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review

Fizik Aliante 00

8
£279.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Money no object design – Fizik proves what can really be done with the humble saddle through shape and materials
Weight: 
165g

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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According to Fizik, value doesn't even get a look in when designing the saddles of its flagship range, which is why the Aliante 00 costs a cool £280. Thankfully its superbly comfortable ride, weight and looks go a long way to justifying its mental price tag.

Fizik's 00 range has been going for a good few years, and each iteration of a product uses some of the material knowledge and design ideas that the Italian company has gained over the last 12 months or so. A bit of an ultimate tuning department if you like.

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There's a lot of carbon fibre in the build of the Aliante 00. Beneath the Microtex cover and padding you'll find the first of two high modulus carbon fibre shells, both of which sandwich a flexible foam compound to create the Wingflex effect.

Fizik Aliante 00 road saddle - underside back.jpg

Wingflex is Fizik's design that allows the sides of the saddle to flex as your thighs go through their full rotation without hindrance. It does make a big difference to comfort and being able to get the power down in all positions.

These three layers really work together, with the carbon layers being thin enough to flex, promoting comfort, but also still feeling stiff when you're really going for it on a seated climb.

Attaching the saddle to your seatpost is a full-carbon rail. It's a complete unit running right the way around the seat rather than separate rails clipping into the saddle base, as you'd see on most saddles. This improves strength and stiffness without adding too much weight.

Fizik Aliante 00 road saddle - underside nose.jpg

On the subject of weight, all this adds up to 165g, which is impressive considering you still get a decent amount of padding beneath the upper.

Comfort is the most important factor for most of us when choosing a saddle, and I certainly wasn't disappointed when it came to riding the Aliante 00. It's part of the Bull range in Fizik's Spine Concept line-up (riders with the least amount of flexibility), but it's still a performance saddle.

I've ridden a lot of Fizik saddles over the years, many of them Aliante models, and I've got on with every single one, but none to the level of this test model. It is unbelievably comfortable. It's like you're sitting in a chair rather than on a saddle.

> Check out our guide to choosing the best saddle here

My first ride on it was a quick blast around for about 90 minutes and I was suitably impressed, but it was the next day when it really blew me away.

Thanks to some poor nutrition choices and 2,500m of climbing, a 126-mile trek to the coast and back saw me pretty much a broken man in every department except for one. I hadn't even noticed the saddle for the entire ride. I got off the bike without the slightest bit of discomfort in the chamois region.

The Aliante had absorbed everything from the road before it made it to me, and yet for all of those miles of ascending I never felt it flexing or bobbing around.

The shape just really suited me, from its curved mid-section through to the rounded nose. And that was in every position too – climbing, cruising or hunkered down in the drops for miles when the wind came to my assistance.

Fizik Aliante 00 road saddle - nose.jpg

To my mind, Fizik has achieved exactly what it set out to: create the ultimate saddle without compromise. Of course, for me and probably the majority of you reading this, that 'without compromise' means there is one big drawback: price. Is the Aliante 00 worth it? It's a silly amount for a saddle, but I'm convinced it justifies it, especially if you do a lot of long distance rides but still want a narrow race model.

When you look at its lightweight construction, and the resulting comfort, you can kind of see where the money is going. And if you can't justify laying out this kind of dosh on a saddle, it's good to know that over the coming years all this technology will start to trickle down to more affordable levels.

Verdict

Money no object design – Fizik proves what can really be done with the humble saddle through shape and materials

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Fizik Aliante 00

Size tested: Length: 265mm Width: 140mm

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Saddles in Fizik's 00 range are no compromise products combining everything the Italian company has learnt about materials and design. Value isn't even a consideration.

Fizik says: "Every 00 saddle is conceived and designed with a no-compromise approach to create the ultimate saddle.

"The 00 saddles are the lightest, fastest and most desirable saddles made for the greatest cyclists in the world, across all disciplines including: specialist sprinters, climbers, time trialists and general Classification all-rounders."

I love the Aliante shape and in this guise it is the most comfortable saddle I've ever ridden and one of the lightest too.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Shell: Full Carbon double shell construction Wingflex

Rail: Mobius Carbon 7x9 mm

Cover: Black Microtex 00 Design

Weight: 165 g

Dimensions: 275x140 mm

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
10/10

It's got a level of finish you'd expect from a £280 saddle, absolutely faultless.

Rate the product for performance:
 
10/10

For me absolutely stunning, a saddle you can ride hard or steady on for hours and hours on end.

Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10

So well made it should last, although with so much carbon involved in its construction there is a higher risk of failure in the the event of an impact.

Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
9/10

Not the lightest out there but considering the padding and size of the saddle to get it down to 165g is impressive.

Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
10/10

Saddles are very personal (according to Fizik's spine System I'm more suited to the racier Arione) and I always get on with the Aliante, but the 00 version is on a different level.

Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

It's £280 for a saddle, but an absolutely awesome one. Saying that, though, value isn't even in the design brief for Fizik.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

I've yet to find a better saddle.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The shape, comfort, flex... do you want me to continue?

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The cost is going to be prohibitive for most.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes, it'd hurt but for the ultimate comfort I could justify it.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your score

The 00 range is a money no object, ultimate performance project, so this overall review reflects that. While Fizik doesn't consider value an element of its design, we the consumers do. Saying that, if you are considering a £280 saddle its cost probably isn't your main priority.

I'd buy it purely because it is the most comfortable saddle I've ever sat on and for that reason alone its value swings back into balance for all of those comfortable miles.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 37  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: Mason Definition

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

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2 comments

Avatar
DrJDog | 8 years ago
0 likes

Yeah, the Tune saddles are much lighter and considerably cheaper.

Fabric's ALM is also cheaper, which is shocking as it's extraordinarily expensive itself, and 25g lighter (and the construction is much cooler and cleaner looking).

 

I'm mildly interested in buying a new, superlight saddle. I'm thinking Tune, or the ALM because I'm so used to a Charge Spoon, so I assume it will be comfortable. This thing isn't in the running.

 

Avatar
Dr. Ko | 8 years ago
0 likes

Maybe I just stick to my well molded Brooks Professionell (looking similar yes). Coming to think about it - that saddle has the same GBP/kg price as Tune saddles, it is just that the weight and money would get you actually two Tune saddles

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