Saddles

[Jay in Tel Aviv]

Seeking the collective wisdom of the group before spending $$ on another new saddle that may or may not fit me on my Sam Hillborne.

 

HISTORY

Brooks B17N - too narrow, what was I thinking?

Brooks B17 - OK, never really comfortable, just OK. Have to sit way back for sufficient width

Selle Anatomica - very comfortable even if slightly narrower than the B17. Perfect except for the broken rims. Bent 2 - no mas.

Brooks C17 - OK, similar to the B17

Brooks B17 imperial (with laces and cutout) - similar to B17. This time I used emperical observation to check the width. I used my han to feel under the saddle for my sit bones. Sitting all the way back, one is just insode the rivets and the other is actually hanging off. Saddle is all the way back on a VO setback post. Alba bars.

 

IDEAS

Brooks B68 - no longer made

Brooks C19 - wider than the B17

Rivet Pearl - slightly narrower than the B17 but people seem to love them and the Selle Anatomicas were great until they broke.

Great prices for either on xxcycle.com

 

What say you wise folks?

 

Thanks,
Jay

 

 

[Deacon Patrick]

Rivet. All the way.

With abandon,

Patrick

[Garth]

   Sounds like the Rivet would be worth trying, it's the only way to know .  They have a 365 day no questions return policy if you were not aware of it.

[John Phillips]

What's your handle bar set up?

[Mark Reimer]

Ever try the B17 special? 

Here's what I've tried:

Brooks Swift: Comfy when you're in a tucked aero position riding hard. Otherwise noooo thanks

Brooks B17 Narrow: Hard as a rock and too narrow

Brooks B17: Better, but still pretty hard. Maybe it would break in after a long, long time? 

Brooks B17S: AHHHHHHHHH. Butt nirvana. Fast break-in and all-day comfort

Brooks C17: Interesting... better than the regular B17, but not as good as the special. Comfortable in regular clothes for extended rides, love the weather proof aspect, but doesn't quite have that deluxe, plush B17 Special feel. 

For what it's worth, I've heard a ton of positive reviews of the touring Berthoud saddles. My Dad has two of them, I've been meaning to borrow one soon to compare. They certainly look to be built to a higher standard than Brooks. 

[fug...@gmail.com]

Rivet. The rails are longer than the Brooks. And don't seem to break, like my Anatomica's. But it feels similar to the Anatomica.

On Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 7:41:44 AM UTC-7, Jay in Tel Aviv wrote:

[Ron Mc]

my all time favorite is the B17 select, Rivet second, B17 special 3rd.  

[Mark Reimer]

Wait... what is the difference between the select and the special? I thought that was the same thing!

On Tue, Apr 5, 2016 at 4:41 PM, Ron Mc <bulld...@gmail.com> wrote:

my all time favorite is the B17 select, Rivet second, B17 special 3rd.  

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[Ron Mc]

leather on select is 2mm thicker

[Joe Bernard]

You wouldn't think that 2mm is significant, but my 17 Select is by far the most comfortable saddle I've owned, and it was great brand new. Every time I ride my regular 17s, it feels like there's something wrong with them.

[John Phillips]

Ooops, sorry, I missed that you said you were using Albatross bars.

  My sit bones measure about the same as yours. On my Hunqapillar w/ albatross bars, Nitto lugged seatpost and saddle slid all the way back, I like the Berthoud Mente best (the Vars is the expensive titanium version of the Mente), and I have a Cambium C19 I want to try out this week. If if works, it will be my saddle for rainy, muddy rides. My sit bones like flat saddles best. I would like to try out one of the Ergon MTB saddles to see what they're like.

John

[Ron Mc]

I'm also riding my B17 select on an upright bike.  Several thousand miles, and it's great.  I had a special before and could tell it was stretching on the upright in a few hundred miles.  My semi-upright moustache bar bike does great with a special.  

[Philip Williamson]

I am about the least discerning saddle rider on this list, but my next full price saddle will be a Rivet. They were so nice at NAHBS, and the details are beautiful: https://flic.kr/p/DEM31o Some saddles have a fabric reinforcing layer under the leather. The fabric is beautifully patterned, "Because why not make it beautiful?" 

It's a shame about bike shows - If there's one or zero pictures in the booth, then I probably had a great time chatting instead of snapping. 

Philip

www.biketinker.com

On Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 7:41:44 AM UTC-7, Jay in Tel Aviv wrote:

[Lee Legrand]

What about Gilles Berthoud?

On Tue, Apr 5, 2016 at 6:58 PM, Joe Bernard <joer...@gmail.com> wrote:

You wouldn't think that 2mm is significant, but my 17 Select is by far the most comfortable saddle I've owned, and it was great brand new. Every time I ride my regular 17s, it feels like there's something wrong with them.

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[cyclotourist]

B68 saddles come up on ebay now and then, that's where I picked one up. Works as intended w/ Albatross bar set up.

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Cheers,
David

Member, Supreme Council of Cyberspace

"it isn't a contest. Just enjoy the ride." - Seth Vidal

[Steve Palincsar]

On 04/05/2016 07:59 PM, Lee Legrand wrote:
> What about Gilles Berthoud?
>

Much thicker leather than a Brooks, and a significantly different
shape. I like them a lot. But be advised, it takes at least 500 miles
to break one in.

[Jay in Tel Aviv]

I'm going to try the Rivet. $137 shipped from SJS

[Toshi Takeuchi]

I have 3 Rivets and love them, but as a disclosure I am a friend of the owner of Rivet.  I use the Pearl. 

Good luck!

Toshi in Oakland

On Wed, Apr 6, 2016 at 7:31 PM, Jay in Tel Aviv <jayi...@gmail.com> wrote:

I'm going to try the Rivet. $137 shipped from SJS

[Jay in Tel Aviv]

Toji, if you want, please tell your friend that I would have been happy to buy directly from them but they didn't have the burgundy or chestnut in stock. I think either of those are a better matxh for my green Sam than the black, white or red that they have right now.

I've been cycling a long time and haven't found the oerfect saddle yet. Hope this turns out to be the one.

[Jay in Tel Aviv]

[Garth]

    Yes . . . . been on they endless search for the perfect saddle,  oh heck . .  .. everything !  But damn funny this just happened .  . . . "for the saddle to be perfect the rider must also be perfect. It is impossible for perfection to exist with imperfection. " . Huh .   How about that . .  . . . kinda stops the clamor for changing anything . Huh .  

[Steve Palincsar]

On 04/07/2016 10:32 AM, Garth wrote:
> Yes . . . . been on they endless search for the perfect saddle,
> oh heck . . .. everything ! But damn funny this just happened . . .
> . "for the saddle to be perfect the rider must also be perfect. It is
> impossible for perfection to exist with imperfection. " . Huh . How
> about that . . . . . kinda stops the clamor for changing anything .
> Huh .

Go for a long ride on a bike with a saddle that doesn't fit you. Your
a$$ will clamor plenty, and you won't give a damn whether you are
perfect or not, you'll just want something to make the pain stop. And
chances are, you will be able to find one that works. Even imperfect
people deserve a pain-free ride, and philosophical absolutes in practice
are little more than hot air.

[Garth]

The Absolute could not BE The Absolute and there be "other than Absolute" (imperfect of course because it would not be Absolute)

.....where would the "you" that does not agree be ?

that's all I have to say about that ;)

[Steve Palincsar]

Would you be willing to share the code for your aphorism generator with the list?

[Jim Bronson]

Just to be contrary, I use a Terry Liberator Y Gel and it's the favorite saddle I've ever had.

--

[Mark in Beacon]

Oh, silly grasshoppers!  His Garthness is Absolute and Perfect, therefore when astride his bicycle forgoes earthly constraints such as saddles.

[Steve Palincsar]

http://sebpearce.com/bullshit/

[Steve Palincsar]

Incidentally, if you like Seb Pearce's New Age Bullshit Generator, here's a link to the code on GibHub:
https://github.com/sebpearce/bullshit

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[islaysteve]

Oh great, dueling bullshit. Nice photo though.

[Mark Reimer]

Huh, never would have thought a 2mm thicker saddle would be more comfortable than a thinner one. I love the Special because it doesn't feel like a granite counter top. But having just worn one out in under 2 years, I guess you must be on to something... 

[Garth]

It's self-explanatory  . .  . .  I expressed it as so because I cannot deny or question it.  Absolute means Absolute , Absolutely. Whole. Total. Complete. Infinite. Self Existent. Anything less/other than to it would be the only bullshit. Since there is nothing else, there is nothing to bullshit..

And that's all there is to say on that.

On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 12:09:03 PM UTC-4, Steve Palincsar wrote:

[DonandDebi Ward]

I have the Berthoud Aravis which is extremely comfortable and have used for several brevets of various lengths. It took about 500 miles before it was just right, I have about 5,000 miles on this saddle.

I also have a Rivet Pearl which I also like, it took 1,000 miles before it was just right but the cut out irritated my privates a bit. I solved that by using a saddles cover all the time, probably have 2,000 miles on this one.

Just put a brand new Brooks C17 on one of my rando bikes went for a 30 mile ride after work. First ride out of the box just as comfortable as my Berthoud and more comfortable than the Rivet. Half the price of the Berthoud and less than the Rivet. Better looking, better construction than the Rivet and on par in both these areas w the Berthoud. Absolutely no break in period necessary with the C17. Will be buying more c17's in the future for dome of my other bikes.


.

[Steve Palincsar]

What do you think, does this pass the Turing test?

[Steve Palincsar]

On 04/06/2016 11:22 PM, DonandDebi Ward wrote:
> I have the Berthoud Aravis which is extremely comfortable and have used for several brevets of various lengths. It took about 500 miles before it was just right, I have about 5,000 miles on this saddle.

The Aravis is the Ti rail version; the steel railed version of this
saddle is called the Aspin, and it's about $85 less. I've got four of
the Aspins and one Aravis. Totally agree about the 500 miles.

> I also have a Rivet Pearl which I also like, it took 1,000 miles before it was just right but the cut out irritated my privates a bit. I solved that by using a saddles cover all the time, probably have 2,000 miles on this one.

I tried a Pearl (and and Indy) and neither worked for me.

>
> Just put a brand new Brooks C17 on one of my rando bikes went for a 30 mile ride after work. First ride out of the box just as comfortable as my Berthoud and more comfortable than the Rivet. Half the price of the Berthoud and less than the Rivet. Better looking, better construction than the Rivet and on par in both these areas w the Berthoud. Absolutely no break in period necessary with the C17. Will be buying more c17's in the future for dome of my other bikes.
>
>
> .

Took a C17 around the parking lot on a friend's bike and it didn't work
for me at all, couldn't bear to be on it.

YMMV for sure.