John, I own and have ridden B17's, a Rivet Pearl Ti and an first-year-of-production SA. They are quite different, and for me suit different purposes .
The Rivet is narrow through the waist and nose, which eliminates a lot of thigh rub, but also makes it ride like a narrower saddle than the others though they measure the same at the widest point. For me, that was great for my road/sport bike with bars a bit below the saddle, but doesn't work for me at all on a bike with something like Albatross bars and an upright position. I rode the Pearl happily for several years though I'm trying something very different right now on the road bike (an SMP). On the road bike the wider nose of a B17 gets in my way, but sitting more upright that becomes less of a problem. I have one on my Clem (actually a Flyer at the moment) and it's pretty comfortable there. I also slot the center of my Brookses and lace the skirts in tight, I can't ride one unmodified. As delivered the SA was horrible for thigh rub, so it didn't take long for me to drill and lace mine. It's made to fit like a hammock, so I can't ride it at all on the road bike, too much nose pressure. Sitting very upright it became very comfortable for me. The leather stretched a lot but finally stabilized. Unfortunately I set it too far back on a seatpost with a short clamp, and the result was bent rails. After bending the rails back twice I have now retired the saddle. The are supposed to have improved the rails since mine was made, I can't vouch for that personally. So, IMO, choose carefully based on your use and position on the bike - forward lean and pelvis rolled forward => Rivet, upright => SA. Either way don't be afraid to carve or lace to suit. Bill Stockton, CA On Monday, December 5, 2016 at 8:46:51 AM UTC-8, Surlyprof wrote: > > Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I'm glad I asked. Between the > lukewarm to bad reports on the SA and the glowing reviews I found in > previous posts about Rivet, I think I'll hold off and spend the extra money > for the Rivet. I was leaning that way anyway since I had met the woman who > runs Rivet at NAHBS and she was really great. The whole company seemed > similar to Riv in their values. Guess I should have followed that instinct > instead of getting cheap about something so crucial to a positive biking > experience. Get what you pay for and all that... > > Thanks again. > John > > On Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 10:22:48 PM UTC-8, Surlyprof wrote: >> >> I received an email from Selle Anatomica that all their saddles were on >> sale for $99 during the holidays. I had thought about the X-series in the >> past to replace my B17. The goal was to get a saddle with a cutout. >> Others I had been considering were the Brooks C17 Carved and the Rivet >> Pearl. I like the Rivet and don't know much about the C17 carved but was >> wondering if the SA was worth trying while it is $50-60 less. I've read >> people raving about the Rivet saddles here but also thought I remember some >> people complaining about the SA saddles sagging pretty quickly. Any >> thoughts comparing these 3 choices? >> >> Thanks, >> John >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
