mattface 

I need to sell one of my modern racing saddles ASAP in order to pay for this spectacular Brooks Professional I just found at the bike coop.

Here's the deal I'm ebaying some parts from the bike coop to try and help us pay the rent and heat through the winter. Yesterday when I got there I found a great looking 70s vintage Brooks Professional on a really crummy old bike that had been donated. How the two got together I'll never know, but it was immediately apparent to me that it needed to come home with me. So I cleaned it and waxed the hell out of it and polished the hell out of it and fondled it lovingly. It is surprisingly unworn, and looks very close to knew and now that it's been cleaned and polished. I'm finding it very hard to part with.

In case it wasn't already apparent I've got a bit of a saddle fetish, so I have a few extra saddles around the house, and now I'm thinking I'll sell one or more of them instead and keep the Brooks Professional. So here's the quandary: I've got a Selle Italia SLR xp in very good condition which is currently on one of my bikes. It's very pretty, and very light, but I've never particularly liked it. I also have a Selle Italia Flite in decent condition, but showing signs of wear that I've never tried. I need to sell one of them, but the problem is I don't really know if I'll like the Flite better.

So after this long winded explanation I'm hoping those in the know can help by giving their seat of the pants impressions (as it were) of the Flite and SLR compared to the older racing saddles I know I like. For years the Avocet Racing was my saddle of choice, and I currently have 2 of them. I know I allso like the Selle Italia Turbo which I've had on a few bikes and I love the Brooks Professional I have. I guess basically what I'm wondering is wether the Flite is going to be more similar to the Avocet and Turbo saddles than the SLR is. I know it's a hard question, and incredibly subjective, but I don't have time to ride a few hundred miles on the Flite like I've been meaning to, so I'm hoping there are a few people on this forum who are intimately familiar with the Avocet Racing and/or Turbo, as well as the Flite and SLR and can toss me some opinions about which of the two modern saddles my tush is likely to prefer.

Silly question? Sure. can you tell why I didn't ask this in the Roadie forum?

rat fink

Post a picture of you most aggressively positioned (in other words, the one with the lowest handlebar position relative to the saddle) bike that that fits you. Would you describe yourself as a competitively inclined rider, or more leisurely? How far a distance do you typically ride?

(I'm going somewhere with this, promise.)

T-Mar

Saddle selection is one area where I refuse to give advice, beyond anything very basic, as it it the bicycle component with the highest personal preference factor.

scozim 

Same here - suffice it to say I have a Selle Italia SLX (or SLR - can't remember which) Gel Flow and it's not on a bike. But, my Turbo, Avocet O2 Air and an unknown Selle San Marco saddles are.

mattface 

Probably the most aggressively positioned bike is the Soma Track bike.



The Fuji that has the SLR on it currently has a similar bar drop.


Fujidale Cross Frankenbike by mattface, on Flickr (yeah I know it's hard to gauge bar drop from this picture)

My favorite bike to ride is the Razesa which does have a bit less bar drop than the other two.


I ride most everyday around town it's my primary transportation. I don't consider myself a competitive rider, but ride fairly aggressively in traffic. More leisurely on longer rides out of town which would be anywhere form 20-60 miles usually. I've ridden all three bikes comfortably on longer rides, the Soma is less well suited to distance, but that's due more to lack of freewheel than it is positioning. All three are great around town.

mattface 

yes I understand and I agree. I never give anyone more than the most basic advice about saddles. I'm not looking for advice, just people's subjective comparisons of the saddles in question. I've been meaning to try out the Flite for years , and since I haven't and I need to sell either the Flite or the SLR. It's kinda tough to sell the one I haven't gotten around to trying. I know what I like, and I'm hoping someone else who likes a similar thing might be able to give me a comparison based upon their experience... Yeah.. I know it's not much to go on, and honestly I have a feeling it's the SLR that's going, but I figure it might help to shoot the **** with similarly afflicted weirdos about the options first. What else are bike forums for?

DRietz

I started out riding a Flite. I still do ride it -- it's on one of my mountain bikes. I found that since I liked the Flite, I also liked the SLR XP which is currently on my road bike. But they have a very different shape. I pretty much enjoy all saddles without cutouts...

Selle Italia SLR XP's suffer a huge price drop with any scuffing at all around the back. I picked mine up for $25 because it had just a small tear. I guess somewhere down the line I'd be interested in hunting for another...just to make all of my stable identifiable.

mattface 

[QUOTE=DRietz;11615969]I started out riding a Flite. I still do ride it -- it's on one of my mountain bikes. I found that since I liked the Flite, I also liked the SLR XP which is currently on my road bike. But they have a very different shape. I pretty much enjoy all saddles with cutouts...

Good to know. Have you ridden the Avocet Racing or the Turbo? If so how do you think the shape compares to the Flite or SLR? My impression is that the SLR is a lot flatter at the back than the Avocet Racing or the Turbo, and I think it's that curve that works for my bits.

DRietz

To be honest, I've never ridden an Avocet anything. I have, however, ridden countless Turbo's. Comfy!

Like I said, pretty much anything without a cut out is fine by me. I'm really pretty versatile when it comes to saddles.

mattface 

You know I think I've sorted this out for myself. I'll sell the SLR, and keep the Flite as my modern racing saddle. I'll put it on the fuji for a while, and if I don't like it I'll sell that one too, and put either the Brooks Professional, or Avocet Racing III on there, both of which I already know I like.

Thanks for your input everyone. Carry on with your classic and vintage bike geekery.

roccobike

No comment as to which you should ride, that's personal. However, if the Flite is a Ti, it could be worth some serious bucks. Most used saddles, except Brooks, bring little return on the used market. I've picked up Sella San Marco ERA saddles for $5 -$10 and other name brand saddles for under $10. Sella Italia Ti Flite will typically fetch $40 or $50, maybe more. I have not checked ebay in a while, but you might want to factor in how much each saddle will bring. For what it's worth, I have a Ti Flite on my Bianchi Campione.
BTW, I obtained a lower level Brooks the same way you did. It was on a low level Schwinn on its way to the junk yard when I grabbed my hex wrench and removed the seatpost and saddle. True it's rough and true it's a low level Brooks, but hey, the price was right. It's currently on my beater Raleigh.

mattface 

Yes it's a Ti, and I figure it'll get as much as $50, but the SLR is even more desirable, and in better condition, and will likely fetch more than that judging by recent ebay sales.

The Professional came out really amazingly nice after cleaning. I'll post up pictures at some point.

mattface 

Ok, for the sake of closure, here's a pic of the saddle that started all the fuss.


70s Brooks Professional by mattface, on Flickr more pics of the Brooks here
When I found it I had no idea it would look this good cleaned and waxed!

So I decided to sell the SLRxp which was on my Fuji, but which I'd never been perfectly happy with, and it's the saddle I own that's most likely to fetch a similar price to a vintage Brooks Professional in that kinda shape.

Meanwhile i put the Flite on the Fuji, and I quite like it. rode it to work today and my butt likes it too!


DSC_0012 by mattface, on Flickr

Fianlly, Rat Fink wanted to see what my most aggressively positioned bike looked like. He assured me he would explain why, but never did. Well I still don't know what he was getting at, but it got me wondering, so I measured the bar drop on all 3 of my road bikes, and even though they don't look like it, they all have very similar bar drop and reach. TheDifference between seat and bar height is right around 3" for all three bikes. Interesting.

jet sanchEz

How'd you clean it? A Brooks Pro came on my De Rosa but it has seen better days...

I miss my Razesa...

mattface 

I started with saddle soap applied with and old shaving brush. The first coat turned brown right away. Lather rinse repeat a few times. There was some scrubbing with a nail brush somewhere in there. Then let it air dry, then applied a special proprietary mixture I made on the stove with bees wax and olive oil, warmed it in the oven to let it soak in.

Then polished with some of the techniques I learned from spit shining. Spray with a mister and brush with a horsehair shoe brush, then polish with a microfiber cloth. add more thin layers of wax and repeat this process for as long as seems fun.

You sold you're Razesa?! What ever possessed you to do THAT? Man looks like the C&V Razesa club is down to one lonely member.

stien

+1

Loving my Turbo repro...

If you've got good setup and posture then no cutout should be necessary.

Chombi

I was also running out of choices for classic saddles on my present and for future project bikes. Not really into suspended leather saddles and was only comfortable with leather covered plastic base saddles like the Concor and the turbo from the 80's. Only saddles in my radar left was the Rolls and the Regal....til I found this:




The Selle Italia Daytona saddle
Looks to be a very close copy of the Regal, but it has more details that more closely mimic the looks of suspended leather saddles, specially the nose shape and how the rails bend up almost straight vertically at the back to meet the saddle base. Also has nice "Selle Italia" stampings on the copper rivets. Haven't seen these before I found this one. Really wondering if ther makers of the Regal, Selle San Marco, had any problems with their competitor, Selle Italia, basically copying most of their Regal saddle.
I just mounted it up on my Vitus Carbone to try it out this weekend.

Chombi

DRietz

Just to clear something up, I've been meaning to say that I like all saddles except for those with cutouts.

Cutout saddles definitely don't work for me. They produce and isolate pain in a very sensitive area for me.

stien

fixed that post I quoted, I knew what you meant anyway.

DRietz

Why thank you, Sir. Sleep deprivation does funny things sometimes...

mazdaspeed

I miss my turbo, but the stock bianchi selle Italia is more comfortable. I have a beat flite ti but It's too hard imo. I replaced it with a fizik arione. I tried a toupe too and am not in love.

DRietz

Just so ya know, I'm always lookin' for more of those Flites...

mazdaspeed

If you want a rough but usable one make an offer

jan nikolajsen 

I've had a Razesa for several years. Still do. And it got a Brooks Pro on it.

Like your approach to saddle resto. Sounds well thought out, and the result speaks for itself.

RobbieTunes

I currently have an SLR, a Flite, a Turbo, and just got rid of an Avocet Racing (went to a guy with a nice Ross)....so I guess I can offer an opinion.

My SLR is by far the lightest (135g) and hardest and least comfortable.
Next would be the Flite, which has a long nose compared to the others, and more flex than the SLR.
The Avocet Racing is wider through the middle than my Flite, but the roundness of it is no problem, and I like it.
The Turbo is my heaviest and "largest" saddle, probably the least aggressive but most comfortable all-around of my older saddles.

I'm sure some of you remember the old cycling shorts with the middle seam and the seemingly "permanent" sore/chafing/irritated spot they created.
I hear about guys in the TdF having to stand up for nearly an entire leg due to chafing, or guys who have to ride a sponsor's saddle that doesn't fit.
I'm just happy to have well-made padded shorts that make any saddle more comfortable than that, so I don't complain about any saddle.

My take is that you want to keep the Brooks. If comfort is an issue, move the SLR or the Turbo. It can probably replace either, and I think you like that Avocet.
Always good to keep a Flite around.