On 12/08/2016 10:48 PM, Bill in Roswell GA wrote:
I find it a bit funny that we never hear about the Berthoud saddles any more. I guess most folks realized that a Brooks/Rivet/SA is more comfortable for most people. However, even a used Berthoud goes for not much less than near new price. Would be interesting to try one as I tend to like saddles a bit on the firm side.
Well, let's correct that. A few years ago B.17s and Team Pro's stopped working for me. I'd tried a Berthoud Aspin and found it worked, and did some unsuccessful experimentation with Rivet & SA. I tried the Rivet Pearl & Independence, and neither worked for me. I bought a used SA from a friend, tried it and found it OK for a 30 mile ride, but then obtained a new one and found it bloody horrible: sharp edges at the sides of the saddle really cut into my thighs. Over the course of the next three years ended up switching all six bikes to Berthoud saddles, 5 Aspins and one Aravis. In many ways the Berthoud is a big improvement over the Brooks design. The leather is better - thicker and more consistent, tensioning is much easier - allen key fitting rather than a made-on nut requiring a special S-bend wrench, and the made-on bag attachments - moulded in eyelets and a Klickfix mount - are vastly superior to Brooks' metal loops (or nothing). It takes longer to break in an Aspin than a B.17 because the leather is much thicker and firmer. Unlike SAs, Berthouds don't stretch much - at least, not the regular unbutchered ones; I haven't tried the newly introduced slotted models.
Regarding slotted saddles: they don't always work for everyone. On that broken-in SA I never even noticed a slot was there. Another friend tried that same saddle when it was on a bike, before I bought it and was inspired to buy a new one; by the time we got to the 30 mile mark on a 50 mile ride she was in such pain she bought a roll of duct tape to tape the slot over. It was acting like a lobster claw, pinching her on both sides of the area slots are intended to protect.
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