Gilles Berthoud saddles

[tatanab]

I thought the dimples were good, providing sit bones support, and are the point of having a leather saddle, conforming to your body?

The GB site says that the leather is pre softened, so maybe it returns to shape, I really do not know. Apart from 20 years in the middle I have been using leather saddles since the 1960s and I do not recall any developing much in the way of a dimpled shape. Perhaps it is just me and the way I ride - weight distribution etc. Who knows - just my personal experience. As they say YMMV.

[Brucey]

BTW the disc may stop the nose from twisting, but only if the rails themselves are tightly clamped by the seat post. If the rails can twist in the seat pin clamp, then the saddle can end up doing all sorts of weird things, in principle. Like I said before, I don't know exactly how likely this is to happen in practice.

cheers

[pwa]

My GB saddle has slight dimples. Hardly depressions at all really, just two patches where the leather has tiny lines / wrinkles indicating that it deforms when it is sat on. You can only see it when you look close.

[tatanab]

My GB saddle has slight dimples. Hardly depressions at all really, just two patches where the leather has tiny lines / wrinkles indicating that it deforms when it is sat on. You can only see it when you look close.

True. All of mine are like that. Little wrinkles, stretch marks if you like, mainly spreading from the centre line in my case rather than the area where sit bones might be.

[andrew_s]

because the rails are not rigidly connected to one another.

Which reminds me that I did pull the top off the rails once, lifting the loaded bike by the back of the saddle, as was my habit when using a Brooks.
The back end of the rails just slot into a socket in the plastic backplate, maybe 8 mm deep. It slotted back OK, but I had to back the nose tension bolt right off, and retension afterwards.
I'm still trying to un-learn the habit of shifting the bike by the saddle.

[iow]

aspin for me - fed up with declining B17 quality - 7500 miles so far and 2 moderate dimples. won't be going back to brooks...
GB are a pleasure to deal with - my aspin arrived without the disc, an email to GB met with a quick response confirming one was in the post (although it's never been fitted as twisting hasn't been an issue in the VO seat post).

[mjr]

I thought the dimples were good, providing sit bones support, and are the point of having a leather saddle, conforming to your body?

The GB site says that the leather is pre softened, so maybe it returns to shape, I really do not know. Apart from 20 years in the middle I have been using leather saddles since the 1960s and I do not recall any developing much in the way of a dimpled shape. Perhaps it is just me and the way I ride - weight distribution etc. Who knows - just my personal experience. As they say YMMV.

My Brooks Flyer developed definite dimples and was slightly less comfortable from that point on IMO. I think that might be because it increased pressure on the area around the sit bones as a result. It was removed from a bike because the spring squeak was obscuring another sound I was trying to track down and it's not yet found a new occupation.

[Rob Archer]

Picked up my new Surly Disc Trucker from Spa Cycles yesterday (awesome bike!) complete with GB Aspin saddle. It's excellent. Beautifully finished and quite comfortable from the off - even without padded shorts. One more question - as with all leather saddles it needs 'feeding'. Do I have to use GB's own stuff or will Brooks Proofide work just as well (I already have a couple of tins).

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my GT-S7275R using hovercraft full of eels.

[tatanab]

From the GB website

Once a year put some special leather grease around the rivets Don't stretch it to much , it is not good for the leather. If your saddle is full of water, insert on the underside some news paper sheets it will absorb the water. Do this again two or three times until the paper is dry. After that, put special leather grease inside the saddle Please, NEVER use oil for a pre soft saddle

I don't worry whether I pick up the Brooks Proofide or the GB stuff, so have used both. Just a little bit every now and again all over the upper and then wipe off within minutes.

[fossala]

From the GB website

Once a year put some special leather grease around the rivets Don't stretch it to much , it is not good for the leather. If your saddle is full of water, insert on the underside some news paper sheets it will absorb the water. Do this again two or three times until the paper is dry. After that, put special leather grease inside the saddle Please, NEVER use oil for a pre soft saddle

I don't worry whether I pick up the Brooks Proofide or the GB stuff, so have used both. Just a little bit every now and again all over the upper and then wipe off within minutes.

I've always wiped mine of the next morning once it has gone dull as I figured it goes dull when all the oils/moisture soaks into the leather. If you wipe it off right away surly not a lot is actually conditioning the saddle.

[tatanab]

If you wipe it off right away surly not a lot is actually conditioning the saddle.

I don't fret too much. Perhaps it is like the fancy leather cream you can use instead of polish on your best shoes, the instructions for which say to buff off straight away.

[reohn2]

I've found the best way is to get the saddle warm by either leaving the in the sun or heating the saddle with a hairdrier,then applying the proofhide or as I use,Nikwax.
Then back on with the heat treatment a bit,this almost liquifies the leather treatment and aids it soaking into the leather.
I then let it dry,overnight if necessary,before buffing off to a shine

[JohnW]

I can endorse, from experience, the comments made above about Brooks saddles from about 1995.

My question - do the GB saddles have greater back-to-front positioning adjustment than the Brooks. This is an increasing problem with Brooks and steep seat angles - and I've fallen foul of it once.

Correction 9th October - spelling mistake.

[tatanab]

My question - do the GB saddles have greater back-to-front positioning adjustment than the Brooks.

From memory of early GB website info the answer is yes. It does not affect me even with a modern frame because my default position is to push the saddle back almost as far as it will go. I'm not greatly sensitive to fore and aft saddle position. Most of my frames are probably 72 degrees, the steepest one (I have the drawing) is 75 degrees.

[JohnW]

My question - do the GB saddles have greater back-to-front positioning adjustment than the Brooks.

From memory of early GB website info the answer is yes. It does not affect me even with a modern frame because my default position is to push the saddle back almost as far as it will go. I'm not greatly sensitive to fore and aft saddle position. Most of my frames are probably 72 degrees, the steepest one (I have the drawing) is 75 degrees.

Thanks tantab. My problem (in this respect, anyway ) is that my upper leg is disproportionally longer than my lower leg. I didn't know this until following a prang about 10 years ago the specialist at the hospital, in checking for any permanent damage, noticed it. (It doesn't show !) It had never been an issue until I got a frame with 74º seat angle and I couldn't get the saddle right. I have a Spa saddle on that bike, and it solves the problem, but I'm still considering options.