After struggling to find a comfortable "synthetic" saddle for longer rides (80+ miles) I decided to take a chance on a leather saddle. I purchased the Gilles Berthoud Aravis and a Selle Anatomica H2.

The Aravis was hard as a rock right out of the box and it sounded like a piece of wood when I knocked on it with my knuckles. Due to concern about the length of the rails I mounted it on a Velo Orange Grand Cru, which has 30mm of setback. Setup was easy. Using a spirit level I positioned the Aravis to be totally flat and then went for a ride.

I was immediately impressed with how comfortable the saddle was. Yes, it was very hard, but it provided excellent support for my sit bones. The saddle also had a spring-like feel going over bumps and road chatter. My goal for this first ride was 50-miles, but the saddle felt so good I went 122 miles. At roughly 80 miles into the ride I did start to feel some pressure on my perineum. It was pretty miner. I attributed it to the lack of a cutout and a normal part of the break-in process.

Prior to my 2nd ride I decided to position the saddle to be slightly nose-down (2-3mm). This change relieved the pressure on my perineum and I've not felt any saddle discomfort since making that alteration. After riding the saddle on almost a daily basis for the past few weeks I've put in a little more than 1,000 miles. My longest ride thus far is 152 miles with no pain or discomfort of any kind. The Aravis is supremely comfortable, and I've been able to eliminate the use of chamois cream with zero chafing.




As for the break-in of the Aravis, it started to show signs of molding to my right sit bone at around 500 miles. At roughly 700 miles I started to see a dimple forming on the left side of the saddle. By 1,000 miles the dimples around both sit bones are starting to equalize.



Despite the obvious signs of breaking-in, the Aravis hasn't softened or lost any structure. No retensioning has been necessary so far. The saddle is still very hard, but I absolutely love it this way.