any saddle similar to a flite titanium?

[mig]

one of my fleet's saddles - a flite titanium - is now so ragtag that it tends to rip shorts/longs etc during use.

even prices for a used replacement of one of those are very high...lots over £50 for ones in a quite poor state themselves.

so is there anything like the same shape of saddle that's not so 'classic', currently mass produced and significantly less spendy?

thanks

[Brucey]

until very recently SJS had a thing called a 'ventura ti saddle'. It was basically a cheap copy of a flite ti saddle, with a synthetic leather top. Good for the money (£15) but probably best used with a cover from day one. I just looked and I couldn't see it listed any more.

cheers

[gregoryoftours]

You could try a charge spoon, kind of vaguely similar, sort of..

[Des49]

one of my fleet's saddles - a flite titanium - is now so ragtag that it tends to rip shorts/longs etc during use.

even prices for a used replacement of one of those are very high...lots over £50 for ones in a quite poor state themselves.

so is there anything like the same shape of saddle that's not so 'classic', currently mass produced and significantly less spendy?

thanks

Still seem to be available new for £70 from Chain Reaction, so not much of a difference to tatty second hand ones then. I got a couple a year or two ago and they seem as similar to the original and sure they were £50 ish back then too.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/gg/e ... -prod56207

I have used these for probably well over 25 years on all sorts of bikes and only had one broken saddle rail. Not sure if I have changed a bit but have started experimenting with other saddles just recently and now not sure what is comfortable again! Shouldn't have started and stayed put, but a purchase of a 2nd hand racing bike last year that came with a Fizik saddle got me playing around.

I got a Charge Spoon a week or so ago when Merlin had them for just £15!! Trouble is instead of trying it out myself it has ended up on a daughter's bike!

[Brucey]

further to my earlier post, the Ventura saddle is made by 'velo' in taiwan. Ths is a similar model based on the same hull and same rails;







similar saddles sometimes crop up on e-bay

cheers

[mig]

many thanks! i think i've found something very similar for a tenner!

the chainreaction flite is £80. not for my commuter bike at that money.

[Brucey]

it occurs to me that at that sort of money it is probably worth repairing the old saddle by giving it a new cover of some kind...?

cheers

[mig]

funnily enough i found someone near to me who does do that....but wanted well over £100 as they were a bit arty. hard to find even a decent cobbler in these parts anymore.

think that i have two on the way out - snagged corners etc - so again spendy for everyday bikes.

[Brucey]

I hope the ebay saddle works out OK. Just when they were 'outroducing' the original flite saddles (about 17 or 18 years ago?) some vendors were selling off old stock at cheap prices. IIRC about £20 for one like this (red with kevlar corners)



I bought several, since this was my favourite model (from the dozens of different ones they did) . They are all still working OK (some on MTBs, some on road bikes), although in fairness none have seen the commuting grind. I think the seam between the kevlar and leather is sewn and then folded into (a groove in?) the foam. I think that a competent seamstress/seamster could replicate that joint and thus repair a saddle with worn corners; you don't really sit on the seam per se.

Another saddle that works quite well is the 'Serfas Ti' model (which is also made by Velo I think; this often appears with 'Lola' branding). Some years ago these could be bought for £10 NOS. (I just checked and you can still buy a new one on ebay for £30-35 , or an 'ARC' Ti model for just over £20.....)



Again the sdes of the saddle are kevlar covered and are therefore quite scuff-resistant. Surprisingly the shape is better than it looks where it matters and again I have used these saddles on both road bikes and MTBs..

So if you can do, snag a saddle with kevlar corners (or even a kevlar cover over the whole thing, which I think is how the black one above is made ).

cheers

[hamster]

those Lola ones are dead ringers for Selle San Marco Bontrager, although the nose is slightly different. They did a steel and Ti version. My favourite saddle ever!

[mig]

I hope the ebay saddle works out OK. Just when they were 'outroducing' the original flite saddles (about 17 or 18 years ago?) some vendors were selling off old stock at cheap prices. IIRC about £20 for one like this (red with kevlar corners)



I bought several, since this was my favourite model (from the dozens of different ones they did) . They are all still working OK (some on MTBs, some on road bikes), although in fairness none have seen the commuting grind. I think the seam between the kevlar and leather is sewn and then folded into (a groove in?) the foam. I think that a competent seamstress/seamster could replicate that joint and thus repair a saddle with worn corners; you don't really sit on the seam per se.

Another saddle that works quite well is the 'Serfas Ti' model (which is also made by Velo I think; this often appears with 'Lola' branding). Some years ago these could be bought for £10 NOS. (I just checked and you can still buy a new one on ebay for £30-35 , or an 'ARC' Ti model for just over £20.....)



Again the sdes of the saddle are kevlar covered and are therefore quite scuff-resistant. Surprisingly the shape is better than it looks where it matters and again I have used these saddles on both road bikes and MTBs..

So if you can do, snag a saddle with kevlar corners (or even a kevlar cover over the whole thing, which I think is how the black one above is made ).

cheers

£20 for a new flite Ti..!!! aaarrrrrgh i shoulda bought a few.

the colours on those serfas Ti ones are rather funky daddio...

[hamster]

it occurs to me that at that sort of money it is probably worth repairing the old saddle by giving it a new cover of some kind...?

cheers

I've done it several times. A square of glove leather from eBay, re-positionable contact adhesive and lots of bulldog clips. It's not particularly difficult. Start at the nose and get that right (you need to stretch the leather a bit to avoid creases) then work to the rear.

[amediasatex]

I used to be a big fan of Flite Ti’s too and used them almost exclusively, and when all mine expired (broken rails on every single one, except the full carbon one where the nose snapped off) I had a terrible time finding something that worked as well for me, for such a popular saddle I’m surprised it ever got discontinued.

Finally hit gold a few years ago with a particulate model from Planet X that suits my bum perfectly, seems like it wasn’t all that popular with the rest of the public though (too narrow?) so they eventually discontinued it and sold them off, I bought a fair chunk of the remaining stock (@£15 for a Ti railed 210g saddle) and also picked up a couple on eBay so I now have 17 of them! 15 on bikes and 2 spares so I heartily recommend picking up a couple of spares if you do find a saddle you really like.

[mig]

I used to be a big fan of Flite Ti’s too and used them almost exclusively, and when all mine expired (broken rails on every single one, except the full carbon one where the nose snapped off) I had a terrible time finding something that worked as well for me, for such a popular saddle I’m surprised it ever got discontinued.

Finally hit gold a few years ago with a particulate model from Planet X that suits my bum perfectly, seems like it wasn’t all that popular with the rest of the public though (too narrow?) so they eventually discontinued it and sold them off, I bought a fair chunk of the remaining stock (@£15 for a Ti railed 210g saddle) and also picked up a couple on eBay so I now have 17 of them! 15 on bikes and 2 spares so I heartily recommend picking up a couple of spares if you do find a saddle you really like.

did you...er...say 15 on bikes there?

[amediasatex]

Yes, I have a lot of bikes (more than 15 + the wife’s 4 as well), but when you ride and race multiple disciplines it’s hard not to. I still have a few more than I ‘need’ but they’re only bikes and they get used so what’s the harm