That would be a smart a**.

Page 2 and nobody posted this yet?

1974 Brooks Professional (snub nosed)
As to why, we have been together seemingly forever.

Non-flappy cheeks are aerodynamic cheeks.

I like the Brooks B17 Imperial but I have had the frame break on me and I was never able to make the copper rivets sit flush, leading to lots of torn jeans.

My current favourite is the Lepper Tourer. Thicker leather and frame and made in the Netherlands.
It's a bit wider than the Brooks too but their website has been down for quite some time now. :/

Selle Italia SLS or SLR style saddles. I prefer the fairly flat top, nose to flare shape, and narrow rear, around 130mm. I have a couple other similar saddles from Selle San Marco and Bontrager that are close enough to the Selle Italia. I try other saddle styles occasionally but eventually go back to that Selle Italia style.

We agree again P!N20. My favourite past and present although I do like the Confort variant:

For me, it’s a toss-up between the selle Italia flite and brooks b17 narrow.

I have Brooks Professional saddles on a few of my classic rides. All are from the seventies and well cared for. They are my favorites . The close second is the UniCanitor.

This one:

Guess we are all getting somewhat bored. I know that I am and, for what it is worth, I gave some thought to starting a "favorite saddle" thread myself. Now, I don't have to.

I have built quite a few bikes and, like so many people getting vintage biking, I bought into what others said I should think. You know - "steel is real", Brooks is best, lugged is best and more.

These days, I go with personal experience. My absolute favorite saddle is the Mundatalia (excuse spelling) that I have on my Jamaica bike...


My next choice would be the Brooks B17 and they usually feelgood, right out of the box...


The Brooks Pro will, most likely, never get my vote for best saddle. They are not comfortable, for me...

Brooks B17 Narrow.

Have used and liked Sella San Marco and Rolls but now it's Brooks B-17, Professional and C-17 (great summer saddle)
Also have an old B-66 on one bike.

San Marco Rolls.
Although the appearance is too baroque for me, and the Regal really pleases my eyes. But we sit not with our eyes on the saddle ...

Turbomatic is my #1 , it's been on my current bike for many years. #2 is a Regal, #3 is a Flite Ti.

For a change of pace I tried a Fabric Line saddle in wide width with a cutout recently. After 3 medium length rides (ouch) back to the Turbomatic...

Ideale 2002 on my racing bike. Dunlop rubber on my upright cruiser type bike

Gilles Berthoud Aravis. One on each bike; here’s the older one (S/N 831; newer one is 10337) after two years/5,000 miles. It’s now up to 11,500 happy miles, still fabulously comfortable and even darker. That dent is the result of my posterior asymmetry, and why leather saddles like this are my “must have”.

As a few others have posted, I have a couple snub-nose Brooks Pros from the 70s that are my choice.

I also have used the Berthoud saddles and they are also very comfortable.

I'll be the outlier, as usual, but I do what works for me. My fav is the ill fated Vetta TT Trishock. I say "ill fated" as all of the 9 I now have were rejects, in the dust bin, stinky saddle box, "phoooooey not that thing" pile. All free. I've recovered 8 of them and they suit my skinny self just fine. All day comfortable. I dunno why. I've compared them to Brooks/Wrights and all sorts of saddles on bikes I test ride at the LBS. None are better for me and all weigh more. I see no reason to get a heavier saddle cuz it's supposed to be better.

Funny though how much it looks like a Brooks Cambium, eh?




This one was recovered in early 2014 and has seen constant service, part of the rotation that goes on 12 outta 12. It was in the reject pile when I got it and it's as comfortable now as it was then. Good enough.

Depends on the bike. Olmo, Miele, and Team 3V get San Marco Rolls with no pain so far. I've been trying a Selle Anatomica H2 on the 3V so far ok, jury is still out. I find the most comfortable setup for me is 70's Ideale 90A on the GranCrit.
It's kind of funny. I rode a San Marco Rolls for many years. Then tried one on the 3V and it hurt after only 20 miles. Put a Rolls from another bike on the 3V, same result. Fiddled with position copied from other bikes, no good. Weird.

Then there's this.

I’ll add another vote for the B17. I like the cutout version which is somewhat similar to the Selle Italia Flite.

What is a post with set back?

B17 Narrow, and C15, for when I travel/tour
The Selle Anatomica is still in testing mode, but, so far, I like that one too. I also do like my Unicinator.

The saddle rail clamps are behind the axis of the seat post. This one is pretty extreme in that regard, letting me use a saddle with shorter rails, typical of leather saddles such Brooks, Gilles Berthoud and this Rivet, in my preferred position for my long femurs.

I’ve had the 1979 bike shown for its entire 41-year life, and this seatpost has resulted in my most comfortable fit, feeling like I’m riding “in the bike”, not on it. Saddles with longer rails reduce the need for setback, but I’ve also learned that my posterior asymmetry requires leather saddles like this for rides longer than 30 miles. I had a Selle Anatomica, which is also leather and with quite long rails, on a shorter setback seatpost for the same fit, but other aspects about that brand’s shape didn’t agree with me.

The need for setback is reduced for a given saddle position relative to the bottom bracket as seat tube angle is relaxed.

Most of my bikes have some variation of the Specialized Phenom.



Yeah, it's a modern saddle, but it works well for me. Among its virtues, it makes it substantially less difficult to adjust a Campy two-bolt seatpost.



For the few bikes I own that merit a more period-correct build, I try to use something that looks right without being too uncomfortable. That rules out the Unicanitor, which is probably my least favor saddle to date. I've had success with a Rolls, a Turbo, and an Ideale of some kind.







I've never really felt the "magic" of leather saddles, but also never experienced the awful break-in pain that some people describe. I can take them or leave them, really.