Big Block

sadly not Australian leather. It is Argentinian leather.
It is what is locally available from the wholesaler servicing shoe repair shops.

so to easily get leather I buy leather that has travelled halfway around the world.
The Nidd saddles use Australian leather, transported to Asia for saddle making, then sent to England, then sold to America.
Like the Australian merino wool jersey I bought. Wool from Australia, sent to Asia for spinning and garment manufacture, then sent to America for selling, then sold back to me, in Australia.

Velognome 

Sorry to get this thing off on "who's got the best hide" but I been a thinkin'?

A Saddle is more than the hide, some articles mentioned Nidd's longer rails, better finished rivets etc. I just did a comparison of a 40 year old Brooks and one I just took out of the box last year. The older saddle seems more robust and a digital caliper shows a slightly thicker hide. Which reminded me of my 68 Ford Mustang of my youth, which compared to a contemporary Mustang was much heavier, more robust, etc. BUT, for reliability, speed, cornering, etc. my money would be on the new Pony as much as I would love to have the old 68 back.

So my point is, just having thicker, stiffer (easy) longer rails better? Has Brooks cheapened it's line or refined it? Has Nidd copied old ideas regardless of known flaws or are the old ways (down in front ) really better?

eschlwc

^ you ask many questions. what's your point?

why would you write, "regardless of known flaws"?

as you wrote in the other thread, "you get what you pay for." however, for a few of us, that is not always the case. brooks buyers expect the best for the long term. when we don't receive it, we'll try a competitor. if it happens to be $20 less, all the better.

Velognome 

My point is that marketing folk are paid to dress things up. I was taught not to believe everything you read, is everything Brooks or Nidd (or their retailers) writes about their products beneficial....do we really need longer rails? I know my saddle and most I see, are ridding about at the mid-point for example. Competition is great,Spa ripped into Brooks int the email you posted, so I just poked back a bit, that's all.

I'm happy your happy with your saddle, I hope your saddle works out great, it's nice looking and if it's a few clams less that's great too!

Without posting questions, opposing point and yes, even photos of short cows, then we'd have just an advert for Nidd..... yawn

I'm sorry you took my posts as an offense, they were meant to open up some conversation and maybe a little enjoyment too. I for one am wondering if I need a city permit to pasture a micro heifer in my back yard. Short cows, who woulda thought?

As our knit capped brethren would say...'ride that saddle like you stole it" and keep everyone posted.

rootboy 

Just remember, Velognome, if you grow those short cows, you'll get much less saddle leather out of them.
But it COULD be more dense!

rootboy 

Isn't this the way. I would have thought Australia would have had a thriving domestic source for good leather but now that I think about it, are there a lot of cattle ranches in Australia? Maybe not. Kangaroo leather? Indeed. Wonderful stuff and makes great shoes, but for saddles? Naw.

Argentina certainly does have lots of cattle. I must ask my local supplier where his veg tanned comes from. He gets some very nice stuff and I am SO grateful he decided to move his family's old operation here. Right down the road from me and he tolerates my small time operator needs and orders with very good manners.

Waterhouse Leather - Leather, high quality leather, leather hides. Hyannis, MA.

Plus, he's got his grandfather's old one of these. A fantastic machine.

Welcome To D.M.T.LeatherMachines

Velognome 

Dense? I think the little guy looks somewhat bright.


Nice to have local craftsmen and small business. My town used to be heavy with all types; sadly, most are gone now.

eschlwc

no biggie. i was more put off by the awful puns and eyeroll emoticons rather than your big font post misquoting wiki about how my supplier is full of excrement.

eschlwc

thanks, velognome, for making this thread more entertaining.

so ... it's been a year, and it's time to update the thread with thoughts on this saddle purchase. and ...

i love it! i love my nidd saddle. i tell people it's my new 'go-to.' as i wrote before, i needed a b17-like saddle that was more consistent and just 'harder.' the nidd saddle met these requirements and at least $20-$30 lower in cost.

two slight drawbacks: (1) the bag loops aren't spaced the same as the b17 as i already wrote. not a huge issue.

and (2) here's a new wrinkle -- the front bolt has the nut that you can tighten over time like a brooks, but the bolt end itself allows for an allen key to help (?) tighten the bolt. so the saddle comes with two tools, one like the brooks tool and an allen key. that's all well and good. the problem is this redesigned bolt loosens and rattles if it's not tight. and it's hard to keep it tight without extending the bolt! well, i fixed mine with blue loctite. i shouldn't be forced to do that. but i guess i'll put up with this little inconvenience now that i know how to resolve the rattle.

so how did the nidd saddle hold up over a year? great! it's still really hard, which is what i wanted. and its skirts are laced tight if its hardness was an issue. i would buy it again.

my next post will discuss the gyes gs-17 saddle, a nidd lookalike.

eschlwc

so ... i wrecked my davidson. it was a sad and painful day. fortunately for the bike, only the nidd saddle and right brake lever suffered rash. (i recovered after three weeks -- whew.) i polished the lever and thought i'd just put the saddle on a flip bike and buy another from spa cycles...

then i saw a new gyes gs-17 on ebay in three colors for $60 shipped. it looked just like the nidd saddle at $70. i was curious enough to buy it about two weeks ago from the polish (i think) seller. it arrived today.



except for the badging and 'deluxe' script on the side, it's the exact same saddle as the spa cycles one. i don't like that huge 'deluxe' script on the side, but on the black saddle, it's a little hard to see. the nidd saddle didn't have any script on its side, which i prefer. but i also like the convenience and dependability of ebay.

anyway, i'm happy i got another good saddle that will suit me for only sixty bones. and i won't need to sell it after a year or two because it became too soft.

now if i can just stay on the bike...

eschlwc

Velognome 

Sorry to hear about your crash, glad you recovered and the saddle held up as well as expected. The Gyes shipped from the US? I wonder who is the mfg and from were does it originate?

masi61

Wow! that second saddle does look thick. Is that a Brooks?

eschlwc

^ thanks, gnome.

the gyes came from warsaw. i sorta hate international ebay purchases, because shipments so often come without tracking. but the seller provided good communication the one time i asked him about timing. it took 13 days.

yeah, why can't i get this saddle here in the u.s. for less than $60? it meets all my needs (pretty much).

himespau 

I've gotten several Gyes saddles from crowcycleco.com in the US (I think) and I've been happy with all of them so far.
Gyes GS-17A Brown Leather Bicycle Saddle Black Laces, Copper Rails
Gyes GS-07 Leather Bike Seat / Saddle, Compare Brooks, Honey Brown
Gyes GS-06H Brown Leather Racing Bicycle Bike Saddle

eschlwc

thanks for the links, himespau. looks like they're in nevada.

they don't show the gyes gs-17 in their gyes lineup. the gs-17a they show has copper rivets/rails, shortened skirts, and is laced all the way across the saddle (12-13 times).



looks pretty nice.

you can see the front of the bolt is that allen key type i was talking about.

himespau 

The 3 I linked are the 3 I have (only one mounted at the moment). Actually, the one with the cutout I have is black (which they don't have listed currently). I've seen them have others in the past, including a version of the 17 that didn't have the copper (almost went with it until I was seduced by the copper for some unknown reason), but it didn't have the "deluxe" on the side. I think it did have the multiple lacing. I've also gotten some Gyes leather bar wrap (a bit longer than the Brooks) from Taiwan on eBay (it was perforated and the stuff CrowCycle was selling wasn't) for something like $40. I've also heard they make the saddles for Velo Orange and a few other folks, but I don't know how true that is, so they could have quite a few models floating around that they sell at different outlets.

eschlwc

about weight ...

the ebay seller advertised the weight of the gyes gs-17 at 525 grams. i'm sure it's more than that. it feels sorta heavy.

spa cycles advertises its nidd saddle at 629 grams. that seems about right.

the b17 is around 520 grams. so the brooks definitely wins there. a 100 gram difference seems like a lot. i don't mind if the difference is in the leather. i do mind if it's in the rails.

Big Block

the frame was a Brooks, the recover is mine. The latest cover and riveted

eschlwc

^ beautiful work, big block.

.

i just took the gyes gs-17 out for its maiden voyage. all i can say is, for $60/ea, i should've bought two or three.