Spa Nidd saddle

[Rickshaw Phil]

It's slightly paler in the photo than in real life but not much. The difference is that while the Brooks colour is added as part of the tanning process the Nidd is a natural coloured leather with a coating on top so it's quite a contrast now that's rubbing off and fading.

As this is the first Nidd I've tried I can't tell you if it's a common problem or if I've got a dud - I'm just reporting what I see.

 

[John the Canuck]

quite a difference indeed ..!

anybody got a black SPA Cycle saddle to show if any fading too...........URGENT - about to order.!

PS to Phil
do the pedals on both bike have wee steel inserts which stick up about 3mm...?
consider an alternate.!
have/had them on my Trek hybrid
last week with very heavy panniers - swerved bloody kid - off, luckily onto a grass verge
but blood everywhere - the steel pins had gouged deep furrows right down inside left leg - still looking nasty/inflamed

 

[Soltydog]

I've a B17 on my tourer which is very comfy, but has become very misshapen as a combination of me sitting on it and it getting wet. I don't think it will last as long as the spa saddle, the leather seems thicker and more robust than the Brooks. Of course it's also a lot cheaper.

I've had a B17 for about 7 years now & has probably been used more than any other saddle of mine over that time, certainly a good few thousand miles & is still in very good order. Its very rarely been wet though, so maybe that helps maintain it's condition?

anybody got a black SPA Cycle saddle to show if any fading too...........URGENT - about to order.!

I have a black spa saddle, think its the Aire & it doesnt appear to have faded in about 12 months, but the saddle is either in the garage or under my rear & very rarely left outside Can take a pic for you tomorrow if it helps

 

[John the Canuck]

Saltydog

my...saddle is either indoors or under my rear and never left outside

Can take a pic for you tomorrow if it helps .................yes please

 

[jazzkat]

I've had a B17 for about 7 years now & has probably been used more than any other saddle of mine over that time, certainly a good few thousand miles & is still in very good order. Its very rarely been wet though, so maybe that helps maintain it's condition?

I do think this is an issue with the Brooks. My B17 has got very wet on many occasions, I live in Cumbria! The bike it's on has mudguards and isn't left out in the rain, just ridden. It seems to me that a lot of people 'baby' their brooks saddles (not that I'm saying you are!).
Understandable considering the cost, but surely people haven't always done this? A bike saddle that can't be ridden in the rain is a bit of a 'chocolate fireguard'.

My Wharfe is on a bike without mudguards and seems to have faired well with a few good Cumbrian dousings. It isn't fading either, it's a brown and it's got about 1200 miles on it so far.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

PS to Phil
do the pedals on both bike have wee steel inserts which stick up about 3mm...?

They do indeed. They were picked specially for this as I've found others slip when my shoes are wet. I know the risk but want the grip and don't want to go with clips or cleats at the moment.

 

[Soltydog]

I do think this is an issue with the Brooks. My B17 has got very wet on many occasions, I live in Cumbria! The bike it's on has mudguards and isn't left out in the rain, just ridden. It seems to me that a lot of people 'baby' their brooks saddles (not that I'm saying you are!).
Understandable considering the cost, but surely people haven't always done this? A bike saddle that can't be ridden in the rain is a bit of a 'chocolate fireguard'.

My spa saddle certainly got wet today 100k sportive was fine for about 40 miles then the heavens opened. It's in the book of the car at mo, so photo might have to wait till tomorrow, sorry

 

[John the Canuck]

................ It's in the book of the car at mo,........

bad place..? no air circulation..!

 

[Soltydog]

bad place..? no air circulation..!

I know, just too tired to get it out & clean it

 

[Soltydog]

Here's the shot of the saddle. Ignore the scuff mark on the top, thats nothing to do with the quality of the saddle, just my inability to carry my bike into garage without catching it on the door

 

[John the Canuck]

Here's the shot of the saddle. .........

thanks for that............looks fine

£40 new delivered..................... but a Brooks is so desirable...

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

After being reminded about this thread in another discussion I thought it about time for another update:

The saddle is still in use and has covered a little over 7,000 miles now. In the time since the last update I have completed the Metric Century a Month challenge for 2014 and moved on to complete the Imperial Century challenge for 2015 too so a few big rides have been done on it, the longest being 106 miles to Llandudno which wasn't too bad comfort wise.

I consider this saddle well broken in now and the leather has softened considerably to the point where a new comfort issue has arisen: The sides are spreading out despite the laces and allowing a ridge to form down the centre of the saddle putting pressure on the perinium.

To sort this out I've made some extra holes in the side flaps and used longer laces which have pulled the support back up under the sit bones and restored the shape to what it should be. This was done at the weekend but at the time of writing it hasn't had a proper road test yet as I've been using the other bike the last few days.

A pic from this afternoon. There isn't a lot of the original colour left now but I quite like it. You can see the extra lacing in this photo.

For those interested in the B17, it also got a lot of use during the Imperial Century challenge with a longest ride of 131 miles. I admit I've struggled a bit with this on these longer rides (usually from about 80 miles) and came to the conclusion that the top may be too wide and flat for me (the top of the Nidd is more rounded and has developed quite good dimples for the sit bones but on the Brooks it felt like my sit bones were perched and concentrating my weight in quite a small area if that makes sense).

That prompted me to take a punt on a Brooks Team Pro to see if it suited me better. I'm still breaking that one in and finding the adjustment that suits me so will reserve judgement on it for the time being but it shows potential. It probably wasn't the best idea in the world to take it on a century having only ridden it for a week of commuting.

The Team Pro does need a very different set up to the B17, favouring a position much further forward than I had been using previously. It also suits a racier riding position which has prompted me to fit a new stem and handlebar for a lower front end - something I'd been considering for quite a while, so I've gone from this:

to this:

which seems to work well.

It occurs to me that the problem after plenty of miles that I was getting with the B17 may be reduced or even removed by the different seating angle now that the bars are changed so I might give it another go at some point.

Edit to correct cockup on the mileage calculation front.