Fizik Arione's uncomfortable centre strip

surfgod

Last month I borrowed a fizik arione test sadle from my LBS. I rode it for over ten days and was very impressed with the level of comfort it offered, so much so I decided to buy one.. After fitting the new seat I headed off for a forty mile spin, as expected I had to stop a couple of times to make some micro adjustments. I stuck with this new seat for a couple of weeks, but never acheived the level of sublime comfort that I had with the yellow test saddle.

I eventually came to the conclusion, that the stitched centre strip thats a feature on nearly all ariones was causing me the discomfort. As far as I can see, the fizik aroine is the only saddle in their range that has this ridiculous stitching exactly where you don't want it....Arrrgggghhhh

NewTTer

If you can feel that very low profile stitching through your chamois pad, then you need some new shorts

alihisgreat

this springs to mind

declan1

surfgod wrote:

Last month I borrowed a fizik arione test sadle from my LBS. I rode it for over ten days and was very impressed with the level of comfort it offered, so much so I decided to buy one.. After fitting the new seat I headed off for a forty mile spin, as expected I had to stop a couple of times to make some micro adjustments. I stuck with this new seat for a couple of weeks, but never acheived the level of sublime comfort that I had with the yellow test saddle.

I eventually came to the conclusion, that the stitched centre strip thats a feature on nearly all ariones was causing me the discomfort. As far as I can see, the fizik aroine is the only saddle in their range that has this ridiculous stitching exactly where you don't want it....Arrrgggghhhh

What about the Arione Versus? It has the centre strip carved away:

Raffles

arione was the singularly most uncomfortable saddle i have ever owned. using it was like sitting on the curved top of a bannister handrail that was batterring the perineal area no matter the angle.

briantrumpet

declan1 wrote:

What about the Arione Versus? It has the centre strip carved away

Solved the problem for me. I liked the general shape of the Arione, but it became very uncomfortable by about 60 miles thanks to the pressure in the centre.

fevmeister

How can you feel saddle stitching through your chamois pad????

fevmeister

.

racingcondor

Do what I did. Try an Anteres, buy several, enjoy.

The Arione seems to work well for a lot of people (lets face it, it's probably the most popular saddle) but I found that after a few thousand miles the little bit of sag that developed in the middle meant that comfort on long rides suffered. The Anteres flat top seems to fix that nicely (so far).

If you're on the right saddle you shouldn't need to break it in.

letape2

Not all the Ariones have the centre strip or stitching. I have a white Arione with carbon rails that doesn't have it. I have another one with the strip and it has never bothered me.