Diff between Fizik Arione and Arione R3

JesseD

Hi all,

After trying a few different saddles I tried the Fizik Arione and have decided its the one for me, however after searching for one to match the colour of my bike I have seem that there are different ones available.

The one I tried is the Arione R3 with the carbon shell, however I have also seen the Arione (presume this is the older model) with the plastic shell which is much cheaper so am wondering what the difference is and would I notice?

Weight doesn't bother me too much so having a carbon this and that is not important, but the comfort is.

Can anyone educate me to the differences, is the additional £££ worth it for the R3 (or R5/R7) over the older model, is there a difference in shape or is it just the weight and the covering?

Thank you all.

dj58

The differences are shown on the Fizik website posting.php?mode=reply&f=40042&t=13036739

Did the model you try have braided carbon or metal K:ium rails?

JesseD

It had the K:ium rails.

JesseD

There we go, a pretty good explanation.

http://road.cc/content/news/68290-fizik-launch-new-arione-range-2013

So its the R3 that I am going to go for, now where is it cheapest?

dj58

If the older model is what Fizik are referring to as the classic, it has a carbon reinforced nylon shell and K:ium rails, whereas the R3 has "Composite Glass co-injected Nylon Wing Flex™ provides the best support with optimized stiffness to-weight construction" and K:ium rails.

I suppose wing flex could mean it may be more comfortable compared to the classic model, however that would be something only you could decide by doing a back to back test, I would have thought. Can you borrow one of the classic model to try?

JesseD

Apparently the R models have a wider nose with a little more padding, plus the foam they use is meant to be less likely to go out of shape or compress, and the covering is more water resistant.

Might give the R5 a whirl and see if I get on with it, then if I do buy the R3 for the race bike for next year.