Fi’zi:k Antares Review - BikeRadar

Saddle companies typically maintain a consistent overall fit and feel across their lineups but Fizik has adopted a different approach. With the introduction of its newest Antares road model, its lineup now includes not one, but three distinct shapes.

The Antares uses a generously proportioned rear like the hammock-like Aliante and a relatively firm carbon-reinforced shell like the arrowhead-shaped Arione but the distinctly flatter profile feels like neither one on the road – the Arione is similarly flat front to back but more dome-shaped from side to side.  

As such, the Antares feels significantly bigger than it is, even though it measures only a few millimetres wider than the Arione and most of the rider weight ends up firmly on the sit bones instead of distributed evenly across your rear end as with the others. 

The stiff shell offers excellent support for long rides and the Antares is also reasonably well padded with high-density foam. Foam thickness at the rear is expectedly sparse – but still effective – but the nose padding is deceptively thick given the saddle’s low profile. In fact, Fizik claims it measures a surprisingly generous 10mm in depth, though we measured closer to 7mm at best. 

Either way, it’s rather commodious and the nose is nowhere near as painful a place to spend some time as we’ve come to expect for some other lightweight saddles. We didn’t suffer any of the aches that can sometimes accompany even well-shaped saddles that are lacking in padding.  

However, we’re somewhat perplexed by the omission of Fizik’s excellent Wing Flex feature. We’ve found it to be surprisingly welcome in the past with the similarly stiff Arione shell and, if anything, a similar amount of edge flex would be even more helpful on the wider Antares. 

Our standard Antares tester with generous 75mm-long kium rails comes in just 10g overweight at 185g, while the carbon railed version sheds 30g. They feature the high construction quality we’ve come to expect from Fizik and true ‘made in Italy’ cachet, if that’s important to you.

Assuming the flat shape meshes well with your anatomy, the Antares is one of the cosier lightweights out there. Just be sure your bank account is topped up before writing the cheque.

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