Recommendations for vintage saddles for narrow sit bone types?
02-26-15, 11:49 PM
#1
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Recommendations for vintage saddles for narrow sit bone types?
Standard disclaimers about saddle comfort being a completely individual thing, I'm at least trying to get in the vague ballpark, since it's rather difficult to find bike shops that will trial out decades old saddles... Anyhow, I'm looking for recommendations for saddles from the 70's and 80's that work well for those of you with narrow sit bones. From the modern camp, Fizik Tundra and Brooks Swift work really well for me. For those of you that are similarly built, what's worked well for you?
02-27-15, 01:15 AM
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B17N Brooks "N" as in "Narrow".
If you want even more instant comfort, get the B17N Imperial version with the shaped slot cutout.
If you want even more instant comfort, get the B17N Imperial version with the shaped slot cutout.
02-27-15, 05:52 AM
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I am currently on the same search, being narrow in the sit bone area (30in waist). I like narrow saddles like the Flite and the Fizik Gobi I have on my mountain bikes, but I need something mid-80's vintage for my Merckx. I recently picked up used Selle San Marco Rolls and Regal saddles but so far I've only had limited time on the Rolls and that seems promising. The Regal is supposed to be wider but on visual inspection the difference doesn't seem like much. I could let you know in a month what is working better for me once I can start getting some miles in, or maybe try to get some good deals on decent used saddles to give a few a try. You should be able to resell the ones that don't work for about what you bought them for, so ultimately not a big investment.
02-27-15, 06:22 AM
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I like a Brooks 'narrow' but I don't think of that as an especially narrow saddle. It's the narrowest of the Brooks line, but they tend to be a little wider than French ones.
An Ideale 80 is about the same as a Brooks narrow. An Ideale 39 (also branded BIM 39, Norex 39, etc) is narrower. Cheap leather saddles tend to be smaller and narrower; I'm not really sure what's up with that, but the cheapest French saddles (Perjohn, Agda, Club, etc) are narrow and relatively short.
An Ideale 80 is about the same as a Brooks narrow. An Ideale 39 (also branded BIM 39, Norex 39, etc) is narrower. Cheap leather saddles tend to be smaller and narrower; I'm not really sure what's up with that, but the cheapest French saddles (Perjohn, Agda, Club, etc) are narrow and relatively short.
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02-27-15, 09:37 AM
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Not sure if this is helpful or not, but I just measured some of my saddles. I measured at the widest point at the edge, so not sure if these would qualify as official widths.
Turbo 142 mm
Regal 147 mm
Flite Ti 140 mm
Specialized Toupe for comparison 147 mm. I was kind of surprised, because this "looks" like a narrow saddle.
Edit: my Toupe is officially a 143.
Turbo 142 mm
Regal 147 mm
Flite Ti 140 mm
Specialized Toupe for comparison 147 mm. I was kind of surprised, because this "looks" like a narrow saddle.
Edit: my Toupe is officially a 143.
Last edited by Spaghetti Legs; 02-27-15 at 09:40 AM.
02-27-15, 10:57 AM
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I'm real skinny. Presume I have narrow sit bone pattern, but never measured.
The Brooks Pro has always seemed like the most comfortable saddle for me.
The Brooks Pro has always seemed like the most comfortable saddle for me.
02-27-15, 05:46 PM
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Have you considered Gilles Berthoud saddles? The Race Saddle looks pretty narrow. I'm pretty slender, but extremely comfortable on the Touring version. The GB saddles seem to need less nose-up tilt than comparable Brooks, and I've felt no need for a slot in mine, but appreciate one added to my B-17 Champion Special.
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02-27-15, 06:58 PM
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Sella italia turbo
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02-27-15, 07:46 PM
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Brooks Swift is my favorite. That being said I have an old Fujita Belt that feels as good to me. It is much narrower than my B17. Good info on leather saddles.
Last edited by peugeot mongrel; 02-27-15 at 07:51 PM.
02-27-15, 08:54 PM
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I have narrow sit bones. For reference my modern saddles are San Marco Zoncalon and Selle Italia Gel Flite. Both work well. Vintage? I have a Berthoud Soulor which I just can't seem to get used to. San Marco Concors which I really like. Velo Orange #6 , (the Brooks Swallow knock off) which is good for a couple of hours at a time, Velo Orange #1 which took forever to break in but is now very comfortable, Brooks Professional which is wider than the others but still very comfortable and finally a San Marco Concors light which was the model favoured by Satan when he rode for The US Postal Service and Discovery Channel teams. Nice thing about the Concors is they come in a great variety of colours and finishes.
02-28-15, 06:52 AM
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Selle San Marco Rolls Ti
Selle Italia Turbo
Selle Italia Flite Ti
Avocet Racing 1
Brooks B17N
Brooks Swallow
Ideale 90
The last three should have the most "vintage" appearance.
Selle Italia Turbo
Selle Italia Flite Ti
Avocet Racing 1
Brooks B17N
Brooks Swallow
Ideale 90
The last three should have the most "vintage" appearance.
02-28-15, 08:33 AM
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Another Brooks Pro bigot here, but your mileage may vary.
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02-28-15, 10:19 AM
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I was just going to mention this same one. I just tried a Pro yesterday - 160 mm width vs 175 for the B17. Real nice saddle, but perhaps a tiny bit narrow for me.
02-28-15, 10:33 AM
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Standard disclaimers about saddle comfort being a completely individual thing, I'm at least trying to get in the vague ballpark, since it's rather difficult to find bike shops that will trial out decades old saddles... Anyhow, I'm looking for recommendations for saddles from the 70's and 80's that work well for those of you with narrow sit bones. From the modern camp, Fizik Tundra and Brooks Swift work really well for me. For those of you that are similarly built, what's worked well for you?
02-28-15, 11:25 AM
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For purposes of discussing saddle width, the words "Brooks B17" have no meaning. The B17 comes in two different widths, namely standard (which is wider than a pro) and narrow (which is narrower than a pro).
Aside from that, I really don't think sit bone width matters all that much. The important variable is the angle of the pelvis to the saddle, and this in turn depends on handlebar height, top tube and stem length, flexibility of the rider's spine, and so on. I don't mean to disqualify sit bone width, but bear in mind it's not the whole story.
Aside from that, I really don't think sit bone width matters all that much. The important variable is the angle of the pelvis to the saddle, and this in turn depends on handlebar height, top tube and stem length, flexibility of the rider's spine, and so on. I don't mean to disqualify sit bone width, but bear in mind it's not the whole story.
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02-28-15, 11:45 AM
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For purposes of discussing saddle width, the words "Brooks B17" have no meaning. The B17 comes in two different widths, namely standard (which is wider than a pro) and narrow (which is narrower than a pro).
Aside from that, I really don't think sit bone width matters all that much. The important variable is the angle of the pelvis to the saddle, and this in turn depends on handlebar height, top tube and stem length, flexibility of the rider's spine, and so on. I don't mean to disqualify sit bone width, but bear in mind it's not the whole story.
Aside from that, I really don't think sit bone width matters all that much. The important variable is the angle of the pelvis to the saddle, and this in turn depends on handlebar height, top tube and stem length, flexibility of the rider's spine, and so on. I don't mean to disqualify sit bone width, but bear in mind it's not the whole story.
