Composites, microfibers, synthetics. They amaze in their qualities; light, strong, durable – unyieldingly stiff or unimaginably suple, depending on our whim. When modern components arrive on my doorstep, upon lifting the unremarkable cardboard box I often wonder whether there is anything at all inside or if perhaps the person on the other end of the postal system had allowed their mind to wander beyond the task at hand and neglected to place the product in the box before sealing it and handing it off to a worker whose uniform invokes the wrath of dogs the world over.
This was not the case when my vintage 80’s-era Selle San Marco Rolls was delivered from deep within the bowels of eBay. The box had a heft to it that hinted at something substantial within its confines. Freed from its cardboard prison, the saddle lay heavy in my hand, its heft signaling an inherent quality about it that only heavy products seem to convey. But the saddle showed its age; the leather was dry and worn, the brass trim and emblems tarnished black.
This saddle isn’t made of synthetics, it was no lost cause. This saddle is made of organic materials that require care and maintenance in order to maintain their beauty. And, when let fall into disrepair, they can often be restored to their original glory. Out came my polishes and waxes, and within a few minutes the leather covering the saddle which had only moments before been worn and gray was now gleaming with a deep, black finish. The brass, touched up with polish and the tarnish wiped instantly from its surface. Within a quarter hour, the saddle was once again a beacon of a bygone era.
These old leather saddles took a few hundred kilometers to ride in; not as long as their all-leather predecessors, but much longer than our carbon-shell, microfiber modern saddles. With time, the rubbing of chamois-clad tooshie polished the leather into a gleaming beauty which whispered of the long journey over which it had carried its rider as they forged their path together along La Vie Velominatus.
Heavy and big as they were, these saddles had character; one would somehow be more comfortable than another which was supposed to be identical. Each would develop its own unique finish as the characteristics of the leather cover and the shape of it’s rider’s backside would reveal its unique beauty over time. The saddles owned by the Pros in the 80’s and 90’s became impossibly shiny; I remember being enraptured by the sight of the gleaming saddle swaying back and forth as Gert-Jan Theunisse moved en danseuse up the Galibier in the 1989 Tour enroute to a solo win atop l’Alpe d’Huez.
If today’s saddles are marvels of lightweight and comfort, these old saddles were a looking glass into the history that rider and machine had forged together.
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@ChrisO That makes me smile, I know it's more for it's fit and confort than looks, but in amongst everybody trying to look pro, that's pretty cool. Bit like Jenson Button lining up on the grid in goggles and a leather helmet. Chapeau.
@Deakus
You won't regret it.
Swallow is the only one I haven't tried (I'm more of a reach around guy). I think the Swift is very similar though, but it has the chamfered* edges and the Swift is a little narrower and shorter, but slightly deeper. Very similar to ride on I suspect.
I have two Ti Swifts - one on the Ridley and one on the Roberts - a Team Pro on my Colnago Master and a B17 on the fixie.
Basically if you've got a Brooks arse then any of them will be fine.
My personal experience has been that all this talk about riding for months to break them in is bollocks. If you've ridden 200km and it is giving you grief then it will never work, pretty much like any saddle. But if it does work then it will be the most comfortable thing you've ever ridden and all other saddles will be like riding on a sack of golf balls.
*Regular Bike Snob readers may be familiar with Eric 'The Chamferer' Murray, a Brooks employee who has become something of a running gag.
@Buck Rogers
I don't think they were being made in the 70, were they? The Rolls came out in the 80's, in response to the Selle Italia Turbo (which is another lovely bit of history in itself!)
Please post a pic of your Merckx STAT.
@Ron
No, they are Gommitalia Calypso's, as in 'We're bringin' the storm, beyotch!"
@Nate
Seconded.
@VeloVita
Some nice compounds have been mentioned here but I'm not sure any wax etc without pigment will restore your faded leather. I used black saddle polish and rubbed it with a white towel like I was shining a shoe until the towel stayed white, then I put wax over the top of it to seal it in. I'll let you know after I ride it in the new all-white V-Bibs if it rubs off.
@Alex
This is an excellent question. Especially since the padding in the shorts only lasts about a season.
@ChrisO
Show me one top-end race bike that comes stocked with one. Any nutter can put a Brooks on their Ridley but that doesn't make it common practice.
In Memoriam is to the bygone era when these were commonplace.
SSM also has a reissue of this saddle with titanium rails (same for Regal) but its not the same once you modernize it. It also seems the leather is different, but maybe they're just not old enough yet.
@Oli
Merci, mon ami. She's been slowly getting restored to something resembling a classic setup, so long as you don't look too carefully as the bits are from all over time. Including the 10 speed cluster operated by a 6-speed friction shifter!
@Ron
That Regal is fantastic; I rode one for years and years. I had saved up for ages and then crashed it the very first day I rode it. Ah, memories.
I actually found photos of it in a photo album at my parents.
@frank
Surely you jest as this would surely be a rule 14 violation of the highest order.
@frank
If you ever rode wool shorts with real chamois, you'll know why saddles had a bit more padding. Basically, they had no padding. Keeping the chamois supple was a major pain in the ass. Literally. Modern "chamois" inserts are so much better and hence require less saddle padding.