Selle Italia

Max Flite Gel Superflow Saddle

Fondos and bike tours offer unbeatable miles of tarmac, stunning vistas, challenging climbs, and long hours in the saddle. But it can be difficult to fully enjoy each of those miles when your saddle has a penchant for punishment. Selle Italia crafts the Max Flite Gel Superflow Saddle to mitigate aches and pains of the longest miles, keeping comfort in mind thanks to its elevated padding and shock absorption. The Max Flite Gel Superflow is built on the foundation laid by the original Flite from the 1990's, but extends the length a bit for more room to find the sweet-spot, and hosts an identical width to its 90's predecessor. What has changed is, in addition to the gel padding, the saddle now offers a large central cutout to relieve pressure to the perineal artery and adjacent soft tissue.

The Flite Gel Superflow starts with a flex-tuned shell that ads ample support, while allowing for independent flex of the left and right sides to move naturally with you through your pedal strokes. Another noticeable difference is the anatomic cutout, which is designed to direct pressure away from your perineal artery and adjacent soft tissue. As a result, pressure is directed to your sit bones (ischial tuberosity), which are far more adept at supporting your body weight. Additionally, they're able to do so without causing numbness during long rides. This principle is further supported by the wide cut out, as it removes pressure from the pudendal nerve. Essentially, this is a nerve that runs from around the third vertebrae, all the way down towards your foot. And when compressed at the perineum region, it is one of the major contributors to numbness. So, by relieving the very threat of pressure, your blood flow remains consistent, eliminating numbness.

To boost the comfort, the Max Flight Gel Superflow receives more padding than Selle Italia's SLR line of saddles. However, it's worth noting that this isn't a couch. Instead, it was designed to be a responsive saddle that's well suited to racing and all-day rides. Furthering this concept is the Flight's quick-drying and breathable Fibra-Tek cover -- the same material found on a majority of SLR saddles. Additionally, it has the added benefit of being non-abrasive and low in friction, meaning that your shorts will slip right by instead of catching and chafing. The Max Flight Gel Superflow rests on Selle Italia's TI 316 Tube titanium rails. These rails provide plenty of strength, and just as importantly, without stacking on the grams. They also feature the additional benefit of vibration absorption, meaning that you'll experience less numbness of long rides.