Confused by Selle Italia

petemadoc

Currently riding a C2 Gel flow, like this one



Quite like this saddle and after riding a few others have decided I like the Selle Italia Gel flow design. So thinking of a little upgrade for the new bike but there's just so many . . . . what's the bloody difference?

Pro link Gel flow



SLR gel flow



Flite Gel Flow



The lovely SLR team edition, this seems to be the same as the SLR but with a more durable LORICA covering



So does anyone have experience of any of the above and why are there so bloomin many?

derbygrimpeur

width is different between alot of them.

I used to use a flite gel flow which is 146mm (?). I found it very uncomfortable when used for more than a couple of hours. I now have the C2 gel flow (136mm?) which is almost perfect.

I'm tempted to go narrower though to a 131mm.

Aside from width, differences are possibly down to materials used?

petemadoc

Widths taken from the planet x website

C2 135mm

Pro link 135mm

SLR 131mm

Flite 130mm

Not huge variances

derbygrimpeur

Some of those are wrong.

Taken from the Selle Italia website...

the max flite gel flow (different from the flite) is 146mm
C2 is 136mm
Prolink is 146mm
SLR 131mm
Flite 130mm

http://www.selleitalia.com/eng/index.html

Wheelspinner

I have a few of these on various bikes:
SLR Team Flow on one
SLR XP on another
C2 on an old MTB

Also had the Max Flite Gel Flowfor a while, but too bulky for my liking.

Differences I suspect are thickness and density of padding and cover, shell materials meaning flex is different, rails can be different material too which means weight is different.

I reckon the XP (Extra Padding I believe, no kidding) is the most comfy, but the Team Flow SLR is pretty good too for me.

derbygrimpeur

Sorry, the max flite gel flow is different from the flite gel flow, but your picture above labelled "flite gel flow" is actually a picture of the max I think

petemadoc

Wheelspinner wrote:

I have a few of these on various bikes:
SLR Team Flow on one
SLR XP on another
C2 on an old MTB

What's the Team version like? I like the real leather but just wondering if the team editions are a better buy as they might last longer or something?

Wheelspinner

Done a couple of thousand km on mine so far and it has almost no visible wear at all. It seems just a bit flatter than the SLR XP I also have, and I tend to find flat saddles a bit less comfy. Fizik Arione kills me in an hour for example.

That said, I can do 4 hours plus on the SLR Team and have no real issues at all. Recommended!

dennisn

I'll play devils advocate and ask "Why the hell would you buy a different saddle type if you found a style that you really liked?" :? :? :?

Wirral_paul

I just sold a Selle Flite Gel Flow on ebay about 2 weeks ago - i measured it at 130mm wide

Not comfy for me - too narrow for my sit bones. I'm now on a 143mm Specialized Romin after measuring myself on the Specialized Body Geometry pads they have in the shop.

petemadoc

dennisn wrote:

I'll play devils advocate and ask "Why the hell would you buy a different saddle type if you found a style that you really liked?" :? :? :?

Well, because they are all pretty much the same type and shape but I fancied upgrading, hence why the two main contenders are the Flite and the SLR

Still trying to decide, might just end up getting the C2 anyways as it's £40 cheaper than the others.

avoidingmyphd

PeteMadoc wrote:

dennisn wrote:

I'll play devils advocate and ask "Why the hell would you buy a different saddle type if you found a style that you really liked?" :? :? :?

Well, because they are all pretty much the same type and shape but I fancied upgrading, hence why the two main contenders are the Flite and the SLR

Still trying to decide, might just end up getting the C2 anyways as it's £40 cheaper than the others.

Dennis is on the money here - you don't know if the saddle you buy will be better for you than your current one, so the only thing that makes it an "upgrade" is that it is more expensive.

petemadoc

avoidingmyphd wrote:

PeteMadoc wrote:

dennisn wrote:

I'll play devils advocate and ask "Why the hell would you buy a different saddle type if you found a style that you really liked?" :? :? :?

Well, because they are all pretty much the same type and shape but I fancied upgrading, hence why the two main contenders are the Flite and the SLR

Still trying to decide, might just end up getting the C2 anyways as it's £40 cheaper than the others.

Dennis is on the money here - you don't know if the saddle you buy will be better for you than your current one, so the only thing that makes it an "upgrade" is that it is more expensive.

True . . . true

with saddles you always get that feeling that there's something better out there

Ben6899

PeteMadoc wrote:

avoidingmyphd wrote:

PeteMadoc wrote:

dennisn wrote:

I'll play devils advocate and ask "Why the hell would you buy a different saddle type if you found a style that you really liked?" :? :? :?

Well, because they are all pretty much the same type and shape but I fancied upgrading, hence why the two main contenders are the Flite and the SLR

Still trying to decide, might just end up getting the C2 anyways as it's £40 cheaper than the others.

Dennis is on the money here - you don't know if the saddle you buy will be better for you than your current one, so the only thing that makes it an "upgrade" is that it is more expensive.

True . . . true

with saddles you always get that feeling that there's something better out there

Your current saddle is comfortable. So there isn't anything better out there. FACT.

petemadoc

Ben6899 wrote:

PeteMadoc wrote:

avoidingmyphd wrote:

PeteMadoc wrote:

dennisn wrote:

I'll play devils advocate and ask "Why the hell would you buy a different saddle type if you found a style that you really liked?" :? :? :?

Well, because they are all pretty much the same type and shape but I fancied upgrading, hence why the two main contenders are the Flite and the SLR

Still trying to decide, might just end up getting the C2 anyways as it's £40 cheaper than the others.

Dennis is on the money here - you don't know if the saddle you buy will be better for you than your current one, so the only thing that makes it an "upgrade" is that it is more expensive.

True . . . true

with saddles you always get that feeling that there's something better out there

Your current saddle is comfortable. So there isn't anything better out there. FACT.

Ah but the flite is preeeetty



Surely that will make my bum feel nicer too

Ben6899

It's pretty, but it might mash your taint or rub your buns!

I know we're all different, but the Thoork Gelflow I tried was like a medieval torture device as far as my ass was concerned.

avoidingmyphd

SLR half price today only on planet x

Nuggs

I ride a Flite Gelflow and not only is it pretty, it's also jolly comfy.

However, this piece of information is largely pointless given how subjective saddles are.

petemadoc

avoidingmyphd wrote:

SLR half price today only on planet x

yeah, just got that email, shame it's black and it's not got a hole in the middle

Bozman

SLR flow Carbonio, I've got a couple, they're more expensive but I find them so much more comfortable than the standard SLR flow. I had a prolink on a winter bike which again was more comfortable than the SLR flow, I've just swapped that for a Romin
to give Specialized a go for once.