Yes, that's what I meant when I said it took 1000 miles to break in mine. At first, the saddle felt hard but not terribly uncomfortable. Kind of like a bad road bike seat. After a couple hundred miles, it was a little better. After 500 miles, it was better still. By 1000 miles, I could see the dimples in the leather from my "sit bones" and, more importantly, could feel that the saddle had really conformed to my shape. TBH, I didn't think the break-in period was that bad. I'm considering doing it again for my other bike.