The couple that I've had are notably thinner than Brooks, but very comfortable, and they did a very good job of selecting quality leather that is a bit thinner. I used one of these on the last full-length C&O canal ride on an old Trek 820 (or was it an 830 - was a few years back and I passed the bike along to a friend). Condition, rather than age would be my criterion for deciding whether or not to use. It's not like you're going to devalue a $1,000 saddle by using it, because you'd be lucky to get $100 for one of these in the best of circumstances.