Opinions on Berthoud saddles

[Frankwurst]

Thanks for the opinions all. I'll give one a try. I'm going to give a couple of bikes new hairdos this winter so it looks like one of them will be getting a new saddle. I knew if anybody could help me justify spending a bunch of money on a cycling component I don't really need it would be this group. And I mean that in a good way.

[pjmsj21]

I have been a big fan of the Rivet saddles. For the first time ever, I have been getting ready to purchase the same saddle twice...the Independence. I rode my Rivet on Ramrod which is a 152 miles in a day and while I was pretty well waisted at the end, I could actually sit and peddle as opposed to being out of the saddle when I rode it the first time.

That being said I would appreciate hearing others that have perhaps ridden both the Rivet and the Berthoud.....I assume the Berthoud takes longer to break in and lasts longer?

Thanks

[palincss]

I tried the Rivet Pearl and Independence as part of their loaner/test program. Both saddles had been used and presumably had been broken in. The shape of both of them was wrong for me. By contrast, the shape of an Aspin felt right for me even though it took almost 500 miles of break-in for that feeling of comfort to extend to rides >= 50 miles.

Interesting anecdote: my friend Joan was looking to buy a new saddle this year. She's used both Pearls and Indys for years, but something wasn't quite right about them. On a lark I lent her one of my Aspins to try, and she was astounded (shocked, even) to find that it worked better for her than anything else she'd tried to date. She bought an Aspin for herself, and is considering buying another to replace a Rivet.