Selle Italia

So according to Selle Italia, for my pelvis, the SLR or the Flite would be the optimal saddles for me. My saddle to bar drop is around 9cm as well, a standard race-y position

The Flite, testing both widths, was the worst saddle I have ever tried and the SLR was actually decent, but had some issues, felt I was sitting 'in' the saddle and not 'on' the saddle. For that reason, getting it setup was very difficult because in order to be comfortable i had to run a -4 deg saddle tilt, but because now I am sitting more on the nose i am getting saddle sores. With a -1 or -2 degree tilt I am sitting on more of the saddle in general, but the front of the saddle was holding me back from being able to rotate my pelvis forward and comfortably reach the handlebars. As a result regardless of what I tried I used the Novus just because it was 'good enough' compared to the other two.

Now comes the gen 4 SLR, while it is advertised as a refinement, but when you look at it side view compared to the gen 3 saddle it's shape is actually different, birds-eye view they look similar. I decided to give it a try and I will say, the saddle is quite incredible. The gen 3 saddle had a very contoured rear end, making you sit in the saddle more whereas the rear end of the saddle of the gen 4 saddle is much more flat, less contoured, so you don't sit in the saddle, but sit on the saddle. The center part of the saddle is a lot more flat, while the center part of the gen 3 saddle is more curved leading to the nose. It is as if they took the more flat nature of the Flite and mated it with the gen 3 SLR and created this new gen 4, and i love it.

When I was running the Novus Boost EVO, I had a overall saddle tilt of -6 degrees and with the gen 4 SLR, I can comfortably run this saddle at a -1 to -2 degree tilt. This does not seem to be a saddle to run with a lot of negative tilt, I think it's sweet spot will be somewhere between 0 to -2 degrees (this is across the entire saddle not the front half). I don't know why, but this saddle works incredibly well, especially given visually it looks like there is more cutout than saddle.

I went ahead and ordered another SLR carbon as well as an slr carbon 3d to try out. If you had issues with the gen 3 SLR and Selle Italia says for your pelvis the Flite or SLR would be best, I would give this a try. It is a significant improvement and I actually like the saddle rather than tolerate it.

I switched to this saddle from the Specialized Mirror. Both saddles are short-nose saddles and have the over all same dimensions but the selle italia has a bigger cut out and the 'wings' transition further back. The Mirror is 'softer' and has a bit more give but the wings created issues as they transition further forward and made that saddle not as comfortable. The Selle italia is a bit more firm compared to other the Mirror which feels a bit more springy but I personally prefer the feel of the Selle Italia.

I also think that there is 10mm extra range of adjustment compared to the Mirror which is nice when it comes to the bike fit.

I like this saddle in general, but it's on the racy side and the 3D padding is quite thin. I found it a bit harsh for longer (5-7 hour) rides on bumpy terrain. For an hour race on smooth pavement, it'd be great.

It's very light, the quality is high, but I wouldn't buy it again for this price. I have a Specialized Romin 3D saddle that is vastly more comfy, and it's somewhat less expensive. Easier to find used than this one, for sure.

i have used SLR saddles for 15 years on every bike, but my favorite version was discontinued years ago and is now almost impossible to find even used. cutout saddles have always bothered me due to being able to feel the edges of the cutout. this saddle is the perfect shape, and while i can still tell there is a hole, it hasn't been a bother yet after a couple of test rides. I also appreciate the thicker padding now that i am older and the majority of my rides are mixed terrain. The price is higher than i'd prefer, so i'm not going to jump at putting one of these on all my bikes yet, but so far i am happy with the purchase.