ellerbro

It looks like their saddles address many of the issues with Brooks. Experiences?

Jeffbeerman2

looks like they had trouble and recalled them
https://velo-orange.blogspot.com/2008...-problems.html

ok_commuter

That's a shame. The natural ones are beautiful. I hope Chris gets it straightened out with his supplier. He's producing some lovely gear out of his little shop!

salaryman

I just bought a VOS6 natural. The $75 pricetag was too tempting to ignore - seems like a steal for a brand new true leather saddle. So far I don't see any problems with it, certainly none of the problems Chris describes on the Velo Orange blog. The leather has a nice stiffness, the rivets are fine. I think the natural leather is gorgeous - tan with flavors of pink. I can imagine it darkening beautifully. It seems comfortable enough, although it's still brand new so I'm expecting it to soften as it breaks in. I definitely recommend getting one if you are thinking about it.

stringbreaker

The regular price of 125.00 doesn't seem like much of a bargain to me. I'll stick with my B-17's

tcs

I like the $54 Persons #77 Deluxe I started riding a year and a half ago as well or better than any of my Brooks I've ridden over the last 30 years.

I haven't seen either in the flesh, but in the posted pictures the unsprung Velo Orange saddle looks like the one Torelli is also selling.

tcs

deez

The Velo Orange saddle they still have on the site is the only model they didn't have QC problems with. There were several others a few months ago but all of em except the Model 6 got pulled.


Those Persons Saddles look pretty nice. for 54 bux it might be hard to resist trying one.

Bekologist

me love big chinese manufacturing machine!

Seriously, good on Velo Orange to create a niche in the bike world selling randonuese and a source for obscura, but it's tough to improve on a Brooks.

(love my Ostrich handlebar bag, thanks velo orange!)

elbows

I bought a VS-6 a few weeks ago. At first, I liked it better than any other saddle I've tried. My only complaint was that it was quite hard, and my sit bones would get sore after a while. But VO does say the leather is stiffer than a Brooks, and I figured it would soften a bit as it broke in.

After a few rides, though, it started to get worse instead of better. It turns out that the saddle is too narrow for me, so my sit bones are resting right on the edge, where there's a metal frame under the leather. I don't think any amount of breaking is going to soften that.

It's still a very nice saddle, though. It's actually similar to a Brooks Swallow (much narrower, flatter on top, and IMO better looking than a B-17). So even the non-sale price of $125 is pretty cheap (VO's B-17 equivalent was $50 or $60 when they had it, IIRC).

If anyone has a skinny butt and wants to give it a try, I'm not using mine any more. ;-)

ellerbro

Looks like a Brooks with a Persons stamp on it? Or is there actually some difference? If so, what?

tcs

According to Sheldon Brown, Persons was a long time US Brooks distributor that lost their piece of the action during the Brooks buy-out. Well, if you can't join 'em, beat 'em, eh? They took the basic classic tensioned leather saddle design and updated the rails and tension mechanism for the 20th century. Honestly, the saddle compares to the $175 Brooks Team Professional S on my buddy's bike - copper plate, big rivets, loops and really, really nice water buffalo leather top. The Persons saddles are made in India.

I'll tell you in 20 more years if the Persons has held up as well as the Brookses I've ridden, but over the first year and a half, it's all good.

tcs

PS - Oh, and I see the #77 Deluxe has gone up to $58 since I bought mine.

Schwinnrider

I have bought products from VO before. Chris is a good guy. But I'll stick with my Brooks. Some things are just right.

vodid

I had a model 8 VO saddle, and the frame rails under the saddle broke. I'm not some huge guy; I weigh 170 and I'm 5'9" tall. Velo Orange refused to replace the frame, because I've had the saddle longer than a year. It irked me because this is a part that I don't expect should break, ever, and I'd expect the manufacturer to replace the part. I have several Brooks saddles that I've had for over ten years with no problems at all. I wouldn't be posting this if they'd have replaced the broken part and supported their product. Brooks for me from now on.

bfischerny

I had the same experience as vodid. The welds of the titanium rails broke at the frame. Saddle was slightly over a year old (however only installed for 1 month).

gerv 

I have a VO Model 3 touring saddle which I bought last year. I also know several people who also have VO saddles. No problems reported yet.

{Edit** The problem reported in post #2 dates to 2008 for the recall. The Model 3 I have is anything but too soft.

mconlonx

Same experience. Too narrow for me, where the Brooks Team Pro is just right. Quality-wise, I have nothing but good things to say about it and it helped me narrow down the size of Brooks I really need w/o the Brooks price tag...

Booger1

WHY????.....You can buy a real Brooks B-17 for $75...I don't get it. I just paid $65 for one about 2 months ago.

megalowmatt

Where are you buying B-17's for $75?

Booger1

The last one I got from Treefortbikes.....$65 on sale.Just look around.....They had the b-?,b-17 with springs for $85.

fietsbob

B17, Basic Machine set Rivet versions are down around $80. retail


what 'issues', specifically?

gerv 

I didn't believe the prices of B-17s. But seems like you can find one at reasonable prices. $80-90 currently.

When I was looking for a saddle a few years ago, there was nothing south of $100.

mconlonx

Slave to fashion, I wanted to try a Swallow or at least a Swallow knockoff because I wasn't sure the width would work. It didn't. VO version was half the price of the Brooks...

B-17 too wide, B-17N too narrow, Team Pro, just right.

Santaria

This. The B-17 always felt like it was jammin' up my junk. The Team Pro worked perfectly. I'd give Velo Orange more of my money if they could provide the CX products I wanted too. That shop has always done good by me on all my Handsome Devil parts.