New leather.....

[il padrone]

Leather, oh yes, lurve that leather

Selle Italia puts their old leather presses back into service

And Ideale relaunches

The first saddles will be available in September, at a price of 250€, in two color, natural or black.

Well, it IS Ideale

edit: link fixed

[Mulger bill]

First link is borked Pete.

Think I'll stick to my Brooks...

[TheShadow]

I've had a base model Selle Italia Turbomatic with I'm pretty sure a black Leather cover, which wore out on the side in the usual expected time frame....and the same seat (Team Edition), but with the more expensive (Lorica ? ) cover which showed no signs of wear after the same amount of use. I'm done with leather.

Extremely toxic and polluting to produce too...not that that would bother Italians, going by what I've heard about the pollutions levels in many of their major cities. Why don't they take a leaf out of the German book and make more environmentally friendly manufacturing a promotional tool? I'm thinking of Vaude and their panniers, for instance, which are NOT PVC, a decision signficantly motivated by the fact that PVC manufacture is incredibly toxic. I'm noticing even boring old office chair mats are now moving away from PVC to only slightly more expensive, and better, polycarbonate which does not involve anything like the same toxic production process.

[il padrone]

The links I posted are about full-leather hammock saddles as per Brooks. Not some nancy leather/Lorica-covered look-alike.

Any rider who wears through a full-leather saddle would have to be doing some mileage

[Mediocratus]

They look like beautiful, premium, no expense spared saddles. It is a pity that all the competition in leather saddles is at the top of the market. Us peasants at the lower end of the market wouldn't mind being able to afford leather saddles if some one made some at more affordable prices.

[il padrone]

They look like beautiful, premium, no expense spared saddles. It is a pity that all the competition in leather saddles is at the top of the market. Us peasants at the lower end of the market wouldn't mind being able to afford leather saddles if some one made some at more affordable prices.

Such saddles do exist.

Velo-Orange

Rivet are another brand, but their prices are generally pretty high too.

[Arlberg]

Slightly off topic but still to do with leather, are there any issues with leather cycling shoes, specifically what happens to them (if anything) when it rains/they get wet?

A lot companies still make high end shoes out of leather, for example the Lake CX237's (leather) or Lake CX402's (kangaroo leather). I really like the look of the CX237's and they fit very comfortably, but I'm concerned about them getting wet and wonder if water affects the leather and how long it will take for them to dry out etc compared with other materials.

[Storm Boy]

Brooks Cambium for me - comfy and waterproof.

SB

[il padrone]

Slightly off topic but still to do with leather, are there any issues with leather cycling shoes, specifically what happens to them (if anything) when it rains/they get wet?

A lot companies still make high end shoes out of leather, for example the Lake CX237's (leather) or Lake CX402's (kangaroo leather). I really like the look of the CX237's and they fit very comfortably, but I'm concerned about them getting wet and wonder if water affects the leather and how long it will take for them to dry out etc compared with other materials.

A good coating of Nugget. Polish, polish, lots of polish, to keep them water-repellent and the leather well-nourished.

Army boots (and my leather XC ski-boots) endure all sorts of extremes. They are as waterproof as most synthetic boots, if the leather is thick enough. Leather cycling shoes are generally made lighter, thinner, and in my experience, not as comfortable as a cheaper-priced synthetic cycling shoe.

[Trevtassie]

They look like beautiful, premium, no expense spared saddles. It is a pity that all the competition in leather saddles is at the top of the market. Us peasants at the lower end of the market wouldn't mind being able to afford leather saddles if some one made some at more affordable prices.

Gyes make some nice ones. I got a couple off Ebay for $30 each. They are excellent for touring. The underside of the leather is reinforced with some kind of textile. I've treated them with NikWax Aqueous wax. That's a water based emulsion type wax that doesn't soften leather at all, whilst still making it waterproof. You can leave it out in the rain and it doesn't wet out very much at all.
Not this model, but you get the point... http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SADDLE-SEAT- ... SwKrhVW9QV

[Mediocratus]

Not this model, but you get the point... http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SADDLE-SEAT- ... SwKrhVW9QV

They look really good. I have ordered one. I hesitate to try saddles at $150+ when I might not like them but at $46.50 delivered I don't mind taking a punt. Thanks Trevtassie.

[Trevtassie]

Hit it with some Nik Wax Aqueous wax from a camping shop. Does a much better job than any of the seat dressings because it's a mineral based wax and won't soften the leather so no danger of over treatment. It's actually better to apply it to wet leather (in the event you accidentally let that happen) because it will penetrate much deeper, and then stop the leather getting wet next time. Slap it on and let the seat dry naturally.