Concorde Replica Saddles
 

I have a chance to stock Concorde Replica Saddles.

I have seen samples but they were not functional samples.

I have no word on final weight or on final rail material.

Is this something that would interest people here?

If so, colour suggestions?

http://i522.photobucket.com/albums/w...f/IMG_0501.jpg

some folks here would surely love those, but they are correctly called Concor, not Concorde...and it may still be a registered trademark with Selle San Marco, so check first.

Thanks for the correction.

I never rode one when they were current. I pretty much started with Selle Italia and, other than sponsored years when I had to ride something else, since they fit me well I never rode anything else.

Regardless I am gauging interest ahead of seeing the final samples at the end of this month. If interest is high I will stock them. Then it is all about colours.

Thanks for the feedback.

I notice people seem to look for period correct white saddles pretty often. Other than that I think basic black would be the best seller

Bet the chrome variant would be a hit with the fixed crowd, and depending on the blue, I dare say one of those would be a nice touch on the '78 Guerciotti.

-Kurt

I like 'em if they are well built. Black, white, red are my color picks.

Oh, and forgive me for the OT link here but the OP's name made me think of this for some reason...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-8KCHw8BmE :)

The Concor was a great saddle, but are these replica's or cheap knock-off's? The rails look really funky on that chrome one.

I'm assuming they are not being made by San Marco?

The way they covered the back of the rails varied over the years. The early ones were nice with leather wrapped tight over the rails. The later ones had bulbous plastic covers that looked like crap.

As for interest. If they were being made by San Marco true to the original shape and quality but with lighter rails and material I would buy one for my modern ride.

Or if they are Asian knock-off's and dirt cheap I would use them on the FG's I build to flip.

The saddles pictured are 'looking samples'. They are intended to give the customer (me in this case) a look at what he finished product will look like.

These saddles are NOT being made by Selle San Marco (hence the 'Replica"). The quality will be on par with other contemporary saddles currently made in Taiwan. As an example these include Velo, Ritchey, Prologo, Specialized and a host of other popular brands.

Since I don't have a final sample yet, I can't comment on the rail material, finished weight or finish quality.

These are all good points and I will weigh them in my final decision.

Thanks for you input.

Black, Bright yellow (very popular on e-bay, took me weeks to get a used one at a reasonable price !), red please.

to hijack the thread a little: I went to your website and see you offer several styles of modern brake hoods in colors. Ever consider getting your hood supplier to mold some vintage replica hoods? One of our CV posters was pursuing a vintage Universal hood back a year or 2 ago, but never got it into production...vintage Campagnolo hoods are in high demand, but there would be trademark issues to "work around", and the purists might only want the correct natural gum rubber...I'd be happy to see something like the Modolo anatomic hood (or the Ame copy) offered at a good price.

This is something I've thought about already.

There are trademark issues (as you point out) that are more of a concern for those who frequent this forum. I have wondered how gummy coloured hoods, without logos, would appeal to those looking for the real thing.

We will add Celeste soon and DA-7900 after that but gummy coloured, non-aero hoods are still in the back of my mind.

- Or reproduction Weinmann hoods (black, white or gum) for those literally thousands of levers still out there on (or off) lower to mid range road bikes from the late '50's to 1980???

They wouldn't necessarily have to be brilliant, just available - and reasonably priced!

Good luck with all your products, it's good to see someone considering this type of initiative.

Have you thought about producing those little rubber lever covers we all used to buy for our down tube gear levers, QR levers and QR seat bolt levers - usually Campagnolo, in a choice (if I remember) of black, red, blue or yellow rubber? If sold in sets of four or five of the same colour, these might go down well!

-Or leather toe straps?

- Or herringbone cloth adhesive handlebar tape with screw-retained end plugs (like the old Milremo type of plug?)

- Or unbranded pedal end caps in chrome plastic finish for Campag Gran Sport and Record pedals (thousands of those still in use with badly scraped or missing caps!)

- Or replacement plastic chrome finish crank bolt covers to fit the major manufacturers cranks?

- Or those little 'behind the saddle' tool bags in plastic imitation leather with piped seams and a turnbuckle in the middle of the flap to hold it closed?

STOP ME NOW, I'M GETTING CARRIED AWAY!!!! NURSE, MY NICE WHITE JACKET WITH THE SLEEVES THAT TIE AT THE BACK PLEASE AND TAKE ME TO MY NICE ROOM WITH THE SOFT COMFY WALLS!!!

you'll need bright red, yellow and blue (GIOS blue) plus white, black and brown for a start. celeste would also probably be a good idea. But they do look pretty cheep, based on that photo I would not buy one. I don't like concor regular anyway, they are ass-hatchets to me... I like concor max though.

Thanks for the colour suggestions.

The saddles in the photo ARE cheap. They are looking samples - mock ups if you will - that are used to give the customer a general idea of what the finished product will look like. Notice the duct tape on the plastic rails of the silver one?

If you ever decide to do some non-aero hoods, I'd like to suggest the Modolo anatomic style cause they are very comfy, fit Modolo, Campy and even some Japanese lever bodies and AFAIK you'll have no legal issues since Modolo is out of business (and even back in the '80s Ame was copying that style hood and got away with it!).
I might even be convinced to loan you some hoods to be used as mold-making master samples, as long as they'd be returned undamaged.
There's already a guy here in the US making Campy reproduction hoods and the EAI Asian-made copies are also available, though many vintage folks hate them due to their bad color-match and crude finish.

I read on another arena, where someone was evaluating a reissue Cinelli Unicanitor, by Cinelli no less, but the new version was not well received. So, as a word of caution, do some testing, even if the form is spot on, variations in material, wall thickness throughout, foam type and density can all mean quite a bit.

For me, the reissue might be better, my tender regions never were happy with the Concor back in the day, or the similar Cinelli Volare. A Cinelli #65, #3 or a Sella Italia Criterium Superleggera are still my favorites.

And why suede is popular I have no idea, it just gets pressed down in short order, and looks terrible at the half way there point.

I've used red saddles before, gave up on yellow, and had a hard time finding a white - within a reasonable cost range. I need lower cost saddles to put on refurbished bikes - if they can spruce up the bikes sales appeal it's a plus.