Fizik One-to-One custom 3D-printed saddle

The Fizik One-to-One programme is a glimpse into what the future of bike saddles might look like. It's not an off-the-peg, one-size-fits-all approach but rather a saddle that is mapped to your body. Yes, it's expensive, and no, it's not necessary for everyone, but it has resulted in the most comfortable saddle I've ridden, and the first to take advantage of the real benefits of 3D printing.

> Book your One-to-One session for £500 with Fizik now

Can't afford the £500 ticket? Check out our guide to the best bike saddles instead…

In 1878 John Boultbee Brooks decided that rather than wait for the invention of pneumatic tyres to make his bike more comfortable, he'd copy the saddle off his horse and make one out of leather. This leather and steel combo turned out to be a rather solid idea, and remained the go-to for most saddles of the 20th century.

Come 1990, though, pro riders wanted something lighter, and lighter they got: Selle Italia came out with the Flite, which weighed just 230g; it really did change the game with titanium rails and a synthetic upper.

Progress didn't stop there, though, and while brands and riders alike bickered about how wide, long and light a bike saddle should be, I think we have to skip to 2020 to get to the next big milestone in bike saddle evolution.

3D printing

It was just four and a bit years ago that we were first introduced to 3D-printed saddles, such as the Fizik Antares Versus Evo 00 and Specialized S-Works Power with Mirror technology. The premise was clear: you could now tailor every millimetre of saddle to the exact density you wanted.

I've dished out a lot of praise for 3D-printed saddles over the past few years and have had many happy miles on a Fizik Vento Argo R3 Adaptive, but this latest innovation appears – from the outside at least – to unlock the true potential of 3D printing: customisation.

Speaking to Fizik, it sounds like all the tech to make this possible has existed since the first 3D-printed saddles rolled off the production line; the tricky bit has been working out how best to translate an individual's rear end into a saddle that actually works for them.

Fizik has settled on having authorised dealers where you can go to get your 'personal pressure profile' mapped as you ride under the guidance of an expert, at the moment there are just two locations in the UK and we headed to the Phil Burt innovation centre in Manchester to see what all the fuss was about.

The session (which is included in the price) covers a rudimentary bike fit (there's no point getting a custom saddle if you're in completely the wrong place), and over the course of about an hour, I was shown all of my pressure peaks, imbalances and instability from the results of sitting on a pressure pad over my current saddle.

As I mentioned, I find my current saddle pretty comfortable but am aware that I have a dominant side. I also sit quite far forward on it and prefer to ride on the hoods even when getting aero. All of this was taken into account and inputted into the Fizik One-to-One app.

Interestingly, the app came back recommending that I should be on an Aliante saddles rather than the short-nosed Vento Argo that I came in with. Like many people, I arrived at this saddle shape purely by trial and error, so it was extremely interesting to have data suggesting that I would be even comfier elsewhere.

Ten days later the postman delivered a saddle-shaped box and inside lay my very own custom 3D-printed saddle; there's not one in the world that is the same!

To be honest, the One-to-One saddle looks and feels the same as the mainstream Adaptive saddles from a distance; the only tell-tell signs are the small purple band around the rails, the 00196 printed at the rear, and the fact that if you run your fingers down the upper you'll soon notice that in some places it's more squidgy on one side than the other.

This final differentiator is pretty key; to the best of my knowledge, every other saddle on the market is symmetrical and yet our bodies quite simply aren't.

The saddle that I was recommended was a custom 3D-printed Aliante R3 with Kium rails, but the One-to-One range is not limited to just this shape or construction. Fizik offers the One-to-One service on a wide range of its popular saddle shapes and widths, including the Arione, Argo, Antares and gravel-specific saddles both with Kium or carbon rails.

I've been using the saddle for a good few weeks, long enough to determine that this is categorically the most comfortable saddle I've ever used. I mean, at this price you would kind of hope so...

With the saddle shape change from Argo to Aliante I can't accredit the improvement entirely to the custom 3D printing. I can, however, accredit the improvement to the One-to-One process as otherwise I would have no doubt still been riding around (quite happily) on the less-than-optimum saddle.

Value and conclusion

So, would I recommend it? Well, £500 is undeniably a shedload of cash to spend on any part of your bike and seems particularly painful for a saddle. I'm not too sure why, though, as many of us wouldn't think twice about dropping that much cash on an OSPW system or a 100g-lighter frame, both of which will have a far smaller impact on your riding performance and, indeed, comfort.

I'm not for a moment suggesting that this saddle is for everyone, or in fact necessary, but to put the price into perspective, the off-the-shelf Tempo Aliante R3 Adaptive saddle has an RRP of £259. And plenty of 3D-printed saddles we've tested recently are even more than that – the Prologo Nago R4 and Selle Italia SLR Boost saddles cost £349.99 and £409.99 respectively.

> How to avoid saddle pain and get comfortable on the bike

For me, spending an extra £100 or even £200 to have a saddle that is tailored to me rather than the masses, and the peace of mind that I'm buying the correct saddle shape without having to try a bucketload, is well worth it.

> How to make your bike more comfortable – check out our 14 tips

I haven't yet had the chance to take up the offer of the follow-up fit session (also included in the price) to re-map my personal pressure profile atop the new custom saddle, but I have little doubt that there will be a significant improvement.

As for durability, the construction and manufacturing appear to be identical to Fizik's current Adaptive range, saddles that I've happily used for years on end and covered tens of thousands of miles on without issue. I have no reason to doubt that this custom one won't be equally durable, but will keep you updated.

If you're serious about getting comfortable on the bike then getting the right saddle is a must. Maybe you're already on it, but if you're not then this seems like a pretty foolproof way of making sure you are. Bravo Fizik, the future is now, and other brands I'm sure will be rushing to catch up.

> Book your One-to-One session for £500 with Fizik now

Verdict

The future is here but it'll cost ya! A genuine game-changer