# Fizik Aliante getting it level



## hamsey (Aug 16, 2010)

Just got this saddle. My previous saddle was flat and easy to level. Aliante has a tail up design so do I just place the level on the nose? Across the entire saddle (told to do this by my LBS), or is there another way? Not sure how this one should be leveled.

I know seems like a silly question just want to do it right. Thanks!


----------



## Fireform (Dec 15, 2005)

I rode that saddle for a long time. I liked it best with the level nose section tilted up slightly, but not as much as if you leveled the whole saddle. Experiment to see how much tilt feels best because small changes matter a lot. It's a good saddle and justly popular.


----------



## asleep at the keel (Aug 24, 2011)

When I level a saddle with an uneven surface, I put a small piece of plywood or something similar on it and then put my level on that. That will produce a good starting point. Minor adjustments can then be made from there as needed.


----------



## alegerlotz (Feb 8, 2013)

hamsey said:


> Across the entire saddle (told to do this by my LBS),


I have mine set this way by my LBS and it works well for me.


----------



## mikerp (Jul 24, 2011)

As others have mentioned clip board, flat piece of wood, metal plate with the level on top to start out.


----------



## hamsey (Aug 16, 2010)

alegerlotz said:


> I have mine set this way by my LBS and it works well for me.


Not too much pressure on the boys? I use a clipboard across the entire saddle to get it level but man that looks like a big gap.


----------



## alegerlotz (Feb 8, 2013)

hamsey said:


> Not too much pressure on the boys? I use a clipboard across the entire saddle to get it level but man that looks like a big gap.


No pressure issues at all, and in the past on other bikes I have had numbness downstairs.

Set this way the saddle is all around comfortable for me.


----------



## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

Agree with Fireform et al. Level is often good, and with flat saddles works for the majority. Start somewhere and experiment see what works the best. The main thing that is counterintuitive for many is that if you're experiencing pressure from the nose of the saddle, it's likely not due to the nose being high, but rather the nose being too low causing you to slide forward on the saddle. Riding with too much setback or very long reach can exacerbate this.


----------



## danl1 (Jul 23, 2005)

My working version of level for the Aliante was a straightedge nestled in the "V" in back and on the nose of the saddle. Works out between "all level" and "Nose level". 

Agreeing with Looigi - the key to preventing pressure on the sensitive bits is to get the sit bones on the wide rear part of the saddle. With this style of saddle, that usually means a setup that looks "nose up" to some eyes. The goal is that the sit bones sit on back, and the swale in the saddle allows plenty of room. If it's set so that the nose portion is level, the rear portion forms a ramp and you constantly slide down so that your weight is all on the nose. "all level" makes that work out as intended.


----------



## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

hamsey said:


> I know seems like a silly question just want to do it right. Thanks!


Not a silly question at all. With a saddle that has a _pronounced_ upsweep at the rear, leveling it using the standard procedures (level across the entire length, flat board across it) doesn't always work. That's because the front half of the saddle could point upwards too much, even though your bubble level shows the _entire_ saddle to be dead level. 

With an upswept saddle, it is, in fact, often better to start by leveling the front half of the saddle, not the entire saddle. (Because this will put the rear edge of an upswept saddle slightly higher than its nose, the standard leveling procedures would show the saddle to be slightly nose down.) Test-ride this nose-level setting and bring the nose up (never down) in very small increments if you feel it's not right.


----------



## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

"Level" is just a starting point, anyway. You need to adjust from there for what works for you with that saddle, which may turn out to be a little nose up or down.


----------



## C-40 (Feb 4, 2004)

I can't tell you what angle willl work, but I've used saddles with a curve to them for many years and found a reliable method of duplicating the angle that feels most comfortable, once it's been found.

Place a level on the saddle with one end resting on the tail. Hold the level in a true horizontal position (bubble centered), then measure from the level to the nose. My Fizik Gobi saddle worked well with the nose about 10mm lower than the kicked-up tail.

Use a seat post with a 2-bolt rocker mechanism that allows very small angle adjustments. Post with serrations that control the angle don't allow the small changes that are often needed, to be made.

Another method that would work is to buy a digital level (about $40 at Home Depot). Place the level on the saddle and record the angle displayed.


----------



## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

C-40 said:


> Another method that would work is to buy a digital level (about $40 at Home Depot). Place the level on the saddle and record the angle displayed.


Too old to be interested in these things, but my wife recently showed me how to use her her small computer (about the size of a small chopping board) as a digital level. I have no idea what brand or model this computer is, but perhaps they all have that feature. I was impressed.


----------



## Ventruck (Mar 9, 2009)

Fireform said:


> I rode that saddle for a long time. I liked it best with the level nose section tilted up slightly, but not as much as if you leveled the whole saddle. Experiment to see how much tilt feels best because small changes matter a lot. It's a good saddle and justly popular.



There's not much necessity to have it level indeed. It's really one of those saddles for riders who stay in place. Since I was mostly climbing I actually had it tilted a bit down so the rear end holds me better. The nose isn't so welcoming to ride on imo. Rode my Aliante for a year+ until I could finally get a replacement.


----------



## Eric_H (Feb 5, 2004)

I have used the Aliante for years. I prefer it nose-up. In fact, I have a digital level mounted on a flat square plate that I put on the saddle. The points of contact of the plate are on the high spot on the nose, and the two high points on the rear. I adjust so it is 1.5 degrees nose up on the digital level.

How did I get 1.5 degrees? Easy, I mounted it, rode around and made adjustments until it felt right. Thomson post makes this a snap with 2-bolt leveling. The beauty of the digital level is that when I set up another bike it is super easy to adjust the saddle now.


----------



## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

I always use a level when adjusting my saddles. But for any saddle, the real way to adjust it is:

Use a level - however you can - to make initial adjustment.

Ride the bike. If you feel it's right, just remember where you put the level and what the bubble reading was.

If you don't like it, decide if it needs to go a little nose up or down. Use the level exactly as you did before, and use the bubble to adjust it up or down.

The only important thing isn't how the level is used, or where the bubble is - just that it is used consistently and you can remember how to do it again when you have to re-adjust the saddle.

I'm kind of lucky with my E3 Form saddles (4 of them!) in that I can easily lay the level along the midline and from experience I know that I like the saddles about "1 bubble width" nose up. That's how carpenters use levels too - using the marks on the bubble window and usually try to get the bubble right in the middle, but sometimes use it "1/4", "1/2", etc. of a bubble off level.


----------



## SystemShock (Jun 14, 2008)

danl1 said:


> My working version of level for the Aliante was a straightedge nestled in the "V" in back and on the nose of the saddle. Works out between "all level" and "Nose level".
> 
> Agreeing with Looigi - the key to preventing pressure on the sensitive bits is to get the sit bones on the wide rear part of the saddle. With this style of saddle, that usually means a setup that looks "nose up" to some eyes. The goal is that the sit bones sit on back, and the swale in the saddle allows plenty of room. If it's set so that the nose portion is level, the rear portion forms a ramp and you constantly slide down so that your weight is all on the nose. "all level" makes that work out as intended.



Well said.


----------

