I have been using b.17s for while, but got frustrated when I burnt through my last one in 7 months and went ahead and purchased a Berthoud touring saddle. I have only been using it for 2 months now but so far so good. It is a little narrower than a b.17 but not in a bad way. Still has enough room accommodate my sitbones. The shape seems perfect for me. The craftsmanship is stunning compared to Brooks. Compared to the now incredibly saggy brooks it does feel a lot firmer. I did ride a 200k permanent within a few weeks of owning it and toward the end I did have to ride out of the saddle occasionally to give my slightly protesting sitbones some relief. It was not agonizing and only started setting in during the last few miles but was noticeable and distracting nevertheless. (Still significantly better than having the metal frame of the b.17 dig into me though.). So far the Berthoud is perfect for up to a 100 miles and I expect it to get even more comfortable as the saddle and I get more used to eachother. I purchased mine from Rene Herse Bicycles who lets you try the saddle for 60 days and return it if you don't like it. I suggest you give it try.
Best, Clayton Scott SF, CA On Fri, Jan 7, 2011 at 9:29 AM, JoelMatthews <joelmatth...@mac.com> wrote: > > I had an Ideale when it was new and it wasn't as comfortable and didn't > > work as well as a B.17. It was one of those with the integral wide > > aluminum rails and the built-in micro-adjusting clamp. > > My favorite Ideales are the 4 and 6 (the lightly sprung city > saddles). I think the aluminum frame Ideale used made for a more > comfortable spring base than the heavier Brooks. > > Unfortunately, the leather is somewhat thin on them and they tend to > need frequent tightening. Wonder if Berthoud will ever try and copy > that model? > > On Jan 7, 10:29 am, Steve Palincsar <palin...@his.com> wrote: > > On Fri, 2011-01-07 at 08:12 -0800, JoelMatthews wrote: > > > Unless you have an Ideale that has been well maintained - or stored in > > > optimal conditions - it is not going to be as comfortable, work as > > > well, or last as long as a modern Brooks or Berthoud. > > > > I had an Ideale when it was new and it wasn't as comfortable and didn't > > work as well as a B.17. It was one of those with the integral wide > > aluminum rails and the built-in micro-adjusting clamp. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<rbw-owners-bunch%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
