gioscinelli 

I came across a Gilles Berthoud Soulor saddle while searching Ebay for Ideale leather saddle. I saw one of the members had a Gilles Berthoud Soulor and it looked fantastic, even better then my Brooks Swallow on my Gios ! There are fewer saddle makers today that make quality saddles out of leather. Would think that au current racing crowd would shun leather because of extra mass being propelled (weight weenies) would slow their bikes down. Of all the available leather saddles regardless of weight which would you prefer?

rando_couche

B17 fits my butt just right, but the leather on the newer ones is seriously thin. Anybody know if the Select series are better in this regard?

Velognome 

Brooks Swallow when the drop to the bars exceeds 2", a Swift when it's within an inch or so and a B17 for longer, less spirited rides.

Michael Angelo 

Brooks Team pro fits me perfect.

jeirvine 

I wish there was a saddle exactly halfway between the B17 and Team Pro, both in leather thickness and saddle width.

gomango

A Swift most of the time, but I can ride a Team Pro on my Fargo with zero complaints.

The Swift and a Regal are fairly close for me, so I use the Regal if weight is a concern.

Occasionally I try a Swallow on certain bikes, such as my Kvale pictured here. Dependent on the drop.

[IMG]Untitled by gomango1849, on Flickr[/IMG]

jr59

When I lived in NOLA, I got to ride with Bill from Wall Bike and spent some time in his store there. In just the touch/feeling test, yes the Select is thicker. Much thicker, at least to my hands and eyes. I never bothered to put calipers on it, sorry.

All bottoms are shaped differently, and therefore no 1 saddle is going to fit everyone the same. I ride B-17', B-17 imperals, team pros, and a swallow, as well as a C-17. All are different, and all comfortable to me for rides 50-75 miles at a time. After that they all hurt and I hate them all, but thats probably more me than the saddle.

Chombi

I've been riding my GB Galibier saddle (The Ti railed version of the mentioned Soulor) for two years now and I only have praise for it.....
Here it is as mounted on my Vitus Plus Carbone 7.....

Fantastic comfort (after break-in), Great, modern/classic looks and light weight (It's actually slightly lighter than my perforated Selle Italia Turbo saddle). I also own two Brooks Pro saddles and an Imperial that I rotate on my two oldest bikes and they are just as comfortable as the GB, but I do prefer the looks and the better overall build quality of the Berthoud and would not hesitate buying another one in the future.

Velognome 

The older B15 was such an animal, at least in thickness.

Wildwood 

B15 is the only Brooks I've liked, but I've never had a Swallow.

icepick_trotsky 

The thinner leather has something to do with mad cow disease, right? Or is that an urban legend?

Road Fan

I read the availability of healthy cows who's hides would make better saddles was really driven down by the need to slaughter so many cows due to mad cow.

Urban? More likely a barnyard legend. But I think it's plausible - no good reason to just disbelieve it.

Dfrost 

I love, love, love my GB Aravis (Ti-framed touring version, about the same width as a Team Pro). It took about 500 or so miles to break in, but it was good (not great, but certainly good) from the start. The leather thickness measured with calipers is 1mm thicker than my 11-year old Ti-framed B-17 Champion Special (claimed to be Team Pro grade and thick leather back then, which seems to be true compared to my very old Pro). Also notable is that the GB doesn't require as much nose-up tilt for me, with all the fit touch points essentially the same. The B-17 was slotted and reinforced by Selle An-Atomica when they started doing that about 8-years ago to avoid perineal numbness, but that's never been needed with the GB Aravis. I would buy another GB in an instant despite the price difference, as long as the bike/seatpost could work with the short rail length (just like a Brooks). Heck, don't know that I'd buy a bike that could not be used with this saddle.

Here's the Aravis new, and a year (2700 miles) later:


I had first hoped to use a Brooks Swift on this Marinoni, but several 30-40 mile rides after plenty of adjustment tweaks said that wasn't going to work out. I then tried a Fizik Aliante VS, which is nice, but not a long ride saddle for me.

One of my notes says of the Aravis, "This is what a Team Pro should be." (I tend to sit on the rivets of a Pro.)

gioscinelli 

I guess that the old saying goes, back when leather was the only saddle used by cycle aficionado's, "it's not the leather saddle that breaks in, it's your derriere"...

noglider 

It's true. There are tiny little muscles around your sit bones, and they will toughen up. It can happen in as little as three days' time if you ride all three days.

My favorite saddle is the B17, and it hurts just a tiny bit when I ride, but a very tolerable amount. The great thing about it is that it never hurts afterwards, unlike everything else.

gioscinelli 

I had the Professional, Swift and now the Swallow and found that the front has to tilted up a wee bit. Of course my style of riding is to in a more aero position which displaces my weight away from my derriere for better balance overall. For tourist style most of the weight is towards the rear and that is accompanied with more pressure on the derriere. I like the design of the Gilles Berthoud Soulor, it's stylish and practical placements of the rivets won't interfere with my derriere!

noglider 

@gioscinelli, your approach matches the general consensus which is that with a racing-ish position, best to have the nose up a wee bit. With an upright position, best to have the nose up a bit more than a wee bit. It looks painful, but it isn't.

lostarchitect 

I very much doubt that. I'm sure it's a supply/demand/cost issue.

fietsbob

More Likely The Feed Lot 'finished' cow. Brooks Touts their Select as Being Grass Fed thru its Life. Scandinavian Cows.