Brooks saddles and sit bone question.

[sawston_vulcan]

I'm writing this from a very nice wooden bench on the Canal Du Midi. It's a very balmy 20C and my wife is making sandwiches with a lovely looking bit of ham. Saddle wise, we're both on fifty year old leather. Who would have it any other way!

Bloody wind up merchants! what is the canal tow path like for cycling on??

 

[sawston_vulcan]

156-160mm sounds about right. I've got quite a big arse and it really suits me fine I'm sorry, I'm all out of Colts right now - I'm making do with an Ideale TB90 with the alloy rails. From memory I'd say the colt is roughly the same dimensions as the San Marco Supercorsa, another very comfortable, race proven saddle. It's not super light at 530gr but you do get an awful lot of top end, nice hide leather for your money. When they retailed they were not cheap - about £150 as I remember, but they last forever and the ride #experience IMO is hard to beat

My rear end is more petite…110mm between sit bones but the Swift just fits me because of the cantle…so 156mm would be better still…the Swift is 150mm….Pity you don’t have a saddle to loan me.

 

[Canuk]

Bloody wind up merchants! what is the canal tow path like for cycling on??

I must admit, it's very, very pleasant. We're both on regular bikes with 28mm tyres, no gravel gear or nothing. Pretty minimal baggage, just changes of clothes and some electronics. Yesterday the last 10k was a bit shitty but only because it had rained overnight.

We're cycling from Marseille to Bordeaux, about 700 clicks. 80-90km a day. . And it's been great so far. The French don't holiday at all in October, so super quiet, I don't get it! But to me it's one of the finest months in southern Europe, not hot, neither too cool, shorts weather every day. One day of rain in 6 so far, and that was all done by 1pm. Forecast for the next 4 days 19-23C and very mild (17-18C) in the evenings.

Totally recommend the Voie Verte from Narbonne to Bordeaux, puts us Brits to shame. And they take bikes on nearly every train and on every bus, mostly for free... Vive la France!

 

[sawston_vulcan]

I must admit, it's very, very pleasant. We're both on regular bikes with 28mm tyres, no gravel gear or nothing. Pretty minimal baggage, just changes of clothes and some electronics. Yesterday the last 10k was a bit shitty but only because it had rained overnight.

We're cycling from Marseille to Bordeaux, about 700 clicks. 80-90km a day. . And it's been great so far. The French don't holiday at all in October, so super quiet, I don't get it! But to me it's one of the finest months in southern Europe, not hot, neither too cool, shorts weather every day. One day of rain in 6 so far, and that was all done by 1pm. Forecast for the next 4 days 19-23C and very mild (17-18C) in the evenings.

Totally recommend the Voie Verte from Narbonne to Bordeaux, puts us Brits to shame. And they take bikes on nearly every train and on every bus, mostly for free... Vive la France!

Sounds good! Next year my wife and I doing Dieppe to Paris…Avenue Verte.

 

[Canuk]

Sounds good! Next year my wife and I doing Dieppe to Paris…Avenue Verte.

I would really recommend September/October time. Weather is really stable and predictable and warm! August can be burning hot, and July is busy ridiculous if there's a canicule (heatwave). We were in Pau last summer and it was peaking at 44C, no fun at all. Bike wise, a reasonable road going tourer or fast road bike with rugged tyres (28mm, puncture guard has served us really well) and of course a really good saddle! Lots of Germans on the trails who seem pleasant enough, and lots of electric bikes. Canal side lunches a bonus.

Also the French have finished holidaying by then so everywhere is empty, accomodation is really easy to find, cheaper and you get sensational seasonal food. Plus it's vendage season (wine harvest) so there's loads of little festivals and wine tastings (be honest, we drink it by the bottle, not the glass!) almost everywhere. We went to one on Wednesday night, big sit down dinner, great music and as much Chardonnay as you could pack away, 25 euro! What a night! Plus we got a seat next to the mayor, because everyone (it seemed) knew we had cycled there from Montpellier during the day

 

[Canuk]

These are all gone now but last week they were at the roadside every 5km. Fill yer boots!

 

[sawston_vulcan]

Sounds good! Next year my wife and I doing Dieppe to Paris…Avenue Verte.

I missed out on the cyan coloured Colt…I asked about how much the tension bolt was used…whilst waiting for the reply…it was bought! All that is left on eBay in the UK…is a mustard coloured one that is NOS and is priced at £125 or best offer…What would you consider a fair offer?

 

[Canuk]

I think in the latter days of production they were around 125 new, I think 90 would probably buy it Though I definitely have a preference for the black version. It looks really good with steel.

 

[Wingsonmyheels]

I’ve a Swift, and my sit bones (using the corrugated cardboard method) measure about 105mm sat bolt upright, and 98mm when leaning forward… The swift shows impressions about 95mm apart (but hard to tell, the dips are 70 apart to 110 apart if you know what I mean).

When I was a kid I rode a Kashimax Aero, cos it looked cool, but I found the upturned ‘aero’ lip at the back great for seated climbing, and I also got on well with a cinelli slx.

 

[Wingsonmyheels]

I also won a colt in a race, sold it in disgust. The folly of youth!