Charge Ladle / Madison Leia - alternatives?

[Reynard]

The unexpected acquisition of N+1 the other day means another saddle is required. Unfortunately, the Madison Leia (fitted to my Raleigh Max) has gone the same way as the Charge Ladle (fitted to my Wiggins roadie and hybrid respectively), and are both now either made of unobtanium or only available from the US for silly money. For anyone who isn't aware, the Ladle and the Leia are essentially the same saddle, but with slightly different clothing.

A quick squiz on the Madison website turns up the Flux Classic Short, which appears to have similar dimensions. Does anyone have any experience with that particular saddle?

I did post on another thread several years ago when I bought the Leia for my Raleigh Max build, and the other alternatives with the same / similar geometry that I came up with at the time are the Velo Plush VL-4125, and the Velo Deluxe Sports women's saddle (the latter supplied by SJS). Both of these are still available, thank goodness.

I'm leaning towards the offering from SJS for my Spesh Hotrock refurb, but figured I'd throw open the discussion to the CycleChat hive mind.

 

[fossyant]

Any on ebay ?

 

[Sharky]

Planet x have
San Marco Regal Evo Woven Saddle
For £29.99

 

[figbat]

Not mine and no link to seller…

https://www.facebook.com/share/172yT524UB/

 

[esoxlucius]

I struggled with saddles for a long while until some guy on the old bike radar forum mentioned the charge spoon. I now have a spoon on each of my bikes and love them. Cheap too, about £15 each.

Is there a major difference between the ladle and the spoon?

 

[wafter]

Can't help with specifics but if you're not aware, if the Charge Spoon equivalents are anything to go by (as found in many OEM applications, also sold under the Madison name) they're all made by Velo. So, it may be that those you list are geometrically identical, and if not it's possible that there are other alternatives about under the Velo name / other OEMs who use them.

Perhaps worth looking at some lady-specific offerings from brands that use Velo saddles in other applications (such as Genesis)...?

 

[Reynard]

Any on ebay ?

Not a sausage. I've borrowed the saddle off the Rouen, as I'm not really using it right now, but a white saddle on a black bike kind of offends my sense of aesthetics!

 

[Reynard]

I struggled with saddles for a long while until some guy on the old bike radar forum mentioned the charge spoon. I now have a spoon on each of my bikes and love them. Cheap too, about £15 each.

Is there a major difference between the ladle and the spoon?

The ladle is the ladies' version of the spoon. It's shorter in the nose and wider at the back.

 

[Reynard]

Can't help with specifics but if you're not aware, if the Charge Spoon equivalents are anything to go by (as found in many OEM applications, also sold under the Madison name) they're all made by Velo. So, it may be that those you list are geometrically identical, and if not it's possible that there are other alternatives about under the Velo name / other OEMs who use them.

Perhaps worth looking at some lady-specific offerings from brands that use Velo saddles in other applications (such as Genesis)...?

Oh do keep up!

I did post on another thread several years ago when I bought the Leia for my Raleigh Max build, and the other alternatives with the same / similar geometry that I came up with at the time are the Velo Plush VL-4125, and the Velo Deluxe Sports women's saddle (the latter supplied by SJS). Both of these are still available, thank goodness.

I'm leaning towards the offering from SJS for my Spesh Hotrock refurb, but figured I'd throw open the discussion to the CycleChat hive mind.

 

[cyberknight]

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1519762826100386/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp:b1a02348-c533-4d80-9454-9799ea586217

listed as collection only but you might be able to get the seller to post ?

 

[vickster]

I’ve got a Ladle in my spares box, I’ll get in touch tomorrow

 

[Reynard]

I’ve got a Ladle in my spares box, I’ll get in touch tomorrow

Ooh, that sounds good. Thank you.

 

[Reynard]

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1519762826100386/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp:b1a02348-c533-4d80-9454-9799ea586217

listed as collection only but you might be able to get the seller to post ?

Not much use to me at the moment unfortunately, as I'm currently blocked from Facebook over a post I made about servicing the cutting deck for my ride-on lawnmower.

Thanks for looking, though.

 

[vickster]

Ooh, that sounds good. Thank you.

It's black with blue writing

 

[Reynard]

It's black with blue writing

If you're willing to part with it, it would suit my new-to-me N+1 perfectly. It's black with white and blue trim!

P.S. The bike looks a LOT cleaner and tidier now, following a couple of hours' worth of elbow grease and tinkering.