Okay, a couple of updates: I rode 42 miles on the VO model 6 today, on the American River bike trail in Sacramento. As it's a much narrower saddle than I've used in some time, and a brand new stretched leather saddle, I expected some discomfort. I had also dropped my handlebars nearly an inch, from a bit over the saddle to a good cm lower than the nose. I got a little discomcort, my sit bones definitely knew they were on a firm, narrow perch. Not terrible, though, no pain, and as soon as I finished the ride all discomfort was gone. Compared to my well-worn B17, the VO held my sit bones up rather than cradling them, which kept the rest of me from resting too heavily on the saddle. That proved to be a very good thing. No chafing, no soreness, no pressure on the sensitive tissues. This is NOT a saddle for an upright, touring, or typical Rivendell riding position. For a more 'sporting' position, bars lower than saddle, body leaned forward, hips rolled forward, it worked pretty well. I'm going to keep using it for my faster rides and see if it breaks in and gets more (or less) comfortable as time goes on.
Patrick, I think you just might get along with this one! It reminds me of my old racing saddles, firm but supportive, and narrow enough to stay out of the way. I have not found it difficult to find an angle that works. My B17's seem a little more particular about the angle. I have the nose just slightly above the tail (maybe 3 mm), and I was fine. Not sinking in means little or no 'goose' factor. And like any racing saddle, the faster I went the less I noticed the saddle. Of course, you might also want to check out the SOMA Ta-bo, which looks a lot like an older saddle with a similar name. Or there's the Hisan, which Wiktionary translates as "flying". BTW, I haven't ridden a Team Pro in recent memory, so I can't compare the VO. If I finally decide the VO is too narrow, a Pro will be my likely next saddle. As for the original post, after the ride we dropped in to a couple of bike shops in midtown Sacto. The Bicycle Business had a Cardiff Mercia in stock, hanging up next to several Brooks B17's, two standard, one copper railed, and one Imperial. The Cardiff looked fine, though I still think the honey Brooks is prettier. It weighed about the same as the Brooks. The leather of the Cardiff was... stiff. To the point of being hard. The B17's all felt rather supple in comparison. Whether that means the Brookses would be more comfortable off the bat, or whether they would stretch out sooner, I don't know. I couldn't sit on any of them, so no telling what the cheeks would say. Were it my money I'd probably go for the plainer looking B17 std for $10 less than the fancier Cardiff. There was another Asiam leather saddle in the store too, a Tipo Uno Traditional: http://www.torelli.com/parts/Tipounoparts.html The second saddle on that page looks familiar! The Tipo Uno had the same care tag that came on my VO, which confirms that they are from the same source. The Uno Trad. looked a little odd to me, with the deep profile at the nose and the very rounded tail, but it did seem to have more flex than my VO in the sit bone area. Once again, I didn't get to sit on it. Very narrow looking, though. I think I'd prefer the one I have. BTW, I love the leather pants clips on the Torelli page. I gotta find a set of those! OTOH, the shop had the SOMA Ensho "glitter" saddles - throwbacks to the Sting Ray's of my childhood. I think I'll pass, thanks. http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-3773699254952_2037_98456 Bill On Feb 28, 8:44 am, PATRICK MOORE <bertin...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Sat, Feb 28, 2009 at 8:34 AM, Bill M. <bmenn...@comcast.net> wrote: > > > Richard, > > > I received a brown Velo Orange Model 6 saddle this week to try on my > > '95 Riv Road.: > > >http://www.velo-orange.com/vosaddlemodel6.html > > > It *appears* to be the same saddle as the Soma Cardiff Cambria: > > >http://store.somafab.com/calesa.html > > > The Cambria in turn looks just like the saddle sold elsewhere as the > > Cardiff Gull. > > > I bought the VO because I wanted to try a narrow saddle (I'm treating > > my Riv as a go-fast bike these days - I've also lowered the bars a > > bit), and my old B17 wasn't working well for that. It has also become > > rather lopsided after maybe ten years of use, and I wanted to get back > > 'on the level'. > > > The VO appears to be well-made. The leather is firm but with a little > > give (unlike the Selle Anatomica, which is very soft from the start). > > It looks good, but the color and matte finish of the VO lack the > > 'depth' of the Brooks. > > > I've only ridden the VO around the block (which is actually a few > > miles in the farmlands just east of my house) so I can't say too much > > yet about its comfort. I didn't hurt after that short ride, though, > > which I can't say about the last plastic saddle I tried. I'll get in > > a longer ride today and see it I can adapt to the narrow saddle. > > > [snip] > > Keep us apprised of how the VO saddle works, in particular, how it compares > with the Brooks Pro, which was the only Brooks that was almost comfortable > for me. Even more particular, is it very sensitive to tilt (ie, nose angle) > with lower bars? I could never get the Pro just right: I was either sliding > forward or goosing myself. I don't have that problem with Flites and Turbos. > > The VO site says that it is 150 mm wide, which is pretty close to the width > of the original model Flites and Turbos I use, so perhaps it could be the > first Brooks type saddle to work for me. But I'd like a bit more feedback > before shelling out $85 plus shipping -- tho' that is an excellent price for > a decent saddle -- used Flites and Turbos in good condition are going for > more than that on ebay. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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-bunch@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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
