Fizik Transiro Aeris Long Distance Saddle

I love this saddle. It almost melts away underneath me, and I feel great after, for example, 2 hours on a trainer. I understand that perceptions about saddles can easily vary by person. This is my take/story. I also have the R3. The R5 feels the same to me. I believe the only difference between the two is the rail material and about 6 grams in weight. I've only used this saddle on a trainer, so I can't say whether it is great on the road. But, I believe it is fair to say that it's more challenging to be comfy on the trainer, so, I expect it will feel at least as good on the road as it does on the trainer. I'll share some details that work for me: A) I love the center channel that carries all the way through the nose; fully comfortable everywhere on the saddle. B) the saddle is on the harder-side with maybe a touch of give. A benefit of this is that the padding holds its position and doesn't sag inward, which can partly dampen the benefit of the center channel. I'm not sure why a harder feel works better for me. C) It is close to perfectly flat; there is a very, very slight kickup in the back. It still feels flat when I sit back in the saddle. I am a road-racer and don't engage time-trials. However, I can see how this would be great for TTs. I played with sitting near the nose for over an hour, and it worked well. The width -- about 50mm I believe -- up front has to be the key in it feeling good. D) I love the short nose. It offers a type of "freedom" in feel I don't experience with longer-nose saddles. I don't see myself ever again riding anything other than a short nose saddle. E) The rail length is pretty good, offering lots of flexibility in fore/aft. F) Saddle material cleans off easily after a lengthy, sweaty ride. I don't have much insight into the "link" to which one can attach a bottle(s)-holder behind the saddle. It is removable if that helps to know. It seems sufficiently strong and sturdy. I have seen some online comments somewhere about the fit and finish being less than flawless. Only upon close inspection can I see to what people might be referring -- where the saddle slots into the base near the front. In my opinion, this will have absolutely zero impact on its performance and feel, and I'd bet no impact on its durability. I played around with dialing it in -- it wasn't a huge effort. It can feel good "out of the box" with initial setup. But, I have been able to improve the feel by playing with the tilt/angle for which personal preference can matter. All in all, awesome saddle at a great price-point (at least for the R5) that offers great value. That's my take and I'm sticking with it :-)

TL/DR: This sharp looking, high performance saddle from Fizik is for someone other than me.

I had used a Fizik Tritone saddle for years prior to upgrading my Tri/TT bike. I thought sticking with the same brand and basic shape would be wise, so I purchased the Fizik Transiro Aeris Long Distance saddle. The first race of my season was in early May and I had taken pains to dial in the bike fit (including the saddle position) over the course of several weeks leading up to the race. The 38 mile bike course is challenging and their were torrential downpours on/off during the 1:46:36 it took me to complete it. Well, as a hit the final climb back to transition, I noticed I had an unusual lack of power (no matter if I was in or out of the saddle) then at some point also realized I had growing severity of discomfort on my sit bones. I got worse by the minute as I dragged myself up to the top of the climb and finally into the transition area. When I finally dismounted the bike I could barely lift my feet enough to walk, much less jog to my rack spot. The pain in my sit bone area was absolutely screaming. . . like a flaming, swelling sensation that was only getting worse. I learned the problem was an acute inflammation of the ischial bursa. I could feel a large painful nodule over each sit bone for days afterwards.

The conclusion is that this saddle is just simply not for me. Could it be for you? That's a question I can't answer? Is it well made? Absolutely. Lightweight, initially comfortable, features a bracket for mounting a bottle cage, etc. This is a sharp looking and high performance piece of equipment, but it put me in severe pain and caused me to DNF my race. I still have some discomfort from it to this day - June 6, 2024.

The water bottle cage part is plastic and does not seem very sturdy. Although I have not have any issue so far and it certainly makes the whole package lighter. I am using this replacing the ISM seat. while I enjoy the ism seat, it is just a bit too wide for me. This one solve the problem.