Fizik Kurve Snake Aluminium saddle

I've always been a big fan of Fizik's saddles having ridden various iterations of Ariones and Aliantes but I'd happily say this Kurve Snake Aluminium is the best so far. Performance and comfort in equal measures.

The Kurve saddles are a separate range in Fizik's line up containing three models, the Snake, Chameleon and Bull which embody their Spine concept. If you haven't come across before, this it is based on your flexibility; the shapes are designed to reflect where your bodyweight is positioned.

The Snake that we have here is the the Kurve equivalent of the Arione and is for the most flexible at the lower back. It's shaped to support the rider's weight mostly on the sit bones rather than the genital area. The flat profile works well allowing you to position yourself wherever in relation to where your hands are on the bars. Even in the racing tuck I didn't feel any pressure and that's on a bike with a saddle to drops depth of 240mm.

A lot of the comfort is provided by the main body, or lack of it. It's a composite construction including Kevlar which means its very light and strong. Strong enough in fact that it can have large sections removed at the sit bones and perineum areas.

As you pedal the whole saddle flexes, intensified in these areas which means the saddle is moving with you reducing any pressure points or hot spots. It's minimal though as the seat still feels stiff, in fact you can't feel anything at all even from the first ride the saddle just feels right. There is very minimal padding between the shell and the elastic cover but it's all you need.

Up at the nose end you get a choice of 'tuner' as Fizik call it. This is a plastic spacer that forms part of the overall structure bolting to the saddle around the rails. The two options - soft and hard - change the tension in the saddle body. The hard option makes the top stiff, while the soft gives you a couple of mm of movement when your weight's fully on it. It was this one I preferred as the little bit of movement just took the edge off rough road surfaces. Fizik even provide a little mini tool to change them over.

You also get the WingFlex feature that has been on saddles like the Arione for years where the side of the saddle flexes under pressure from the thighs during pedalling. Again it's subtle but on longer rides you do notice the difference.

Aluminium seems an odd choice for the rails on a top end saddle with most using titanium for a bit of comfort. When you look at the design of what Fizik call their Mobius rails you'll see that the one-piece loop provides structural rigidity to support the flexible saddle base. The tubular design is made from 2014 grade alloy hardened to T6. Unlike most saddles where the separate rails plug into the saddle either side this runs right around the outer rim with a strengthening bar across the rear. There is a carbon-railed version if the 220g alloy saddle is a little too heavy for you.

Overall the Kurve Snake is a brilliant option for racers and offers loads of comfort while being light and stiff. You don't want to be wasting power through a flexible saddle body and the Kurve just acts more like a gentle shock absorber allowing you to put the watts out without compromise. At 295mm its 5mm shorter than the Arione (which changed the rules when it came to saddle length) but it still gives you that length if you are a rider that likes to slide back for climbing.

The only sticking point is the price really. £189.99 is a lot of money for a saddle but this obviously comes down to your budget and the type of bike it's going on.

Verdict

Interesting design that creates the comfiest race saddle I've tried; it'll cost you though.