It is well known that, along with duct tape and the Blues, the B17 is one of mankind's crowning achievements. No matter what people say, a Pontiac GTO is not the equivalent of a Ferrari GTO. For those few unlucky souls who just can't deal with the break-in for a B17, try the Sella Anatomica (not the one made from pink ostrich skin). Gstrickler
On Mar 1, 12:46 pm, PATRICK MOORE <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks very much for the analysis, Bill. This email is going into my archive > for future reference. I may just try a VO narrow. > > On Sat, Feb 28, 2009 at 9:35 PM, Bill M. <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Okay, a couple of updates: > > > I rode 42 miles on the VO model 6 today, on the American River bike > > trail in Sacramento. As it's a much narrower saddle than I've used in > > some time, and a brand new stretched leather saddle, I expected some > > discomfort. I had also dropped my handlebars nearly an inch, from a > > bit over the saddle to a good cm lower than the nose. I got a little > > discomcort, my sit bones definitely knew they were on a firm, narrow > > perch. Not terrible, though, no pain, and as soon as I finished the > > ride all discomfort was gone. Compared to my well-worn B17, the VO > > held my sit bones up rather than cradling them, which kept the rest of > > me from resting too heavily on the saddle. That proved to be a very > > good thing. No chafing, no soreness, no pressure on the sensitive > > tissues. This is NOT a saddle for an upright, touring, or typical > > Rivendell riding position. For a more 'sporting' position, bars lower > > than saddle, body leaned forward, hips rolled forward, it worked > > pretty well. I'm going to keep using it for my faster rides and see > > if it breaks in and gets more (or less) comfortable as time goes on. > > > Patrick, I think you just might get along with this one! It reminds > > me of my old racing saddles, firm but supportive, and narrow enough to > > stay out of the way. I have not found it difficult to find an angle > > that works. My B17's seem a little more particular about the angle. > > I have the nose just slightly above the tail (maybe 3 mm), and I was > > fine. Not sinking in means little or no 'goose' factor. And like any > > racing saddle, the faster I went the less I noticed the saddle. Of > > course, you might also want to check out the SOMA Ta-bo, which looks a > > lot like an older saddle with a similar name. Or there's the Hisan, > > which Wiktionary translates as "flying". BTW, I haven't ridden a Team > > Pro in recent memory, so I can't compare the VO. If I finally decide > > the VO is too narrow, a Pro will be my likely next saddle. > > > As for the original post, after the ride we dropped in to a couple of > > bike shops in midtown Sacto. The Bicycle Business had a Cardiff > > Mercia in stock, hanging up next to several Brooks B17's, two > > standard, one copper railed, and one Imperial. The Cardiff looked > > fine, though I still think the honey Brooks is prettier. It weighed > > about the same as the Brooks. The leather of the Cardiff was... > > stiff. To the point of being hard. The B17's all felt rather supple > > in comparison. Whether that means the Brookses would be more > > comfortable off the bat, or whether they would stretch out sooner, I > > don't know. I couldn't sit on any of them, so no telling what the > > cheeks would say. Were it my money I'd probably go for the plainer > > looking B17 std for $10 less than the fancier Cardiff. > > > There was another Asiam leather saddle in the store too, a Tipo Uno > > Traditional: > > >http://www.torelli.com/parts/Tipounoparts.html > > > The second saddle on that page looks familiar! The Tipo Uno had the > > same care tag that came on my VO, which confirms that they are from > > the same source. The Uno Trad. looked a little odd to me, with the > > deep profile at the nose and the very rounded tail, but it did seem to > > have more flex than my VO in the sit bone area. Once again, I didn't > > get to sit on it. Very narrow looking, though. I think I'd prefer > > the one I have. > > > BTW, I love the leather pants clips on the Torelli page. I gotta find > > a set of those! OTOH, the shop had the SOMA Ensho "glitter" saddles - > > throwbacks to the Sting Ray's of my childhood. I think I'll pass, > > thanks. > > >http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-3773699254952_2037_98456 > > > Bill > > > On Feb 28, 8:44 am, PATRICK MOORE <[email protected]> wrote: > > > On Sat, Feb 28, 2009 at 8:34 AM, Bill M. <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Richard, > > > > > I received a brown Velo Orange Model 6 saddle this week to try on my > > > > '95 Riv Road.: > > > > >http://www.velo-orange.com/vosaddlemodel6.html > > > > > It *appears* to be the same saddle as the Soma Cardiff Cambria: > > > > >http://store.somafab.com/calesa.html > > > > > The Cambria in turn looks just like the saddle sold elsewhere as the > > > > Cardiff Gull. > > > > > I bought the VO because I wanted to try a narrow saddle (I'm treating > > > > my Riv as a go-fast bike these days - I've also lowered the bars a > > > > bit), and my old B17 wasn't working well for that. It has also become > > > > rather lopsided after maybe ten years of use, and I wanted to get back > > > > 'on the level'. > > > > > The VO appears to be well-made. The leather is firm but with a little > > > > give (unlike the Selle Anatomica, which is very soft from the start). > > > > It looks good, but the color and matte finish of the VO lack the > > > > 'depth' of the Brooks. > > > > > I've only ridden the VO around the block (which is actually a few > > > > miles in the farmlands just east of my house) so I can't say too much > > > > yet about its comfort. I didn't hurt after that short ride, though, > > > > which I can't say about the last plastic saddle I tried. I'll get in > > > > a longer ride today and see it I can adapt to the narrow saddle. > > > > > [snip] > > > > Keep us apprised of how the VO saddle works, in particular, how it > > compares > > > with the Brooks Pro, which was the only Brooks that was almost > > comfortable > > > for me. Even more particular, is it very sensitive to tilt (ie, nose > > angle) > > > with lower bars? I could never get the Pro just right: I was either > > sliding > > > forward or goosing myself. I don't have that problem with Flites and > > Turbos. > > > > The VO site says that it is 150 mm wide, which is pretty close to the > > width > > > of the original model Flites and Turbos I use, so perhaps it could be the > > > first Brooks type saddle to work for me. But I'd like a bit more feedback > > > before shelling out $85 plus shipping -- tho' that is an excellent price > > for > > > a decent saddle -- used Flites and Turbos in good condition are going for > > > more than that on ebay. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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