the SMPs is that, due to their "radical" shape, they are very sensitive to angle and fore/aft placement, and in general need to be ~15mm further forward to place the seating position in the same spot to your Aliante. If you haven't seen it already, I recommend to read Steve Hogg's blog ]entry about SMPs: https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bi ... bout-smps/

After having said all this, I think you should try the Aliante VSX, if you haven't already, and if that doesn't work, the SMP Lite 209.

kwaz
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2011 4:51 pm

by kwaz

Another cheaper option may be the SMP Hell. I would consider it less extreme in terms of dip and narrowness compared to the more "standard" SMPs mentioned, the drakon, lite 209 etc. it may be a nice intermediate between the more classic aliante and the more radical SMP models. I recently just switched to the Hell from an old worn out glider, but i needed a bit more width, in the tail and the rails to spread out some of the pressure. When i was young and fit and more flexible i rode the Aliante, but actually felt too much pressure towards the nose. Went to a 155 romin gel, better but not quite right. was gifted an SMP and knew that style was better for my anatomy.

Definitely read the Hogg link above, it gives a very good breakdown of the differences between the SMP models, even though that dude is kind of a quack, ie "Oh yeah the new iphones are bad for polarity." WTF is that?

But yeah, Weever's recommendation is spot on: it you like the aliante but need more relief, try the VSX first. I would have done the same, but it didn't exist at the time i changed saddles. Good luck!

youngblud
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2016 7:27 am

by youngblud

I just recently purchased a new bike that came with the Fizik Aliante. I only had about 40 miles of ride time on the Aliante before I swapped it with my SMP Dynamic from another bike. My experience with the Aliante was short, however I've been on SMP saddles for several years so I can somewhat share with you my experiences with the 2 saddles/brands.

For me the Aliante saddle felt comfortable and helped reduce vibration coming through the saddle, I actually like how it feels. However by the time I reached 40 miles, the saddle numbness started to kick in and it was hard to shake off. Luckily I didn't have to ride that much more that day. I swapped the saddle with the SMP Dynamic immediately after that ride. The big differences I noticed right away is that the Dynamic is much more stiff. SMP uses high dense foam, so there's not much give. Vibration comes through more than with the Aliante. My seat bone ached on the first few rides, but it quickly went away. Saddle numbness was never an issue from the beginning with the SMP.

Overall, I think the Fizik feels more comfortable but it wasn't design to reduce saddle numbness. The SMP is hard/stiff, but it removes that numbness. For the first several rides your seat bones will hurt with the SMP, but that again quickly goes away.

As for SMP Stratos and Dynamic, I have both. The difference is that Dynamic is wider. For me the Dynamic feels better than the Stratos. I am 5'8" weigh 156lbs.

I suggest if you can find a LBS that rents out SMPs and rent it for a week. Try it out. It will take several rides/long miles to really get a feel for the SMP. Once you find your sweat spot and get use to sitting on the seat bone, it will feel great.

apeescape56
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2014 5:08 am

by apeescape56

I had an aliante and now ride a SMP Dynamic and love it. I'm a large rider at 250lbs and 6'3". It wasn't immediately as comfortable as the Fizik but it was consistent. My fizik would bother me after 3 hours in the saddle. The SMP felt as good on mile 5 as it did on mile 105.

by Weenie


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AJS914
Posts: 5397
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

but it gets a bit expensive to experiment with special orders that cannot be returned.


You can always buy a used one on ebay and then just resell it if it doesn't work out. That's a cheap way to "rent" and try out a saddle. You may even make money on the deal if you get a killer deal when you purchase.

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