How Old Is Your Saddle?
 

After reading several threads recently, the question came to my mind. HOW OLD IS YOUR SADDLE?

I read where this saddle is better than that one and some like gel and some despise it.

I honestly want to know, and think the forum members would enjoy learning, if a gel saddle is still a good ride after four years.

I have heard that the plastic and gel deteriorates after a year or two. I know that I would enjoy the pleasure of gel if I knew it was going to last. Or that my wife's foam filled 02 will last more than a season after I spent $80 for the dang thing.

I can't say about gel saddles, but I have some comments on saddles in general. A few years ago I broke my seat while out MTBing, there was a Wal-Mart or something nearby, so I just ran in and bought something off the shelf, it has the name of NEXT on it. Since then I have bought a few very expensive saddles for both my MTB and my roadbike. Guess which seat is on my $2,000 roadbike, yup, the crappy five dollar Wal-Mart seat, it's the comfiest darn thing I've ever sat on. Those expensive Italian seats kill me. As far as I know, people aren't making too much fun of me, but with the wind whistling through my helmet, I can't always hear if people behind me are laughing. Just as long as I can walk normally when I'm done riding, I really don't care.

I have a 30 year old Ideal leather saddle from my PX10 - best saddle I have ever ridden.

I have one of those gel covers that go over a regular saddle that works well for comfort and then can be removed whenever you want to use just a firmer saddle.

Three years and 5,000 on my first gel saddle and it was fine when I sold it. Only problem was a cut along the edge where it hit the ground when I let the bike tip over.

Not too sure about that Psycle Man, though. Maybe it should be Psycho Man.

You know, I haven't really paid that much attention to my saddle. I bought it with this bike (16,500km ago), and it still seems OK.

Has anyone ever kept the saddle when they sold the bike ?
I hang on to any saddle which I find comfortable. If Im going to hire a bike somewhere, I usually take my own saddle.
I have one old 2nd hand Specialized saddle and a Brooks which I like, and a Rolls which I dont like.

I recently ditched a Serfas RX that just killed me on longer rifes. My new LBS (I switched to one a little further away) put me on a WTB Speed V; which I haven't had the opportunity to do a long ride on. I have yet to buy one for my new bike; and I really don't know which way to jump.

Well, my Brooks Team Professional is the newest saddle I own, being made probably within the last 4 years or so. My B17N is likely 25 years old, my B66 is about 30 years old, and my B72 is almost 40.

2 months old.

So, how old is it and is it still in good shape?

My original narrow leather saddle on my bike(mid 80's Fuji)came unloose from its hinges on a tour last June luckily soon after I was able to scavenge a wider/softer mountain bike seat off a bike abandoned along the road I still use even though I repaired my original saddle(it does still have a few tears though). I also now use a gel seat cover I found along the road in the Keys on a july tour last year so I guess I don't have a lot invested in my seatware lol.The gel seatcover was in bad shape as far as the nylon cover which I've sewn a few rips up in but the gel is very thick and effective.I use thick gel pants and seatcover more to prevent numbness (which I find this combination effective for)than actual comfort though as I found that my rear will soon adapt to any firmness of seat so that is not really an issue to me.It still seems very soft to me in any event I think they are as cheap as $15 or so.

a friend of mine gave me his old selle and it is beat up, 15,000+ miles on it and comfy.

mine is 9 years old, I am using a Flite Transalps, I love it,

In response to the original post, the gel looses some of it's cushioning effect after 1 season for me (I'm not heavy at all).

Most saddles last me 2 seasons before the cushioning compresses too much. But I get saddles a bit more often than that.

1972 Brooks Pro: very comfortable after 45K miles / 72K km
early 1970s Brooks Competition: likewise, after ??? miles / km
1990 Serfas ARC: no degradation over a few K mi / 10 years
1990 Marin-branded padded narrow saddle: pain in the prostate!

I'm not a big fan of full gel saddles after having had one of the early Vetta gel saddles go sour on me. However, I've been pretty happy with the Selle Italia Genuine Gel. I have Flites in that version on my bikes and they've been pretty comfortable. My oldest one is about 5 years old and has around 12,000 miles on it.

I bought an Avocet saddle in 1982. It has a buffalo hide and was one of the first to offer bumps for one's ischial tuberosities (sit-down bones). I fell with it about 1990 so the saddle lists to one side, but I rode it until 2002 on my primary road bike. Now it is on my wind trainer bike.

I have a saddle from 1910 and it even has the date stamped into it.

I don't ride it, but it looks comfortable. The springs look like they could have been used as suspension for an old covered wagon- huge monster springs that are about 3 inches long and about 1.5" diameter.

It has a metal frame covered with felted horse-hair which is then covered in smooth leather.

I guess in the old days, the roads were just terrible so the saddles had to take up a lot of the abuse so as not to put it into the spine of the rider.

Ugh.... old enough.