Rene Herse/Berthoud saddles

[merckx]

The Ideale model 90 is also an option. It is slightly narrower at about 150 mm, and is also constructed with top quality leather. It is also available in black.

[dbh]

I ride an Aspin on my Ebisu All Purpose rando bike. I've got maybe four inches of drop. Find it incredibly comfortabe. Used to ride Brooks B17N, as well as Swift and Swallow. Like others, I found I had to constantly retention. Brooks saddles all ultimately ended up riding like hammocks. Have to say that the Aspin has withstood an impressive amount of abuse. I use my Ebisu as a year round commuter, and the saddle has been rained and snowed on a fair amount. Still as firm as ever.

[fiamme red]

I tried a number of models from Brooks: B17, B17 Narrow, Professional, Swift, and Swallow. I had problems with each of them. I didn't like the Sella Anatomica that I tried. And I've used many plastic saddles (I've returned to two old favorites lately, a Concor and Turbomatic). My favorite saddle of all is the Berthoud Aspin. Once I broke it in with a few hundred miles of riding, it became the only saddle I've owned that I can ride long miles day after day on a tour without even thinking about it.

[CNY rider]

Lots of good vibes here.
Wallet will be getting lighter it seems.......

[lookout2015]

Originally Posted by merckx

The Ideale model 90 is also an option. It is slightly narrower at about 150 mm, and is also constructed with top quality leather. It is also available in black.

I saw some articles that ideale was starting back a couple years ago but haven’t seen any for sale. Are the new ones actually available anywhere?

[CNY rider]

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

I am riding the Soulor and Galibier on most of my bikes. I have an Aspin open on my Drifter. I have a black Soulor sitting here from another build that never received much use. You are welcome to try it out if you'd like.

So which of these do you like the best?
I'm leaning Aspin.

[merckx]

Originally Posted by lookout2015

I saw some articles that ideale was starting back a couple years ago but haven’t seen any for sale. Are the new ones actually available anywhere?

katia@sellesideale.fr

Ideale 90 saddles are handmade one at a time, and available.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Originally Posted by merckx

Ideale 90 saddles are handmade one at a time, and available.

As opposed to other suspended leather saddles? Thinking of Brooks, Berthoud, Rivet, Selle Anatomica, etc.

[Hilltopperny]

Originally Posted by CNY rider

So which of these do you like the best?
I'm leaning Aspin.

I really like the Soulor/Galibier model for my road and mountain bikes. I have the Aspin open on my Drifter and like it, but think I would prefer the non open model.

The Aspin is slightly wider and comfortable while the Soulor/Galibier is a bit narrower, comfortable, but I think more similar to the swift. The leather is thicker and more supple on the Berthoud saddles. Definitely my favorite out of all the leather saddles out there.


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[pelicanrando]

I have an Aspin, used it for 2x PBP and many other long rides. It is very comfortable with a small drop between saddle and bars. I am light (130lbs) and used Lon Haldeman's break-in method to get it quickly molded to my butt, using hot water and coconut oil over 2 days to get it just right. Since then, it has lasted thousands of miles and I've used about a third of the bolt to retension.

[fiamme red]

Originally Posted by pelicanrando

I have an Aspin, used it for 2x PBP and many other long rides. It is very comfortable with a small drop between saddle and bars. I am light (130lbs) and used Lon Haldeman's break-in method to get it quickly molded to my butt, using hot water and coconut oil over 2 days to get it just right. Since then, it has lasted thousands of miles and I've used about a third of the bolt to retension.

I didn't apply anything to my Aspin. It broke in just from riding. It was very hard at first.

[marciero]

Originally Posted by pelicanrando

I have an Aspin, used it for 2x PBP and many other long rides. It is very comfortable with a small drop between saddle and bars. I am light (130lbs) and used Lon Haldeman's break-in method to get it quickly molded to my butt, using hot water and coconut oil over 2 days to get it just right. Since then, it has lasted thousands of miles and I've used about a third of the bolt to retension.

Interesting, and cool, that people still use these kinds of old-school tricks. (The article is from 2011 but it sounds like something that was done in an earlier era. In fact, Sheldon Brown mentioned similar methods )

I used sort of a poor-man's version of that on my first Berthoud, which was pre model-era-they just had one. That one got broken in real good on a 100+ mile ride completely in the rain with no cover. I noticed it looked droopy at the end and sort of shaped it a little with my hands. Since then it has been fixed in that configuration, complete with asymmetric sit bone depressions, and has not budged or sagged one bit. For whatever reason I was riding mostly B-17 for the last five years or so. I've been fine on 250 mile rides. That one is well broken in but continues to get more and more droopy. The Berthoud is on one of the tandems and I can never get over how comfy it is.

Flash forward to March of this year and I got a new Aspin for my main bike; a distance/rando bike. Was ass hatchet on the first ride, okay on the second, and really comfy on the third ride. Since then it has been good but a bit hard on my sit bones. On 100+ mile rides I will feel it. On the advice of Hahn Rossman I backed off the tension about 1.5 turns (he recommended two) and I notice it has settled in a bit. There is no question that is a beefy piece of leather on there. It now feels very comfortable on shorter rides but I've yet to test it again on a longish ride.

[Jan Heine]

Thanks for the positive feedback. For me, the Aspin/Aravis is also the most comfortable saddle by far. That is why we started selling them at Rene Herse Cycles.

Some mentioned lower prices on Berthoud saddles that you can find online – those are old stocks that had been imported when the exchange rate was much better. The downside is that the leather tends to be very dry, so they take longer to break in. Not a big deal, if you're patient. It's just a little unfortunate if Berthoud saddles get a reputation for being hard to break in because of that (large) stash of very old saddles. We place more frequent orders than the previous importer to make sure all our saddles have fresh and supple leather.

In any case, that's mostly a non-issue now, as most of the old stocks have been used up, but if you see a lower price, it'll be from that stash. (The dollar has lost a lot of value in recent years, so the newer saddles simply cost more.)

Some mentioned Ideale saddles: I have no connection (apart from the owners being friends), but I can second their excellent quality. The leather is perhaps a bit softer, and I haven't ridden mine long enough to talk about the ultimate durability, but if you want something with classic style, it's a great saddle, too. Be aware that international shipping can be very slow due to Covid-19 – there aren't many airplanes flying across the Atlantic right now.

Looking forward to riding my Aravis this weekend!

Jan Heine
Rene Herse Cycles

[verbs4us]

An Aravis was measured as the best fit for my tuberosities and it is pretty comfortable. Oddly, I have to tip the nose up quite a bit to keep from sliding forward, so it looks weird but is very comfortable. It has a sling-like feel that I don't get in any of my synthetic saddles. Of course, it weighs as much as a Schwinn Varsity. One of life's great compromises!

[Alan]

I have many miles on Soulour and it worked well. This is a great saddle for those who like narrow racing saddles but want a leather saddle. The tops do wear out as the leather sags after about 20,000 miles but the tops are replaceable. You do need to tighten the saddle periodically but its easy.

I also have a Rivet Diablo now which is narrow and has a cutout but they use very stiff leather so it takes some time to break in. I got the black waterproof leather which is stiffer than some of the other colors. This is a similar saddle to the Velo Orange leather saddles but with a cutout. Rivet has a one year return policy so plenty of time to try.

Both are good options for those who like modern leather saddles that last a long time. Good news is that you can pick a leather saddle based on your measured/preferred width.

Alan