Terry Fly TI Review

The Terry Fly TI didn't win any of our top awards, but that doesn't mean it's not the right saddle for you. It's still a solid saddle and ranks among the best.

Performance Comparison

The Fly Ti was great on shorter rides in the 90-minute range, and its narrow nose made sitting up front to sustain efforts more palatable. Riders that need a little more cushion and the cut-out relief will also get a lot of enjoyment out of this saddle.

Comfort

The Fly Ti has a few things going for it in the comfort category. It has a healthy layer of multi-density injection molded foam to help transfer power while maintaining cushion. It's a bit firmer in the rear to help with energy transfer and a bit cushier in the front to mitigate tissue damage. It's especially important and helpful to have that front give because it also has a cut-away in the center to avoid perineal pressure.

It's among the most comfortable seats in our lineup, but its narrowness and padding can be a bit oppressive on longer rides and grinding climbs in the saddle. If you want something more traditional for longer rides, we suggest looking at the Top Pick for Cruising winner, the Fizik Aliante Gamma Kium. If you want to keep the cut-out design, you might also like the Editors' Choice Selle SMP Pro.

Performance

Power transfer was pretty solid with this model, but there's no way around the extra padding, which seems to sap a bit of energy and can be slightly more noticeable when you're kicking out the wattage. That's partially girded by using 316Ti (a titanium alloy of 316 stainless steel popular in Germany and Eastern Europe, used for its corrosion resistance) affixed to a rigid composite shell that transfers into the frame to give you a feeling of natural, responsive control. It has a good deal more flex than some of the other models, which can also deflate you a bit on efforts, but it's pretty forgiving when just motoring around. A comparable model that performs a bit better and has more rigidity is the Selle SMP Pro. For a more traditional saddle, take a look at the Fizik Aliante Gamma Kium. If you're looking for a pure racing saddle, we like the Fabric Scoop Flat Pro.

Durability

The Fly Ti uses premium materials like its textured leather, injection-molded foam, and 316Ti railing to deliver a long-lasting product. Its cover binding is fairly well protected, though it's vulnerable to wear and corner tears because it's simply glued down, so once a flap starts to come undone, it can progress pretty easily. But barring repeated blunt trauma to the corners and nose, the Fly Ti cover should last quite a few seasons. It's also worth noting that the extra cushy foam, irrespective of quality, may wear down more noticeably than would a firmer cushion.

As you might expect, the models that are going to be more durable also tend to have less to them. The Fabric Scoop Flat Pro is basically just a well-shaped lightly padded brick with tensile strength.

Versatility

The TI has a pretty universal design. It includes a good deal of padding along the nose and center while its footprint skews to the slimmer racing side. It feels pretty good on spins under two hours, but the padding can start to be too much on longer rides. However, the generous padding along the narrow nose is appreciated when holding on for dear life, trying not to get dropped from chase groups. The padding and flex are a bit of a mixed bag on climbs.

For seated rollers, they're great, but those longer slogs can wear on your tail, especially if it's a grinding climb with a steep grade. Some riders might appreciate touring in this saddle, but they'd probably be happier on something with a little more width. Overall, most riders should be happy with its range of high performance. If you need something that displays the full range of road applications and want a little more distance and support, we suggest looking at the Fizik Aliante Gamma Kiumk.

Weight

At 236 grams, the Fly TI is a pretty light piece of equipment. It's not the featheriest bit of gear, but it certainly has more flex and cushion than the lighter saddles. If weight is your be-all, we suggest looking at the Fabric Scoop Pro Flat, but given its high quality and unique cut-out design, we think this is one of the best saddles for its weight.

Value

For those in need of perineal relief and a bit of cushioning, the price is not an exorbitant ask. If you don't particularly need the cut-out design and cushioning, there might be other saddles that would better suit you and your budget.

Conclusion

The Fly was our go-to saddle on short, fast rides. Its narrow design and cushy padding made it easy to get down in the drops on efforts, and its flexible body was quite forgiving on the dodgy roads and rough aggregate you get out on the little county roads. For longer rides, we preferred a few of the other saddles like the Selle SMP Pro for harder rides and the Aliante Gamma Kium for cruising and base miles. All in all, we think most riders will be happy with the Fly, especially if they need the anatomical relief provided by a cut-out, but there are other options, particularly if you are willing to shell out for premium models.