Alameda Runners – Get After It!

I am a reluctant cyclist who likes to ride up a big hill every now and then and survive the middle leg of a triathlon.  For me, a bike saddle is nothing more than a fancy term for a bike seat.  Sella Italia heard about my feelings when we did an interview with them recently so they sent us a couple saddles to review.

I wound up with the Flite as my test saddle.  I put it on my titanium frame with semi-stiff Aksium wheels and never looked back.

I understand there are various renditions for the Gel Flite saddle.  I have the latest and greatest with titanium rails.  There was something about the geometry of the saddle that confused me during the installation.  I wound up putting the seat a little bit forward and tilted down slightly.  I rode like this for over 100 miles when I decided to try riding without cycle shorts.  My old saddle often felt like the seat was loose because of some weird wobbly feel.  The Flite never gave me that sensation.  I rode with spandex shorts and I was comfortable for an entire 50 or 60 mile ride.  With that test out of the way, I decided to put aero bars on my bike and try it like that.  I kept the seat on a slight angle and slightly forward.  My bike is setup for a single purpose, to survive the Vineman triathlon.  The way the saddle is configured, I am up on the nose when I am in the aero position and in the middle when I am on the handle bars while climbing and descending.

The feel is pretty good when I am down in the aero position.  After an hour or so of aero, I am ready for a hill so I can get into the middle of the seat.  Riding in the middle of the saddle offers a unique feel.  It is not a soft ride, it is comfortable.  Soft gets squishy while comfortable feels like it is formed to my body and it absorbs a lot of the shock from the road.  I could tweak the setup some more but I am not going to mess with something that works until after my triathlon next week.

What I like about the Sella Italia Flite

• It is comfortable
• It fits my butt when I sit on it
• The flex from the carbon fiber base or the gel give it a molded feel when riding
• It is the only visible bling on my bike
• The long rails give the nose a firm feel
• No two seats are exactly the same
• The shock absorbing action from the middle of the saddle
• I can’t really say what I don’t like about the saddle as it is the only high end saddle that I have ridden but I can say I like it.