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Old 08-24-24 | 05:57 AM
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Aardwolf
Wheelman
 
Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 1,614
Likes: 1,569
From: Putney, London UK

Bikes: 1982 Holdsworth Avanti (531), 1961 Holdsworth Cyclone, 1953 Holdsworth Whirlwind

San Marco Rolls saddle

Hiya Folks,
I'm after some saddle opinions - yep I know it's always a personal choice.

I normally ride a Selle Italia Sprint which came as standard when I bought a Holdsworth Avanti new in 1983.
But these days after about 20 miles I need a break, otherwise it's very comfortable.
So I got a Wright's Swallow last year to see if that was better, and discovered I needed a 2 bolt seat post to adjust it properly.
Hence I'm now using a SR Royal 2 bolt post and I can set the angle exactly.

So the current situation is
.
Sella Italia Sprint
Comfortable but need a break after 20 miles
size 150 x 275
mid point width 71mm
plastic shell construction covered in suede
weight 418g
.
Wright's Swallow
narrow saddle for "forward riding position" (https://www.brooksengland.com/en_uk/swallow.html)
Uncomfortable but I've only done 30 miles, have proofided twice over 6 months
size 150 x 277
mid point width 48mm
4mm leather
weight 504g
.
"mid point width" is the width 14cm from the nose - about half way back.

The main issue with the Swallow seems to be perineum pressure so I'm wondering if I need more of a 'hammock' saddle
or maybe a wider one at the mid point. So I'm making a list of saddles I should try and I've got 2 on it so far:
.
Selle San Marco Rolls
Gets a lot of reviews saying it's very comfortable
size: 143 x 282
size: L1 - "wide distance, for individuals with a intertrochanteric distance above 120mm" (https://sellesanmarco.com/rolls-le-classiche/)
plastic shell construction - won't need breaking in
weight 382g
lots of cheapish ones on Ebay
.
Brooks B17 / Wright's W3W
wide saddle for "angled riding position" (https://www.brooksengland.com/en_uk/b17.html)
size 175 x 275
,
The San Marco Rolls is on the list because it gets a lot of mentions as a very comfortable saddle.
However I'm confused about how wide it is - says 143x282 on their web site but it also says size L1 which is their wide saddle.

Here's the 2 saddles I have got

You can see the Selle Italia has more of a hammock and is wide at the mid point.

And here's a San Marco Rolls from the interweb:



So it's the same plastic shell construction as the Selle Italia and looks to be fairly wide at the mid point, but difficult to tell from web photos.

So my question is can anybody confirm the Rolls is relatively wide and comfortable ?
And are there other saddles I should consider ?
Or maybe I should just buy a cheap one and try it

Cheers.
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