I know people that love the slr. I really like the arione. I did not find the aliante worked well for me on longer rides. I like to move around on my saddle. You cannot do this with the aliante.

Good luck.

"I currently ride an SLR gel flow and a fi'zi:k aliante. I definitely prefer the SLR.

The SLR is very firm; not much give, your sit bones are steady and stable, no sinking in. Mine's got the hole in the middle; don't know if that has anything to do with it, but my boys pretty much always stay alert. Its pretty minimalist. I dig it.

The fi'zi:k has more give to it, much more flex on the sides, more ""cushiony"" feel then the SLR. Its also a slightly longer saddle so you can move around a tad more. Had to nose it down slightly to prevent the boys from napping. Very different feel. Its pretty comfy, just not really my style.

*** CORRECTION: Sorry, read the post above which reminded me its the Arione I have, not Aliante. Comments stand but the names have changed to protect the innocent ***"

I have two of them. They work just fine for me because they're the same basic shape (Concor -> Concor Light -> Aliante) that I've been comfy with for the last 20 years, but because I of that I can't compare it to anything else.

I cannot, however, recommend it as a cyclocross saddle - the rails are too close together at the rear of the saddle to stand up to off-center landings. Don't ask me how I know this.

Just to make it clear, the feel of each of these two saddles is totally different from the other. I have one of each. The Aliante seems very similar to my apparently irreplaceable and thorouhly broken-in Avocet 02 and stays comfortable for me through longer rides. The Arione is interesting because of the length (and the ability to move up and back), but I find it uncomfortable much beyond 25 miles. Obviously, and as already stated, this is very personal; there just flat out isn't any substitute for trying out saddles over extended rides. I've got a substantial investment in saddles that clearly weren't meant for me. (Anybody interested in a virtually untouched San Marco Arrow Aspide?)

I did find one LBS that let me (an established customer) try out and return saddles over a week or two, but I think this is probably extraordinary. The shop owner said he was toying with setting up a library of saddles for demo purposes. I'll post it if he ever does.