Good Leather vs Bad Leather

Back when leather was the only game in town, good bikes came with good leather saddles, and cheap bikes came with cheap leather saddles. There is quite a difference. For one thing, good saddles are made of thick, high quality leather. In addition, there is the question of grain. Leather, like wood, has a natural grain pattern to it. When saddle tops are to be cut out of a hide, the cutter has a choice. The cheap way is to get the largest number of saddle tops from a given hide with the least wastage of leather. The quality way is to cut the saddle tops in such a way that the grain runs straight down the middle of the saddle. The cheap saddles that came on $90 dollar bikes in the early '70's are no longer made, but their memory lingers on. Some of them could be broken in properly and give a comfortable ride, but many just had the wrong grain, and just went from bad to worse.

There used to be many brands of leather saddles, but two names in particular stood out for the highest quality: Brooks of England and Ideale of France. Now Brooks appears to be the only survivor. There is also a Dutch manufacturer called "Leppers", but they are not widely distributed, at least in the U.S.