Re: [RBW] Brooks Swift vs Berthoud Aspin

[Mike Rossi]

I have a couple of Swift’s and a Aspin. The Berthoud is currently on my Susie, and when I sit the Swift on top of it, the shape is almost identical with the Swift being ever so slightly more narrow. It may be that the leather sticks out on the Aspin just a bit more than the Swift. Like a millimeter. I ride both of them the same way I would a B17. With the nose up and the back end level with the ground. The nose on the Swift is also a little bit more narrow. Again, like by a millimeter. Unfortunately, I can’t give much more details to the differences as far as comfort. They’re both comfortable to me. I’m thinking that with the Swift you wouldn’t feel the leather, as much, on your inner thighs as you peddle as you would with the Aspin. Or something like that. Mike On Mar 25, 2026, at 5:19 PM, Patch T <ptrof...@gmail.com> wrote: Agree with Ben - Aspin/Aravis is more like a Team Pro that has had the sides cut to be shorter (have one of those, too). On Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 11:53:50 AM UTC-7 Ben Miller wrote: Never ridden a Swift, but wanted to chime in and reinforce what Patch said; by my eye the Swift is much narrower and closer to a Berthoud Galibier than an Aspin/Avaris. I have a mix of B17's, Brook's Team Pros, and Aspin/Avaris in my stable. I feel like the Team Pro's are closest in fit to the Aspin/Avaris. As far as leather thickness goes, it's sort of hard to measure, due to the natural variations and stretching during forming, but the Berthoud's do appear to be a bit thicker than the Brook's, something like 5+ mm for the Brooks vs 5.5 mm for the Berthoud's.* I didn't notice much variation between the Brook's models. Personally, I've never had much of an issue with sagging saddles, but maybe that extra 10% thickness might help if you do. I mostly prefer the look of Brook's saddles over Berthoud, but Berthoud has definitely improved upon the Brooks design and created an even more perfect saddle. But I think both are great.  Anyways, my suggestion is if you find the Berthoud Aspin to be too pricey, try a Team Pro. *I'd be interested if others can confirm this approximate measurement! It was a rough approximation based upon 3 Berthoud's and 5 or 6 Brooks. On Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at 3:35:49 PM UTC-7 Patch T wrote: Hiya! I have both (a Ti Swift and an Aravis) and really love them both. I use both with drop bars set one to a few cm below my saddle. I tend to reach for my Aravis for longer rides. It just feels like there is more there to support my tush. The Ti Swift (which is lighter by some grams FYI) is used for shorter rides with harder efforts. It feels less chunky, more narrow. Still comfortable. They feel different but I love them both. B17s remain mainly on my sweepy bar-ed bikes. Patch in Oakland. On Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at 6:04:27 AM UTC-7 jtlu...@gmail.com wrote: Thanks for the replies, all! Does anyone have experience with the Brook Swift? And any comparison of the Swift vs Aspin? -- 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 view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/4926b120-eeea-4b53-866d-be21300c5f09n%40googlegroups.com. -- 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 view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/E2C0B5E4-391A-4075-AF83-95EFC81267CC%40gmail.com.