Originally Posted by
Dfrost
I'm built like Scooper, Essthreetee and nlerner - 6'0" with a 36" (91 cm) inseam. I was 6' 1.5" years ago, but my torso has shrunk over the last decade or so (I'm 67). Thankfully I can still ride the same bikes, but have shortened the cockpits. Both the Miyata 912 and Marinoni Sport Touring are 62cm ctc with 58cm TT's, albeit with relatively steep geometry (around 74deg parallel). I use short reach bars (love the Soma Highway One) and 80-100mm stems, with bars about 2cm below the saddle. They're comfortable for any distance, and I'm happy with the steering - both have about 45mm of trail using 28-32mm tires.
But I can relate to the OP's problem, since I also need leather saddles and have to deal with their short rails, and might like the saddles farther back to keep my hands from getting "buzzy". I plan to try a Rivet Independence at some point on the Miyata, which can't take a 27.2 seatpost. Can anyone comment on whether that saddle slides farther back, compared to a Berthoud or Brooks?
I tried the Independence Allroad for a few minutes, but the shape really didn't work for me. The dimensions are very similar to the Berthoud Aspin (which I love and now have two of), but it felt like it had an arch shape that was trying to split me in two, and I just couldn't get comfortable on it. I bought a second Aspin as a result. The difference in available setback is only slight...maybe 5mm, which wasn't enough to notice any real difference, but I also, as mentioned, just couldn't get comfortable on the Rivet regardless.