EdgewaterDude

Hi everybody - I had a hard time finding any reviews for this saddle, and only saw a handful of other reviews for other Berthoud saddles, so I thought that I might post a few thoughts here.

So, my Brooks B-17 must have been a dud, as it got fairly softened up pretty quickly. My other buddies have B-17s too, and theirs were still fairly stiff aside from the usual 'dimples' left by sit bones. Even though mine had not seen rain, it seemed to get that 'old baseball glove' feel pretty quickly. This is no big deal, except that with this softness, I was starting to develop a sag of some sort. Mind you, I only weight about 170 lbs.

Deciding that I had enough of that and some piqued interest in other leather saddles, I decided to try one of these newly released Mente saddles by Berthoud. Box Dog Bikes seemed to have the best price on the internet, so I went ahead and placed an order with them. My choice in the Mente was due in part to a) the widest saddle they have, and most comparable to a B-17, and b) the least cost prohibitive @ $150. While I'm sure the Aspin saddle is very nice (and boy, do I think that cork finish is pretty) I have a pretty large aversion to dropping $250 on a saddle.

I placed an order with BDB on a Friday morning. By Monday afternoon, it showed up on my doorstep in Chicago. You can imagine my surprise that a measly five bucks in shipping got this saddle from San Francisco to Chicago in less than 72 hours. Thanks USPS, but this might be one of the reasons you're losing money - your competition would charge a whole lot more to get my stuff this quickly.

I was quite surprised when ogling the saddle. The cut of leather truly is thick. I'm sure every leather saddle manufacturer claims to have substantial and thick leather, but Berthoud clearly brings out their best. I imagine that these would probably be most comparable to Brooks' select line up. On the site, they say that these are 'pre softened' but you'd be hard pressed to see that, as these are hard as a rock right out of the box. The site also says that these are water proofed, which I could see being possible, as there is a waxy feel to the saddle when touched.

From the underside, one can see the frame and how its design suspends the leather on which we sit. In reading other comments and critiques of this saddle, people have said that they are appalled by the use of something other than metal to hold the saddle's shape. Truly, I am not worried at all, as the cantle plate seems to be very well made and very sturdy. And really, unless you're looking at the saddle from underneath, you don't really catch a glimpse of any plastic, aside from the bag loops.

As with Brooks saddles, potential customers must be mindful of the rail length. Berthoud's description says that the rails are longer, but they are just about the same size. So, people looking for a lot of set back should take note. Other interesting bits - the rivets are set further away from the rider's behind, so as not to ride on them. I never had an issue with this on my B-17, but I appreciate the design effort that they put into this.

Interestingly, it seems like there is less of a 'banana' shape to the Berthoud saddles compared to a Brooks B-17. I am able to set my Berthoud nearly parallel, compared with a nose-up position on the brooks.

Overall, I'm very happy thus far. It's only been a little over 100 miles that I've put on it, but it's been very comfortable thus far. On with the pictures!

mfredrickson

Do you still have a B-17 that you could place in the same frame? Thanks.

EdgewaterDude

As in, a side by side comparison? I had been meaning to do that, but hastily put the Berthoud on. I sold the Brooks on craigslist within a few hours. Sorry!

Six jours

Thanks for the review. I have been considering Berthoud saddles for several years but have not yet tried it. If you ever find the time, I would enjoy seeing it pictured from the side, showing the amount of banana/hammock.

EdgewaterDude

This is the closest I have, from my flikr account. Hopefully the link works!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/5527217...in/photostream

Six jours

That's great, specially with the horizontal lines in the background. Thanks again!

Coluber42

I'd kind of like to try the Berthoud saddles out of my own curiosity, although since I have a saddle I like I haven't wanted to spend the $$$ just to try it. But actually one of the reasons I'm more interested in it is that the plate in back is plastic instead of metal, and that the rivets are rotated away. I tried a couple of different models of leather saddles, since my partner likes them, and my biggest objection was that since I tend to move forward and back a lot on different terrain, I end up spending some of the time basically sitting on a metal rail, which is needless to say not especially comfortable. Obviously I understand why there has to be something rigid supporting the back of the leather, bbut I can see where plastic might be an improvement in that regard. On general principle I also appreciate that the "rivets" are actually screws, and that the leather is easily replaceable if necessary.

Thanks for your review, though!

HEH3RD

Howdy Mr. EdgewaterDude. After 4 years do you still have the Berthoud Mente saddle and are you still happy with it? Have you done any long rides with the saddle (over 50 miles)? I'm looking at the Aspin vs Mente. Given my seatbone width (120mm) I'm wondering if the Aspin may be a bit too narrow given that I ride pretty upright bikepacking style for long tours. Thanks - Herb

EdgewaterDude

Hi Herb,

About 2 years ago, I sold the saddle and bike to move on to more of an endurance/road bike for my randos/brevets. So that was about 2 years and probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 2500 miles with all the commuting, centuries and brevets I rode on that saddle.

So yes, this saddle broke in slowly, but nicely for brevets. I'm no sadist, so the longest I do is a 300K. Surprisingly, after 12-13 hours in the saddle, my butt always felt fine. I think for an upright rider such as yourself, you'd be fine with it. Just be aware that the break in was a long game on mine.

IK_biker

I have been riding an Aravis (same as Aspin save for the rails material) for close to half an year, about 1.5k miles, and would advise you to look elsewhere.
My sitbones are @ 97 mm width, and the saddle is very comfortable, but I don't believe that it would fit anyone with width above 110 mm.

HEH3RD

Thanks for the info!

HEH3RD

After nine months riding I would say this saddle may be the one! I can ride hours w/o padded dainties with this one with no chafing. The shape works better for my bum than either the Brooks or Rivet and various synthetics of similar shape that I've tried in the past.

kingston 

I've been using a Berthoud Aspin on my brevet bike since 2016 , so my guess is that it has around 3-4,000 km on it. I had the bike up on the stand after a brevet on Saturday. The saddle looked crooked, so I pulled it off and removed the leather and sure enough the frame is slightly crooked. I have never crashed the bike so I assume it must be from my uneven pedaling motion. I think my left leg is a bit longer than my right. I know my shorts wear differently on the left than the right. Other than the slightly bent frame I really like the saddle. I have an Aravis on my townie so I'm just going to swap frames. It's just a little tweaked so not bad enough to throw away. Curious about any other long-term experiences now that the Berthoud saddles have been out for a while.

HEH3RD

My Mente appears straight. Just purchased the Aspin for my 75 Schwinn Paramount but it is not broken in. Unless rails are bent, perhaps the rear nylon brace is slightly pulled away from one of the rails? I'm always catching myself wanting to lift the bike by the rear of the saddle and I've read that the brace can pull away from the rails doing so.

kingston 

I'm not sure how it happened, but I think one of the rails is bent. I pulled the whole thing apart, and couldn't get it to straighten out.