I was looking for some guidance from people who have ridden a 143mm Specialized Alias, but have moved on. I love the shape of the Alias; in my mind it has a wide back but quickly tapers down to a narrow nose, but across all my bikes I tend to break at least one a year - across the material around the cut out.

I'm not bothered about a saddle with a cut out, but was looking for recommendations on a saddle that has an equivalent fit to the Alias (flat across it's width at the back, as wide as an Alias at the back but with a narrow nose) and doesn't have a tendency to snap!

And I did do a search before posting this topic, but wadding through the reams of responses saying "I use this saddle" without much reference didn't prove too fruitful.

Cheers guys!

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"Life without passion is empty" - Eddy Merckx
So that explains the hours on a bike...

I'd be interested too (although with a cutout) as the alias seems to be the comfiest saddle I've used.

I have a Toupe 143 but the minimal padding just isn't as comfortable, and the edge of the saddle seems to rub the inner thigh which the alias doesn't. I heard some people use the Phenom as an alternative saddle.

What about the italian brands? Anything particularly similar?

Well I figured I would dredge up this topic again in the so hope that you guys could shed some light. At my previous incident I did what I thought best; took an Alias off one of my other bikes and fitted it to the bike currently in use. Unfortunately that now means out of four bikes I only have one with a saddle!

So, do people have some recommendations for saddles that will feel similar to a 143mm Specialized Alias?

Cheers!

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"Life without passion is empty" - Eddy Merckx
So that explains the hours on a bike...

if u want a alias with much more padding you can have a specialized avatar saddle
its a bit more curved but its worth wile
its proberly a mtb saddle but its so comfy
also a toupe gel could be a option to

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Join the light side

a light bike does make you go faster unless you are slow

Cheers tochnics, but I was looking for a saddle that wasn't a Specialized as I seem to continually break them...

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"Life without passion is empty" - Eddy Merckx
So that explains the hours on a bike...

I'm not really sure how and why you're breaking them? Surely if you're breaking that many saddles there is some other problem... I'd be working that out first, I haven't heard of a problem like this before.

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You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer.
-- Frank Zappa

I broke mine a few weeks go (Alias 155). Was coming down a big hill @~60km/h seated. Failed to see a pothole and hit it square on. Heard a loud snapping sound as the nylon base up towards the nose of the saddle (through where the slit runs) broke through on both sides. Was mighty glad that my sit bones and not the two fellas downstairs took the brunt of the impact.

Quite a brilliant saddle. Good padding but not excessive. Flat top with perineal relief. Quick taper down to a pointed nose to avoid excessive thigh rub. Ti rails for perhaps a tiny bit of give.

Have a Selle Italia MaxFlite Team on order so I'll let ya know how I get on.


Cheers
I

I know what you are saying kman, it is a little suspicious that I have been casuing saddles to snap with such frequency. My only thought is that I may have a tendancy to a) roll my hips forward and b) sldie forward on the saddle. Consquently I think I may be putting excessive pressure on the saddle where the cut out is, causing it to snap. Interesting, which also points to some underlying issue, I always break them on the same side...

So looking around, I was thinking that my options come down to Fizik Antares, Selle Italia SLR, San Marco Aspide, Prologo Nago or Bontrager Inform. Are there any other missing from that list?

Cheers

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"Life without passion is empty" - Eddy Merckx
So that explains the hours on a bike...

I was going to recommend the Selle Italia Max Flight but, I see someone above has already mentioned it. Put it on your list and take the others off - none are like the Alias.

What about the Romin SL. It looks a bit like a cross between the Alias and the Toupe

Buy a Selle Italia Flite Max Team.

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Biomechanical spreadsheet. Sizing&Fitting.

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum ... 8e319d185b

Thanks for all the help guys. My only concern with getting a Flite Max is that because it has an equally huge cut out I am likely to snap it in exactly the same manner...

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"Life without passion is empty" - Eddy Merckx
So that explains the hours on a bike...

I've managed to break 2 Specialized Toupes and 1 Alias in exactly the same way. The shells have all cracked around the cut-out. To be fair, they have all been replaced under warranty but I got sick of it. I'be -ow switched to a mixture of SLEd and Ariones, both of which work well for me.

Yep, it's hard to know until you've tried them for any given period of time. I went for the team as they claim a higher carbon fibre content in the base (30% vs 10% for the regular maxflite if I remember correctly), so i'm hoping that translates into a little more strength. I'll try and post some feedback when I get some miles into it.

Things that may cause premature breaking:

Overloading
-Rider weight (definitely contributed to my failure)
-Excessive force (good old f=ma - for example, as I did, hitting a massive pothole seated)

Fatigue
-Excessive loading/unloading caused by bobbing in the saddle. Typically this is noticed at when conducting higher cadence drills. Bobbing could be indicative of the seat being too high (a rocking type effect - generally witnessed by sore backs of the knees) or one leg being longer than than the other (sometimes witnessed by a lack or power feeling in one leg (seat height is adjusted for shorter leg) or wear marks on the saddle of the shorter leg (seat height adjusted for longer leg) and a sort lower back generally on one side (from the twisting of having to extend one leg further than what it needs to be).

I guess a vertical hop in the rear wheel would add to this loading/unloading though to what extent it would damage the saddle is hard to quantify. First check the rim only (just mount it in the bike whilst it's upside down, put a tyre lever down perpendicular on your chain stays so it very lightly touches the top part of rim and slowly spin the wheel. High spots on the rim will make noise when they brush the lever. Adjust with a spoke wrench. Do the same with your type fitted though if there's a major bump in the tyre, provided it's fitted/bedded correctly, it's time to replace the tyre.

Good luck.
I

Yo say you maybe want to try selle italia SLR, since you are on a wider saddle now with more padding I don´t think it would be a good choice but I could be wrong.

I´m on a romin sl 143 now which is one of the best I have tried the other was the old flite.

Sitting on the SLR for was like sitting bar, it´really narrow, though I haven´t tried the alias and you say you like a flat saddle.

Me, I need a little u shaped saddle, maybe that was why the slr didn´t work for me but good luck with the saddle hunt