So, I like the Fizik Aliante better than the Gobi even though it is a road saddle.  The raised rear part of the saddle is more comfortable for my lower back.    Everyone knows numbness is not good.  The Aliante has a rounded shape which I feel presses the soft tissue making it a bad fit for me.  The pressure from the saddle’s rounded shape doesn’t feel right.   Having said that, after extended time in the saddle the numbness still returns.

Anyway, my temporary solution is to pedal standing up for a while to relieve the soft tissue area.  Another tactic I use to prevent numbness is to add lots of trails during my bike ride.  I stand when descending trails so that also reduces the time I’m sitting in the saddle.  I also stand while descending fire roads for the same reason.  This all helps but its not a solution to the numbness its a bandaid solution.

The Meteora MTB race I looking forward to is 5 weeks.  There are extended climbs in this race.  That means there will be a lot of time sitting in the saddle.  The last thing I want is to get numb or having to remember to stand up.  I want to focus on my performance and have a great race.

The next saddle I’m going to test is from SQ Labs.  More on this saddle later.