My wife has a new Arione Tri saddle, black with the silver panels. There seems to be a thin, clear, plastic coating over the silver part. After just a few rides, the plastic is starting to wrinkle and bubble. Should I peel it off or just leave it?
Mine is doing the same thing!
Mine did the same thing, but it is only cosmetic and it does not really bother me at all. The saddle is no almost 9 months old and still feels fantastic.
Herbert
QR/Litespeed
As Herbert correctly summed, it is only cosmetic and should not effect the overall comfort or performance of the saddle. The thin plastic layer was added to protect the mirror silver material - a diversion in cover offerings from fi’zi:k. I’ve noticed my Simoni saddle (red w silver mirror stripe) has not however worn like this - it has over 5000 miles on it - and is now just starting to wear a bit. Our distributor is now offering an anthracite/black Arione Tri.
So, don’t pull the covering off then? There’s a hole already starting on the right side. I think it’s where the seam of her shorts is rubbing on it. She’s only had the saddle for two weeks.
So here’s the deal.
The first run using the mirror silver cover had the actual ‘slits’ in the cover to indicate that the saddle had Wing Flex technology similar to its standard road Arione counterpart. Turned out, this silver mirror material doesn’t like to be ‘cut.’ All other versions of this saddle are now made with ‘fake’ cuts on the cover to indicate that feature. Otherwise, no problem w the cover. Not all the saddles wore as quickly as Shawn’s wife’s did, but it can happen. If it does wear in what would be considered a non-acceptable amount of time/mileage, please simply ask your retailer to replace it - the retailer can seek credit through our distributor as is standard procedure.
Shawn - I understand you’re all set now. Thanks for alerting.
Cheers.
Suzette
Suzette–Thanks for your input here. It is nive to have a company not act like you are nuts when you have an issue that, in truth, others are gaving as well. I have found companies in the Tri business to be very responsive to customer service. Looks like you are a good person working at a company that is willing to let you be a good person.