kidadam

Heya, I’m thinking I may replace my saddle (it’s the original) with something new. Maybe a brooks team Chrome.

What are you using?

joesch

Brooks would be good choice even Cambium natural.
I would also consider San Selle Marco Rolls or Concor.

steelbikeguy

There are a variety of options, I imagine.
I used to use Turbo saddles, but had issues with sores once I started riding a lot of miles. As a result, I went back to Brooks saddles, as they flex and reduce the peak pressure on the sit bones.
The Brooks Pro or the Swift are my preference for a riding position suited for going fast. The Swallow is probably excellent too, but I don't have any experience with it.
The titanium Swift is the lightest and most flexible of my two suggestions. A bit pricey, IIRC.
Here's my Raleigh Team with a honey Swift (a black saddle would look better, I think).



Steve in Peoria

Unca_Sam

IMO, comfort trumps period correctness for saddles. If this is a favorite rider, put whatever you are most comfortable riding on and keep the original for pictures. 😉

If you are unhappy with the current saddle's cosmetic condition, selle italia makes a turbo reproduction saddle new.

Salamandrine 

Prioritize comfort. I'd go with a Turbo. I've ridden a gazillion miles on those and the earlier related RS and I prefer them to any modern saddle I've yet tried.

Brooks Pro, sure if those work for you. Have you ever ridden one? I mostly ride Brooks these days, but really only B17's work for me. A Brooks Pro is pretty T shaped and narrow in comparison.

What's on there now, is that a Concor? Saggy old Turbo maybe? Can't quite tell. Concors don't fit me at all. I can't be the only one.

AFA the fashion police, leather saddles were really out of favor during this time. Not particularly period correct. I do remember one rich middle aged lawyer in our local bike club/scene who stuck with the Team Pro through the 80s, but he was the only one. A young racer would not have been caught dead with that old fashioned stuff.

rootboy 

Yeah. A Brooks Team Pro. If you can find an older one in great shape, all the better.

3alarmer 

.
...personally, I wouldn't change that saddle. I use those a lot on 80's bikes. The Brooks saddles are fine, too, but the ones I have here are heavier by a substantial amount. On 70's stuff, I end to use Brooks leather Pro's and old rehabilitated French saddles when I can come up with them. A few of the Cinelli Unicanitor have popped up over the years, and those are great for me as well. Maybe I'm just not picky.

John E

I am an admitted Brooks bigot (two Team Pros, one regular Pro, one Swallow coming up, plus an Ideale), but you have to use what works best for you, particularly on a long ride.

SJX426 

Most of mine are Brooks Pro on any vintage I have. I tried Flite Ti, of which I have two, black and white. They are fine for up to 30 miles. I don't know the limit on a Brooks. One Brooks is a Swallow, which is comfortable from the get go for me. I can't tell the difference from the Pro. Looks faster.
Tried a Concor and it is only good for a couple of miles. It is white and might go on the FS forum at some point in time. Also have a white Brooks Pro. Have no idea where that came from. Found it in a Brooks box on the shelf. Quite a surprise.

If I had unlimited funds, more Swallows. Tired the Swift, it didn't work for me for some reason. Traded it for the Swallow.
P1030593, on Flickr
1983 Colnago Superissimo, on Flickr

randyjawa 

If the saddle on the OP's bike is a Mundatilia, then he or she already has the best saddle made, in my butt's opinion (not meant to offed, the saddle is super comfortable and suits the appearance of the bike). My high mileage bike is in Jamaica and is fitted with this. If I can find another one, in really good shape, I will install it on my Marinoni.

due ruote 

Very subjective. The two I like are Concor and Flite. (Also Concor Light, which looks like a cross between those two.)
Is the current saddle uncomfortable? If not, I wouldn’t fix what’s not broken.

kidadam

It ain't great but the entire bike isn't exactly floating on a cloud either.

Unca_Sam

Try dropping tire pressure a little.

Dfrost 

I’ve been ecstatically happy with this Gilles Berthoud Aravis on my Marinoni for over 11,000 miles. To my rear end, it is a noticeable improvement over the many Brooks I’ve used (multiple examples of Team Pro, B-17 and Swift). That dimple in the second shot is my asymmetry, and the reason that I’m only comfortable on leather saddles. I like it so much that a black example now graces my other bike, replacing a Rivet Independence. This “Natural” model broke in faster than the black one.

New:


Five happy years later:

RobbieTunes

I use solid carbon or Prologo.
No matter the bike, it's whatever suits your needs and your butt can handle.

davester

The first question that should be asked is "what kind of riding do you do?" If all your rides are short (i.e. <20 miles) then comfort is far less important than if you're knocking out half or full centuries every weekend. Are you a racing, always in the drops rider? If so, you want something like a Unicanitor or Brooks Pro that is made for that position. Do you mostly ride fairly upright with your hands on the flats or hoods? If so then you should gravitate towards a saddle designed for that position like the Brooks B-17 and its many imitators. There's also the question of whether you need a cutout (e.g. Brooks Imperial models) that will help mitigate numbness after long hours in the saddle. I've used Brooks as a default here but there are many alternatives such as Selle Anatomica, Rivet, Berthoud, etc that have a similar range of saddles to fit different riding styles.

Salamandrine 

I know it's the Brooks party line now, but IME this whole B17 is for upright and Brooks Pro is for the drops thing is overblown. I'm a more in the drops rider than average, and I still prefer a B17. I only ever tried a Pro because of it supposedly being better for a more racing position. Therefore, IME it depends. Besides, for many decades before the Pro was invented, the B17 was used as a racing saddle by people in the drops.

kidadam

Interesting, I have owned a B17 for over ten years and love it. It’s been on two bikes, the current one being a long haul trucker.

iab

Brooks. meh. How about a cheap Italian knockoff for a Canadian bike with an Italian name?

Milano Saddle 3 by iabisdb, on Flickr
Milano Saddle 1 by iabisdb, on Flickr


Italia Saddle 2 by iabisdb, on Flickr


FISEA 002 by iabisdb, on Flickr


Record 01 by iabisdb, on Flickr


Scambio 105 by iabisdb, on Flickr
Scambio 103 by iabisdb, on Flickr

Bad Lag

Get it re-covered.

randyjawa 

Lucky me snapped up this old Marinoni a week or two ago. Thinking the bike was too small, I bought it to flip. I was thrilled to discover that the bike was/is a perfect fit. This one might be a keeper. Anyway, I find the saddle to be very comfortable and have decided to go with it for the balance of this season...

merziac

Beautiful!

Another Vote for Brooks, I have at least a dozen, B-17, B-17S, Pro's, old, new, Imperial, Cambium, regular, cutout and carbon.

Love em, they all work for me, new out of the box to 35+ years old.

The classic look is the key for me, I'm sure I could ride other's but can't imagine doing so.

Classic old school lugged steel from one of the best, DT shifters, plenty of Campy including 2 bolt SP, no way a Brooks doesn't belong here.

bikingshearer 

I have a San Marco Rolls on all my bike (most are Titanios) because I find them comfortable. I also think they look great. I have done some riding on an old Brooks Pro and liked it, too. I once rode a Selle Italia Flite and it worked for me, too. A couple friends loved their San Marco Regals. but they have a flatter profile than the Rolls that I don't care for.

Everybody's butt is different, and one person's little bit o' heaven is another person's medieval torture device. I have yet to hear of a reliable way to measure something and get a reliable predictor of saddle comfort. This is, unfortunately, largely a trial-and-error thing. And when you find one that works for you, buy a lifetime supply because a corollary of Murphy's Law holds that the supply of any classic bike part you like will completely dry up as if by magic precisely when you need to replace it.

kidadam

So my local bike shop gave me a demo brooks c15.

it looks pretty smart and is hella easy to install vs the spanner way but I gotta say the feel is very similar to the old turbo saddle. and surprisingly the turbo is a lot smaller.

Not sure what to do but will ride it for a week or more before deciding. I thought the Swift and Team were both great looking seats but obviously no demos.

kidadam

I bought the demo for 100 CAD. It's easier to keep and is suited better for longer rides. The new bar tape is wearing well and will match the saddle.

From what I can tell these demo saddles are very early in the manufacturing and the colour combo, size and craved option is quite rare. At least it seems to me. I like it a lot.