I've used various leather saddles with generally good results. However, the non-leather stock saddle that came on my Specialized Venge is surprisingly comfortable. I don't see a model name on it right offhand.

That is interesting. Thanks for sharing that info. I didn't even know I had a pubic rami. I suspect the angle of mine doesn't mesh well with Brooks.

WTB Rocket works for me.

Thread has gone away from mentioning other thick leather, suspended,
between nose and rear metal frame rivets .. brands.

to a type, with thin leather stretched over foam rubber , on a nylon base , with metal rails added ..

On my 1988 tour of Europe, I rode a San Marco Concor Max, then ..
they went into a manufacturer discontinued category , long ago...




... still have it.. though I went over to a Brooks Team Pro for my other tours ...




...

Brooks haven't fit me, Currently an SQLabs 610 Active & a Terry Liberator Gel are working OK but not perfect. Ideally one could try a lot of different saddles but that can get expensive.

People riding the Pacific Coast route , When they got here , bought another saddle
either new or found one in the 'Take off' box, that they liked better,
at least for another 150 miles to the next bike shop, to try something else..
[no feedback comments, offered]

One woman, looked like she started her tour on a brand new B17, from the looks of it,
and not one well ridden in before starting..

I had been using my team pro for 10 years,
before I got to go touring, long days, over weeks..





....

I am interested in this saddle. Do you use the ST Core?

I have not found that leather saddles are in the majority even in the touring community. At least that has been the case among the folks I have met on tour. Personally I am not a leather saddle fan. If you like them great, but don't think that you need to go that route because that is what touring riders do.

I have generally been okay with the saddles that came with my bikes and have gone coast to coast on a couple of them, but my favorite is the WTB Volt Race 142. I have them on a couple of my bikes and they work well for me. You may well prefer something else, but I Ill suggest that in the beginning it often has more to do with getting your bottom acclimated to the saddle than anything else.

I take my C15 every time I travel. I never have to think about the weather.

I've ridden my '75 Fuji S-10S's original hard leather 'Brooks-clone' Fujita Belt saddle for over 55K miles in the past 40+years. It has never been an issue. Yes, the saddle and my butt have to come to some sort of understanding, but (no pun intended) that takes several hundred miles at the start of EVERY riding season. Yeah, I get flabby and out-of-shape in the off-season, and my sit bones notice, too!

But (there's that word again), once we - meaning my hard leather saddle and I - come to an agreement, I never get 'saddle-sore' for the rest of the year. Is it because it is an 'ass-hatchet'? No. I've tried to ride hard plastic- or plastic-backed saddles and we've (my butt and saddle) have never broken in to each other like a suspended leather saddle like a Brooks (or clone) can.

You've got to give a leather saddle the 'seat time' to break in to your own personal physiology.

Yeah, the 'problem' with a leather saddle is having it get wet.. Initially, getting it wet while riding on it helps with the break-in process by allowing it to form to your individual sit-bones/fit. After that, treat it with a good penetrating silicone treatment on both top- and undersides and you'll be good for years with seasonal periodic re-treatments. I've had mine for 44+ years now, that alone should tell you something!

Have you tried this? https://www.interlocracing.com/shop/...earch=seatpost

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I know you asked about leather but I'm going to follow up with a recommendation to try a non leather saddle. I built a carbon gravel bike last year as a "fun" bike and to keep it light opted to not put a Brooks on it. I was able to get a Fabric Scoop Shallow Pro on clearance from REI with the assumption that if I didn't like it I could return it. 2500 miles and almost a year later I have to say I think it's more comfortable than the Brooks though it doesn't have the classic Brooks look. FWIW, I have 3 bikes... Touring 1, upright, Brooks Flyer; Touring 2, drop bar, C17; Gravel, Fabric Scoop Shallow. Of the 3 the Fabric is my favorite.

As an FYI if you consider Fabric saddles use their site as a guide to pick the right saddle. Shallow's work best for me.
https://fabric.cc/findyourfit/

You guys do know you're responding to a 15-month-old thread, right?

Some questions are timeless!!! But seriously.. :lol::lol::eek:

THEN we get into the fact that Brooks makes several different sizes/shapes/styles of saddles... B-15, B-17, B-17N, Professional, etc... Differing in nose width, nose length, sit-bone area width, spring-suspension, cut-outs,... Despite all being suspended leather, they all feel different.

...and then we get to the cambium saddles.

All from just ONE manufacturer, Brooks.

I believe most saddle makers have multiple sizes and shapes.... Over the years I've come to the conclusion that Brooks are nice but they certainly aren't the end all. I'm a bit more comfy on my Fabric than I am on my Brooks and I don't worry about weather or fading dye, maybe I have a really sweaty a$$ but my charcoal C17 is now tan. Whether it's on a Brooks or Fabric I can comfortably ride all day without spandex or padded shorts. In hind sight I really wish I would have tried a Fabric saddle earlier but fear of discomfort coupled with the high cost of a decent saddle that could not be returned dissuaded me from branching out.

My original C17 went from black to light grey in what I thought was surprisingly short amount of time. They now have the Cambium "all weather" line, which is what I thought the point of the original Cambium line was, but it sure hasn't retained its looks. Still comfortable, though. So comfy that I moved it to my spare bike and put an "all weather" Cambium on my commuter/tourer. We'll see if it holds up better. It does seem a little stiffer, or at least did at first. Maybe that's the material. Maybe that's because it was newer. Either way, I don't notice it now after sitting on it for 6 months.

When I was in college (a long, long time ago), I bought an Ideale 90 from a friend of mine. I used it for a summer-long tour and it was extremely comfortable. I'm not sure what ever happened to it but I wish I still had it. Of course, it may have fossilized by now...

Love their polished stainless mudguards but have yet to see one of their saddles in the flesh........

Well whatever Paul bought should be either about broken in by now or mouldering on the compost heap