Vitesse Vs Aliante

[Fitmiss]

Hi Everyone,
I was at a LBS yesterday looking at saddles. The sales guy told me he has been selling a lot of Aliantes to women. I know that the Vitesse is the women's version of the Aliante but has anyone tried both? Any feedback?

It would be nice to find a LBS with both to try but the only Vitesse they had were saddles that came with some Cannondales.

Thanks in advance for the feedback

[veloputt]

May not help you, as I've not tried either the Vitesse or the Aliente, but I love my Arionne!!

[Cari]

I've tried both the Vitesse and the Aliante.

The Aliante felt harder, and it was more difficult for me to shift positions on the saddle. I've heard a similar sentiment echoed by one of my (male) riding partners. He said that the saddle only allowed for only one riding position, and that he got serious chafing from it after only 12 miles on a road bike. And this is *not* a guy who is finicky about comfort! Despite his warning, I tried the Aliante on a 45 mile ride. The overall shape of the saddle was pretty agreeable to my tush. But after being in one position for so long, I got some numbness on my buttocks and the edge of the chamois on my shorts actually rubbed me raw at one spot, despite my liberal use of chamois creme. It was bad enough that I yelped when I got in the shower. Neither of those things (numbness nor chafing in the buttocks) had ever happened to me before. On the upside, I had almost no soft tissue discomfort up front. Up until that point, that had been my biggest problem with several saddles that came with cutouts, so after trying the Aliante, I considered it to be my best fit.

To me, the Vitesse seemed a little bit softer and easier to move on than the Aliante. It made it easier for me to shoft positions on the saddle, and I didn't get any numbness. On the other hand, I did have some soft tissue discomfort on long rides (> 50 miles). The two were similar, but after trying the Vitesse a couple of times, I felt that it was better for me than the Aliante.

This is completely unrelated to the Aliante vs. Vitesse debate, but I think I should let you know that I've found that I've found something that works even better for me than the Vitesse. It's the WTB Rocket V Pro Gel, which I got for what I consider to be a very reasonable $75. It has a titanium rails and weighs 295g. So far I've ridden it comfortably for up to 70 miles at a time. If you prefer something lighter, there's also the Rocket V SLT with Ti rails, DNA padding and a leather cover at a much lighter 195g, for $90, I think. Compare that with the Aliante with Ti rails, which is $200.

[Sheesh]

I just bought a new bike, and it had an Aliante Sport on it originally. I didn't like that saddle, so the shop let me try a couple of others. Ultimately, I liked the Vitesse the best, and that's what I took home.

[Nanci]

Good luck with the Vitesse. That's been my old faithful saddle for 6000 miles of road riding since last summer, and about five years of MTBing before that.

Which doesn't stop be from wondering if the grass is greener on the other side...But the Blackwell Flow was _ok_, but I didn't like it as well as the Vitesse, and it was a little narrow, although I liked the cut out, and it was pretty cushy, and I didn't like how poofy that weird SMP Lady Stryke saddle was, and Brooks...well, that's on the back burner for now, although I believe that if you can get it broke in- it's probably nice. Now I have a Terry Zero X on the way.

It's so nice to have the super-comfortable Vitesse on stand-by, though.

Nanci

[xeney]

Bumping because I am looking for a new saddle and the Vitesse is probably the front-runner right now, but I can't find one locally so I am going to have to order it. So I have questions.

How soft is it? It looks really soft. This is my main concern about it, because I don't want soft. I have been riding a Terry Butterfly for a couple of years but it is too wide for me and too soft; I get chafing and red bumps. I have narrow sit bones and the most comfortable saddle I have ridden -- meaning no sit bone pain and no chafing or bumps -- is the Brooks Team Pro (men's), but in spite of the comfort I do think it was a little too narrow and would not have been comfortable over the long haul, plus it just isn't going to work because of saddle set-back issues. But it made me think that something harder and narrower than the Terry is the way to go.

My husband's Selle Italia Flite (no gel) is close, but a little too hard and a little too narrow. The Vitesse is a little wider and almost as long. I need it to be long like a men's saddle so that I can get it far enough back on the rails. Does it sound to those of you who have ridden one like this might work for me?

[Nanci]

http://tinyurl.com/fgn8p

This is the Vitesse I have. I would describe it as firm, but with some give. Not cushy. I thought it was very firm until I tried the Zero X. Now that sucker is hard!!

[Squirrel 2]

So long as you stay away from the gel version, the Vitesse will be firmer than the Butterfly, but not as hard as the Flite. Shape-wise, it is similar to the Flite. So if you like the shape of the Flite, but you want to go a little wider & a little softer without going too mushy, the Vitesse is probably the one.

Nanci made me laugh out loud about the hard-butt ride on the Zero. I tried the same vintage of that saddle, which was the year before the new claims of "now softer for '06". That was the only saddle I ever tried that I really had to stand up after every 10 minutes or so of pedalling just to make sure that my sit bones hadn't been ground away. The Zero & I parted company shortly afterwards.

[xeney]

Cool, thank you. It is sometimes a little hard to tell from a website whether the saddle is the gel version -- is that the CP3 version, maybe? I will avoid that one.

Does anyone like the Terry Zero? I think that might be what my husband has on his mountain bike. It is a tiny little toothpick of a saddle.

[Nanci]

Fishdoc likes the Zero X, and MaillotPois likes the Zero Y.

I kept my X for my MTB- I loved the cut-out, and aesthetically, it's gorgeous- but it made my girlie bits go numb after 40-50 miles or so. Not really an issue for MTB. So when you figure in shipping, plus shipping it back, even though it had the 30 day guarantee- it was really easier to just keep it. Kind of like the Blackwell Flow I just kept, though it is currently unemployed. I'd like BF to try it, since he hates his Terry Fly and Fizik Arione...

[xeney]

I'm wrong, my husband's MB saddle is not a zero, it's this thing. Which I think is an old discontinued Terry model. It is the skinniest, hardest saddle I have ever seen.

[Fitmiss]

The models of the Vitesse sold in the US at the moment are not current. I was told the 2006 HP model would arrive in July but don't see it on any US website. Now they tell me there are 2007 models coming out and will be in the US by Oct. 15th. The 2007 model is the HP wingflex is heavier than the 2006 model.250 vs 265 g. I also see a Vitesse Twin Tech (250 g). The one you can customize on Fizik's website is 240 g but doesn't have scuff guards that both the Twin Tech and Wingflex models have. It is hard to get any answers about differences and availability. I'm leaning at getting a Twin Tech but would like to understand the differences between the Wingflex and Twin Tech models.

[Jen]

I want the vitesse also but notice there are diffences. If anyone finds out where you can get one and the differences, let me know! Also, I am going to ride a 60miler. My first . I have only done 30. Think I can make it????? Ouch. May get some PI ultra sensors. Look cushier than the sugars.

[xeney]

Well, I just did my first metric century on the Vitesse with PI UltraSensors, and I'm okay, but my sit bones are a little sore. Overall I'd say it's a great saddle for me -- no chafing like I got with the Butterfly -- but I wish I'd had more time to get used to the hardness of the saddle first.

I have the non-gel version, and I'm pretty sure mine must be an older model (2005 or earlier) because I found it online for $59.99.

[Nanci]

I think it's reasonable to expect that any time you do your longest ride ever, things are going to be sore.

NAnci