Nat Bromhead
It’s fair to say fizik’s unique Adaptive series quickly ingratiated itself as one of the world’s more respected and revered saddles over recent years, the 3D printing technology perfectly suiting the most critical touch point between bike and rider.
Almost 5 years on from the launch of that game-changing technology, fizik has upped the ante with their ‘One-to-One’ proprietary pressure-mapping design and fitting service.
Bicycling Australia were at fizik HQ in Italy for a demonstration of the One-to-One technology in the days before its official launch. Enjoying an eye-opening factory tour and then seeing exactly how a custom saddle is personally mapped out then ultimately printed and dispatched, the process is absolutely fascinating. Our first impressions? This may well be the future of performance saddle tech!
To get started, the rider visits one of a select number of fizik dealerships that have the One-to-One equipment and trained staff on hand. What follows is a dynamic fit session to identify ideal saddle shape while highlighting pressure peaks, hotspots, areas of imbalance and any instability on the saddle.
To do this the rider’s own bike is put on rollers, and a hi-tech saddle cover containing pressure mapping sensors is placed over the rider’s preferred fizik adaptive saddle model that’s been carefully measured and fitted to the bike.
The rider then undergoes a pressure mapping and measurement session where unique biometric data is captured to assess how forces are distributed across no less than 64 touchpoints. This is done via instruction from the trained staff and via prompts from fizik’s One-to-One fitting app. For increased accuracy, the measurements are taken in a range of different riding positions and motions. Key areas of focus include peak pressure hotspots, instabilities and asymmetries.
Once the data has been captured, analysed and ultimately saved, a bespoke 3D padding structure is designed that matches the cyclist’s needs. and they can then choose between carbon and Kium rails before completing their order.
As soon as that order has been processed, the data is sent (via the app) directly to fizik HQ. From there the saddle goes into the print queue, is custom printed, finished and despatched anywhere on earth.
After the saddle has arrived cyclists can return to the dealership for a final consultation session where their new pressure data is compared to their former saddle setup, highlighting the areas of improvement.
Three Years In The Making, 15 Minutes Of Measuring
Evolving over past three years, fizik say the concept takes their Adaptive 3D-printed saddles to the next level, achieving unparalleled comfort and performance.
Speaking to us at company HQ in Pozzoleone near the famed Monte Grappa region, Brand Manager Giovanni Fogal said the company realise that a good, accurate fit depends on many factors such as bike geometry, intended use, saddle shape, and position.
“But most importantly every cyclist is unique,” he said. “Experience, sensitivity, history of injuries, body shape, riding goals. All of this can affect the way we sit on the saddle.
“It’s clear that a traditional one-to-many saddle design can only provide an approximate solution to very specific problems. With One-to-One today we achieve what every saddle manufacturer has always dreamed of: bringing to life customized support available to every cyclist.”
Fizik told us the One-to-One saddles will be priced at the equivalent of around $AU750.
Unfortunately, they don’t currently have an Australian dealer or specialty store lined up for the technology, but tell us this will change over time. In the meantime, if you are keen to experience the technology, fizik dealerships in Japan, Dubai, The USA and across Europe are now equipped with the One-to-One measuring service.
Find your closest fizik dealership offering One-to-One, and more information at fizik.com/one-to-one
Coming Soon: Behind the scenes at fizik HQ – We take you on a fizik factory tour.
