Flite ti padding question

landotter said:

heya, I'm a lucky basteward and just picked up a very slightly used '93
Flite with ti rails. It's the old model with smooth leather (yay!). It
cost the grand sum of $2 at my local charity 2nd hand store (half
price, 'cause the sticker was green)

Mounted it up with my vintage 2-bolt SR post, replacing a very firm
Selle Royal Prestige race saddle.

I took a test sit and love the dimensions and haven't had a chance to
ride it, but it seems very soft--surprisingly so. Are all Flites pretty
squishy? Seems like it might give you numb bits. I'll find out when I
take the first long ride with it. :P

I also got a Selle Basano Vuelta with the black wavy leather for 50c,
it seems to be more firm, but pretty much a clone of the Flite
otherwise. Not nearly as handsome, but we'll see if the Flite works
out.

Pay $2 for a saddle, get a $2 saddle. No such thing as a free lunch.

landotter said:

it seems very soft--surprisingly so. Are all Flites pretty squishy?

Compared to what? The basic Flite saddle is pretty firm in my opinion.
Note that there are several versions such as Max Flite and Gel
versions.

Art Harris

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

Pay $2 for a saddle, get a $2 saddle. No such thing as a free lunch.

your snark does nothing but make you look like an [censored].

Quoted message said:

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

Pay $2 for a saddle, get a $2 saddle. No such thing as a free lunch.

your snark does nothing but make you look like an [censored].

Nah, all he did was interject some reality into the equation. You were
buying "hope" and in search of the "perfect deal" and you just didn't like
that ol' reality coming in. Maybe you got a great deal and maybe you got an
average deal. So what? It's the thrill of the chase, isn't it? Don't kill
the messenger.

Pat in TX

Quoted message said:

Art Harris said:

landotter said:

it seems very soft--surprisingly so. Are all Flites pretty squishy?

Compared to what? The basic Flite saddle is pretty firm in my opinion.
Note that there are several versions such as Max Flite and Gel
versions.

Art Harris

Just a plain ti is all, no other logos.

I haven't had a chance to test ride it as a blanket of snow has been
coming down here, and though I can handle wet and cold with sweaters
and fenders, snow + road bike = fall down.

I rode Turbos & clones in the late 80s, then spent the 90s on Brooks,
then I had a long talk with my bits and they said the Brooks wasn't
working out, so I went back to classic 80s plastic shelled saddles, my
last being the uber-firm Selle Royale Prestiges I got at a Nashbar
blow-out.

The Prestige's are the best I've ridden so far, even better than the
classic Turbo, but the minimalism of the Flite's really tempting as
I've got pretty massive thighs and a test sit shows potential for less
rub.

Will see how it fits after this minor blizzard--was just curious if the
padding had broken down or something.

landotter said:

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

Pay $2 for a saddle, get a $2 saddle. No such thing as a free lunch.

your snark does nothing but make you look like an [censored].

Give Peter a break - after all he is repressing into his subconscious
the desire to sit on a luxuriously comfortable recumbent bicycle SEAT.
😉 <-- [Note Smiley]

--
Tom Sherman

Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman said:

landotter said:

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

Pay $2 for a saddle, get a $2 saddle. No such thing as a free lunch.

your snark does nothing but make you look like an [censored].

Give Peter a break - after all he is repressing into his subconscious
the desire to sit on a luxuriously comfortable recumbent bicycle SEAT.
😉 <-- [Note Smiley]

SEAT mikes bikes now!!!!????

Always loved their superminis, the handling's fab, and the short throw
clutch is to-die-for, but the bike rack mounting was always a chore.

Thanks for the heads-up!

landotter said:

heya, I'm a lucky basteward and just picked up a very slightly used '93
Flite with ti rails. It's the old model with smooth leather (yay!). It
cost the grand sum of $2 at my local charity 2nd hand store (half
price, 'cause the sticker was green)

Mounted it up with my vintage 2-bolt SR post, replacing a very firm
Selle Royal Prestige race saddle.

I took a test sit and love the dimensions and haven't had a chance to
ride it, but it seems very soft--surprisingly so. Are all Flites pretty
squishy?

IIRC, the original Flite had minimal padding, but a rather soft shell.
Is that what you mean by squishy?

Sorni said:

"Giggle"? Someone DOES look like an abusive [censored] here, and it ain't
Peter or Pat.

and

Quoted message said:

STFU and ride, rat-boy... BS

Shouldn't you be out playing with a Texas attorney and a $5K shotgun?

Ozark Bicycle said:

IIRC, the original Flite had minimal padding, but a rather soft shell.
Is that what you mean by squishy?

Shell is nice and compliant, but there's a good amount of padding,
which decreases towards the nose of couse.

I'm used to very firm saddles, and had heard the same about the Flites,
but it seems softer than rumour would have it. No biggie, I'm just
sitting here tapping away as conditions outside are nasty.

In the next couple of days I should be able to ride the damn thing and
decide for myself.

It's just that for a decade everybody's been raving about the Flite,
and I finally got one, and tho it looks frightening, it feels like an
80s Vetta touring perch. LOL

"Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

landotter said:

heya, I'm a lucky basteward and just picked up a very slightly used '93
Flite with ti rails. It's the old model with smooth leather (yay!). It
cost the grand sum of $2 at my local charity 2nd hand store (half
price, 'cause the sticker was green)

Mounted it up with my vintage 2-bolt SR post, replacing a very firm
Selle Royal Prestige race saddle.

I took a test sit and love the dimensions and haven't had a chance to
ride it, but it seems very soft--surprisingly so. Are all Flites pretty
squishy? Seems like it might give you numb bits. I'll find out when I
take the first long ride with it. :P

I happen to think that the original Flite Ti saddles are great. The "very
soft" is from the flex in the shell. Not the padding. If you don't like it
put it up on rec.bicycles.marketplace and someone will part for a good deal
more than $2.00.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I also got a Selle Basano Vuelta with the black wavy leather for 50c,
it seems to be more firm, but pretty much a clone of the Flite
otherwise. Not nearly as handsome, but we'll see if the Flite works
out.

Pay $2 for a saddle, get a $2 saddle. No such thing as a free lunch.

Come on Peter, I know your just trying to be clever. The low price of
something at a thrift store surely doesn't equate to quality or value. Only
that it may be under priced. I've worn through the cover on the old Flite Ti
on my witer bike and would love to get my hands on a replacement cheap.
Bill

landotter said:

heya, I'm a lucky basteward and just picked up a very slightly used '93
Flite with ti rails.

I took a test sit and love the dimensions and haven't had a chance to
ride it, but it seems very soft--surprisingly so. Are all Flites pretty
squishy? Seems like it might give you numb bits. I'll find out when I
take the first long ride with it.

I had a Flite Ti of a little later vintage ('98?). It was pretty hard,
but I liked it as it was also very flat, which seems to be the key for
comfort for me. I couldn't ride it on very long rides (double centuries)
without getting really sore at my sit bones, though, but it was OK for
general riding.

I had expected the rails to eventually break (as another Ti-railed
saddle did), but they held up despite being used for a few years on my
MTB, where I did a lot of "nose riding" - something the Flite was pretty
good for. It eventually failed when the shell cracked in the middle.
Great deal for $2. I think I paid $70 for mine. They must have lightened
up on the padding in later years, I definitely wouldn't have ever called
mine "squishy" -- it was one of the hardest saddles I've used.

On 17 Feb 2006 16:52:30 -0800, "landotter" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

heya, I'm a lucky basteward and just picked up a very slightly used '93
Flite with ti rails. It's the old model with smooth leather (yay!). It
cost the grand sum of $2 at my local charity 2nd hand store (half
price, 'cause the sticker was green)

Mounted it up with my vintage 2-bolt SR post, replacing a very firm
Selle Royal Prestige race saddle.

I took a test sit and love the dimensions and haven't had a chance to
ride it, but it seems very soft--surprisingly so. Are all Flites pretty
squishy? Seems like it might give you numb bits. I'll find out when I
take the first long ride with it. :P

I also got a Selle Basano Vuelta with the black wavy leather for 50c,
it seems to be more firm, but pretty much a clone of the Flite
otherwise. Not nearly as handsome, but we'll see if the Flite works
out.

Peter's response notwithstanding, I think you got a good deal,
assuming acceptable condition. I currently own six bikes, five of them
Flite Ti equipped. (The other one is a PX-10E with period correct
Brooks Pro.)

I don't find the Flites to be "pretty squishy". They're pretty firm;
just right IMHO.

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

Peter Cole said:

landotter wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

heya, I'm a lucky basteward and just picked up a very slightly used '93
Flite with ti rails.

They really don't make them like they used to. If you've found an old one
in good shape, you've scored.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I took a test sit and love the dimensions and haven't had a chance to
ride it, but it seems very soft--surprisingly so. Are all Flites pretty
squishy? Seems like it might give you numb bits. I'll find out when I
take the first long ride with it.

Quoted message said:

I had a Flite Ti of a little later vintage ('98?). It was pretty hard,
but I liked it as it was also very flat, which seems to be the key for
comfort for me. I couldn't ride it on very long rides (double centuries)
without getting really sore at my sit bones, though, but it was OK for
general riding.

Quoted message said:

I had expected the rails to eventually break (as another Ti-railed
saddle did), but they held up despite being used for a few years on my
MTB, where I did a lot of "nose riding" - something the Flite was pretty
good for. It eventually failed when the shell cracked in the middle.
Great deal for $2. I think I paid $70 for mine. They must have lightened
up on the padding in later years, I definitely wouldn't have ever called
mine "squishy" -- it was one of the hardest saddles I've used.

The original Flite, which came out in the early 90s, had very little
padding, but the shell flexed perfectly to make up for it. It was half
the weight and bulk of the Turbos, etc., that were popular at the time,
yet more comfortable. No one believed this was possible until they sat on
one. So it was a design breakthrough.

What happens with products like this though, is that the maker comes out
with different versions, expanding the brand name into a whole line of
products. Eventually the original ceases to exist, as suppliers get
changed, the product gets "cheaped out," etc. This is what happened to
the original Flite. The plain-jane version still being sold is a poor
facsimile.

These days everyone is raving about the Fizik Aliante, which has already
expanded into a couple of different versions. If you want the original,
you'd better grab one now (at $200!) before it gets cheaped out into
something else. BTW, I know two people who have broken the carbon rail
ones.

Matt O.

John Everett said:

I don't find the Flites to be "pretty squishy". They're pretty firm;
just right IMHO.

LOL, if only Usenet offered a tactile attachment.

Yeah, "squishy" is a pretty vague description, it's squishy compared to
a Rolls or Turbo, meaning you can compress the rear padding by more
than a mm with your thumb. :P

I'm just obsessing as the snow outside's keeping me off the road bike
and the saddle's screaming "RIDE ME"!

I found it highly amusing that I found a Flite Ti in a pretty redneck
thriftshop, next to the bin full of stained plastic spaghetti tongs.

It does seem like it'll be good for shorter stuff compared to the
Prestige, which barely has padding, short of the shell itself. The
Prestige makes itself known at first, then your bits acclimate, and
it's good for hours.

I'm bidding on a roadster on Ebay, so if the Flite doesn't work on the
road bike, it'll be a humorous addition to a 45 pound black beast. :P

Peter Cole said:

landotter said:

heya, I'm a lucky basteward and just picked up a very slightly used '93
Flite with ti rails.
I took a test sit and love the dimensions and haven't had a chance to
ride it, but it seems very soft--surprisingly so. Are all Flites pretty
squishy? Seems like it might give you numb bits. I'll find out when I
take the first long ride with it.

I had a Flite Ti of a little later vintage ('98?). It was pretty hard,

Yeah, the shell on the first two Flite Ti's I had were very flexibile.
But the one I have on one of my bikes right now is significantly
stiffer, I don't know what era it was from, though.

Greg

--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons

Quoted message said:

Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman said:

Give Peter a break - after all he is repressing into his subconscious
the desire to sit on a luxuriously comfortable recumbent bicycle SEAT.
😉 <-- [Note Smiley]

landotter said:

SEAT mikes bikes now!!!!????

Very good! Funny.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

G.T. said:

Peter Cole said:

I had a Flite Ti of a little later vintage ('98?). It was pretty hard,

Yeah, the shell on the first two Flite Ti's I had were very flexibile.
But the one I have on one of my bikes right now is significantly
stiffer, I don't know what era it was from, though.

There is a date code on Flite saddles. Look on the
underside, at the plastic block under the nose that
the rails are fixed to. You should see something like
a "97" (or other year) with little month letters in a clock
around it, stamped onto the block. AFAIK most Selle
Italia saddles have a date code like this somewhere
on the underside.

I haven't ever really noticed any difference in Flite saddles,
but don't have a very recent one. It's the kind of thing you
have to ride to find out if it's going to work.

Quoted message said:

G.T. said:

Peter Cole said:

I had a Flite Ti of a little later vintage ('98?). It was pretty hard,

Yeah, the shell on the first two Flite Ti's I had were very flexibile.
But the one I have on one of my bikes right now is significantly
stiffer, I don't know what era it was from, though.

There is a date code on Flite saddles. Look on the
underside, at the plastic block under the nose that
the rails are fixed to. You should see something like
a "97" (or other year) with little month letters in a clock
around it, stamped onto the block. AFAIK most Selle
Italia saddles have a date code like this somewhere
on the underside.

Interestingly enough this one is a 97. It has the square reliefs on the
underside of the shell. And the leather is lasting years longer than
the leather on my first two Flite Tis. Either the leather has changed
or my sweat has changed because the leather on the previous Flites
seemed to dissolve in the less than a year.

Greg

--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons