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Leather Bike Saddles
··· Nov 03 2010 · By ···
I have quite an attraction for leather bike saddles. Why? Well, they are comfortable as heck once they are broken in, they will last a long time if cared for properly, and they are just so darned cute.
My personal saddle clutch includes a vintage Brooks B-15, a Brooks B-17, and a vintage B-66. I use the B-15 on my Crystal singlespeed bike. I ride this one most often, and have been happy with the ride for the most part. I have been thinking of sturdying it up a bit by punching some holes in the sides and lacing it up. I could do it like this but I don’t really think that using a drill to make the holes is the best way. Here is a better “photographic discussion” from McBomb over at flickr. Using a punch is such a better way to work holes into leather. Anyway the sidewalls on the B-15 are pretty flimsy, and lacing it up should put some additional firmness in the seat (which it really needs).
The B-17 is mounted on my Gary Fisher Mt. Bike currently, although it is supposed to be Dorothy’s saddle. I picked it up when we were living in Boston on the sale rack at EMS. It really needs (as they all do) a good oiling, or treating, or whatever leather gets coated with to keep it nice and moist. Well, not moist, but to keep it from getting rough and dried. So that’s gotta be done so they are all good to go for the winter, which in the Bay Area means rain.
The B-66 was a bargain at $25 so I picked it up from an online auction and haven’t done much to it except find a nut for one of the spring mounts, and conditioned the leather. The B-66 has a little larger seat area than the B-15 and B-17 so it would be nice on a cruiser or maybe on the Mixte when I get that bike rolling. Dorothy doesn’t much like the B-66, she’s had it on her Gary Fisher before. I have a feeling it’s got something to do with the springs. They are kind of weak and old, and the saddle does shift around under you a lot and it finds a way to dig in a little bit. The sidewalls are a little weak on the B-66 as well, so this saddle might be improved by lacing as well. A perfect seat to for guests who want to take a bike ride around San Rafael.
I looked around a bit on the old internet, and really didn’t see a good list of leather saddle manufacturers all in one place, so I thought I would start a list of some companies, old and new, who have built, or do build leather bike saddles. Some of these companies aren’t around any longer, others are bringing Taiwanese and Chinese manufacturing know how into new versions of leather saddles. And through it all, Brooks continues to make saddles much the same way they always have. So here’s that list.
- Brooks – England
- Wrights – England – I haven’t really found a good article on Wrights.
- Ideale – France – Check this photo history of some Ideale Saddles
- Fu Jih (Tops) – Taiwan – If you have some money and want to buy a case of these, here is where you begin
- Imperial Products – Taiwan sold under the marque Gyes. You can get one at Crow Cycle, and for the price, (around $60) why wouldn’t you?
- Persons – USA – I like the saddles here. They most closely match various Brooks models, but are (or at least were) priced quite a bit less. It appears that they have exhausted most of their stock of the majority of their leather saddle lines. I still don’t know where these are manufactured.
- Selle An Atomica – USA – These guys have done their science, and have created a patented cutout and laminating process that makes the saddle comfortable for long rides, reduces numbness… Be sure to watch their video at the bottom of their home page.
I am a viewer of “How It’s Made”, and caught an episode the other day that had a segment where they went to Brooks, and showed how they make saddles. Here is a version of it with a Russian (???) narrator. Enjoy!
Bike Knicker Battle
··· Sep 29 2010 · By ···UPDATE, 18 Nov. 2010
The Zoic Knicker has shown a weakness. There is a little section of fabric just above the zipper on each of the cargo pockets that has a flap. The point where that part of fabric is sewn under the top seam of the pocket flap, onto the leg of the trouser, has separated from that seam. It is pretty sorry since I have only had these things for 2 months, and this isn’t even a stress point. I am thinking about shipping them back to hucknroll. At least the seam isn’t compromised on the flap which is pretty solid.
Well, here is a shot of the shredded pocket.
*****ORIGINAL POST *****
I recently picked up a couple different pairs of knickers for biking, tooling around, hanging out, whatever. With Autumn here, and Winter just around the corner, something a little more substantial was called for, and knickers seemed the perfect thing.
I got my hands on a pair of Endura Zyme knickers and a pair of Zoic Reign knickers, and here is a brief report of what I feel about both of them.
The Endura Zyme knickers are really tough, made with the thick brushed cordura nylon. I have about a 35″ waist and usually wear pants that range between 34-36″ waist. The Large size of the Endura is dialed right in to that size. They are roomy, but not baggy, and have cinches on the waist to snug them up if I don’t feel like wearing a belt. I don’t really need a belt with them, because they fit so well, but I like to wear one because the snap on the front seems to pop open when riding if I lean too far forward. The length of the knickers for me is just about right, maybe an inch shorter than I would like though. They have two knee darts that when I ride, end up above my knee. The darts are sewn for a shorter leg than mine (I am 6’3″ BTW). This doesn’t cause any trouble, it’s just a design peeve of mine that the darts are sewn in, but don’t hit where they should. The end cuff has a velcro tab that adjusts to tighten the cuff up a bit if you like. I like that it is easy to adjust, but doesn’t get in the way. The pockets are plentiful, without going overboard. Two front pockets and two on the back all with zippers keep things where they need to be. There are also two front thigh mounted pockets that fit phones or pens, one is open the other closes with a zipper.
Overall I like the Enduras, they seem to keep in the heat a bit so they might be a bit too much in hot temps, but fall, winter, and spring these are good to go.
The Zoic Reign knickers I just got are pretty nice. Their sizes are different, and I had to get a XL. The size chart for XL ranges from 36-39″ I would say 35-36″ is safe. The cut of the legs on these are extra long, they hit just below my mid calf, and I have pretty long legs. The leg end cinch lets you easily bunch them up and wear them just under the knee, that gives a bit of play in them for pedaling or walking or kicking. The cinching cord is hidden inside the cuff though, and it is a bit hard to adjust. They are a bit skinnier than the Enduras so if you have huge thighs you might have to think about something with a more generous cut. The nylon they are made from is more of a mid weight ripstop and lighter than the Enduras. Still being nylon they trap heat, fortunately there are two leg zips that open up just below the crotch on each leg (inside thigh seam) to let a little fresh air in, there is a mesh liner there to keep things from peeking out. They came with a padded inner short, that doesn’t look terrible when worn inside these, I’m just not too into the padded inner short thing though. My Brooks saddles fit me well enough, and don’t present a need for extra padding. The pockets on the Reign knickers are as such. Front pockets cut in jean style with a little change pockette. One zipped pocket on the right side in back. 3 cargo pockets, one on the left leg, two on the right, with a spot in one for a phone or music player with threading holes for a headphone. I like that feature a lot, because I hate my phone flopping around in my bag or other pockets.
Overall, I kind of like the Endura more than the Zoic, but each are rather good, stylish knickers that you can wear tooling around town, or just hanging out having a beer in the City. I got both of these on sale, so who knows if they will continue to be around next season, since clothing manufacturers seem to be fickle and don’t like to keep styles around for too long.