It has been a little over a year since I first picked up a Berthoud Touring saddle to add to my rotation of Brooks B17 saddles in the stable. I had been drawn to the Berthoud after going through a couple of the more recently produced brooks B17 saddles that were made with thin and fast deforming leather. Looking at the options, it was either back to plastic, vintage or the Berthoud. The Berthoud was reported to be somewhere between a Brooks B17, team pro and swift in shape. This on came up on eBay, and I was first, impulse struck and it was mine. The cork finish while growing on me would not have been my first choice, but the price was right and I do not have to see it while riding.
Out of the box impression was very high. The engineering and design are sound, everything was tight symmetrical and the leather was far thicker than any of my other Brooks saddles yet was not as hard as the Brooks Pro I had looked into as a possible alternate. The plastic cantle plate and hardware are all top-notch with the precision you would expect to see on a european sports car. I have read concerns about the use of plastic. After having the saddle in my hands any concern is now gone. The molding and assembly is top-notch showing not of the cheapness the work plastic infers, and should likely be relabeled as molded composite. I find the design aesthetic pleasing, with a more modern cut to
traditional leather saddle.
Initially I mounted the saddle on My Eisentraut for the spring and summer. After a few initial adjustments the position of the saddle was similar to that of my Brooks saddles with thee exception of tilt. The Berthoud is much better set almost level to the ground. Comfort was immediate, no break in required and I put in a couple 40 mile rides in the first week I had the saddle. The shape is a bit flatter in the rear than the Brooks offerings while having steep drop off in the transition to narrow nose. My sit bones are well supported with zero thigh rub. I should note that I previously bought and sold a Selle Anatomica due to the excessive thigh rub I had with the more triangular shape of that saddle.
Over the summer it just kept getting better. While the saddle started to match my shape of my sit bones, the post ride deformation was barely noticeable. The saddle leather is reported to be waterproof, and with the rainy season in the rear view mirror I was relying on sweat to indicate if this was true, but there was never any indication of moisture damage
Around mid summer I was having trouble with getting the B17 on my Roadeo just right. The roadeo was becoming my primary ride and I moved the Berthoud over. Problem solved immediately. Summer into fall, roads paved and dirt, as well as some single track and the saddle was going strong. Only at one point on a long hot dirt climb did I notice the saddle becoming a bit too compliant.
Closer inspection on a water break revealed that a few of the screws had started to loosen up a bit. Tightening up with the allen key on my multi tool was sufficient to complete the ride. That evening I removed each screw one at a time and added a little blue loctite before reinstalling the screws. It has been over 6 months since this incident with no further indication of further loosening.
With the onset of our rainy season I was once again wondering about the water proof claim for the leather. Throwing caution to the wind I have ridden the saddle in multiple storms. The only additional protection came from fenders and my soaked body sitting on it. Once again after weeks of rain there is no indication of moisture damage.
The leather is holding up incredibly well considering the abuse my 220 lbs has thrown at it over the last 14 months. Of the 5 brooks saddles I have owned only 2 have performed this well and three were duds. The leather appears to be waterproof as claimed, it will get a matte finish when damp, but dries back to a shine. The cork color has rubbed off a bit on the nose. I have not yet needed to adjust the tension, although curiosity is getting the better of me and I may start to play with it a bit in the coming weeks. I would whole heartedly recommend these saddles to anyone looking for an alternative to the brooks offerings. While the price is a little higher, I have more faith in these saddle's ability to perform as claimed right out of the box.
I could not resist the title with all the love the Roadeo has had with its model name.
Today was much nicer out than last weekend's ride across town to the Channel Islands Harbor farmer's market. Partly cloudy, light breeze and in the upper 50's not quite shorts weather.
With fair weather for the forecast and working out some touring ideas for the spring I spent some time in the morning putting the Jack Browns back on, pulling the fenders and Roughy Toughys off and rotating the Carradice Nelson longflap back on. I have been dropping a little weight and figure that gives me more loading room on the bike without fear of overload and wonky handling.
Market was a success with the dry weather the farmers are able to get more out of the field and not have as bad of mud to contend with. All three bags, Acorn Hobo, the Frame Bag and Nelson were all stuffed to the max.
It would be a lie if I said there was NO change in handling, but nothing went terrible in any way, no wobbles, shimmy, weird pulling or such as can happen when the load is bigger than rider and bike were meant to transport. Cruising speed through the fields was about the same loaded or not.
Riding no hands was easy as always. All of the above needs to be considered in light of the fact that this bicycle is designed and intended to be a lightweight club racer. I am not advocating that you all ditch the heavier touring bikes to load up the club racer, but knowing how and what you bike is made of and can do is a good thin in my opinion.
The Bounty: 2 Dozen eggs, 2 onions, 3 cloves of garlic, 3 heads of brocoli, 1 cauliflower, a bunch of carrots, bag of beet greens, bunch of collard greens, 7 avocados and a large bag of vegetable chips. Not bad for a lightweight steed burdened with my 215 lb self and all that produce.
Next up is to work out some gear lists and see if I can get it in the bags for some quick S24O spring rides.
Back out to the canyons on what was a bit colder than I expected morning. Temps at home were around 37, but out in the fields and back in the canyons there was frost. The wool worked and the wind breaker never came off. The only things that suffered were my feet, next time I will pack some extra socks.
The star of the show today is my new
GoPro® Helmet HERO™ Wide Camera
. In my quest to better capture the rider point of view on my cycling adventures, I opted into one of these little power packs. The angle of view is about 170 deg and grabs a far wider line of sight than the lenses I currently have for my other cameras. Out of the box impression is really good. I want to use it a bit more to form a better review later next week. The two biggest plus points are the wide-angle and waterproof for the rain. The only downside so far is the signal to noise ratio, using the camera for still captures there are a lot of throw aways while the camera is running on autopilot strapped to your helmet. So here are today's light grabs.
Looking back towards Point Mugu
Frigid and frosty in Wheeler Canyon, I was not really prepared for this and my feet are still a bit chilly..
I still am amazed at times how many miles of near empty back roads there are. It is particularly nice when they are freshly re-paved...
Island views for the ride home, crystal clear weather before the next storm
Have a fun and safe New Year, enjoy the weekend and get outside.
This morning was definitely a toodle.
Rambles are the rides we go on for some distance without a fully structured plan, they can be what ever you want them to be, but they are usually longish. This morning I was not feeling the ramble, but needed to get out of the house. Time for the toodle, 30 min or so around the neighborhood to get some air, grab some pics in the perfect morning light, and spin the legs a bit before the next round of rain hits. Started out with what was the beginning of my older 7 mile commute by bike here in town,
those were the days. Then the commute to LA, 1.75 hours each way, for a year and a half started, some things you do not ever miss.
Passing over the 101, I made my way out onto the pier. The original pier dates to 1872 and was used to offload and load steam ships before the roads out here were any good. The thing has been annihilated by winter storms and rebuilt many times over the years. Last year I made it out to the end when 18' swell was bashing through the boards, not long before the police came and chased me off. Today the police were our for reasons similar to mine:
At first I thought I might be out of luck for some reason and the pier was shut down. Turns out they were taking advantage of the light and grabbing some pictures too.
Heading back towards home along the point I stopped to take a look at the progress on the river mouth restoration,
This used to be the parking lot and MUP between the ocean and the County fairgrounds, The plan is to restore it to a more natural state and help the river back to what it may have once been. Pretty cool stuff, and it along with the sand coming down from the mountains will only help with the seasons surf.
Back into the rain again this morning.
I have been spending most of my time up in the Ventura River Valley the last few weeks as my coastal rides have been plagued with mud flows. This morning I decided to set my sites east and head back up into the Santa Clara river valley and start exploring some of the tributary canyons I have previously ridden past. The rain makes this a little more fun since there is water in the creeks and rivers. Today's particular target was Wheeler Canyon.
The rain through the night and into the morning was pretty heavy and hopes were high for some water in the creeks, lighter traffic in nice too.
Not raging rapids, but better than dry creek beds. The ride home was wet all the way with the clouds starting to break up as I worked through the foothills back into town.
I did not cover the amount of ground I had hoped for in the time window. I would like to blame it on tires, rain or 45 deg weather, but my legs are lagging a bit after the Holiday. I look forward to sharing some of the beauty and resources we have in this region. There is a long history in the river valley, with the native peoples, agricultural and ecological changes over time should give me plenty to learn about and share within the context of cycling exploration.
Get out and enjoy you home town, find something new to you this week.
Looking over last night's pics again and wanted to share one more.
Both inside and outside the jacket.
Fenders still doing their job, I really do enjoy the rain, but gear does make a difference. Collecting thoughts still on how things either work or fail.
Cow Mud December 17 2010, 0 Comments
Riding in the rain is fun when it is an event, we will see how I feel about it in a week - Happy Friday
There was a break in the weather we have been having on the coast, fog and mist, but rain is coming. Yesterday I hit the LBS and they had 45m wide Planet Bike fenders that would fit my Roadeo, kind of a shocker that anybody sells fenders here in SoCal, let alone wide ones. I wanted to get these to fit with my 33.333 wide Jack Brown tires, but that was not going to happen so I relented and swapped the 29mm Roughy Toughy tires onto the bike.
These went on super easy compared to both SKS and metal fenders I have put on in the past. The only modification required was bending the mounting tab in the front to clear the headset and filing the slot for the brake bridge a little deeper to improve tire clearance.
The limiting factors for clearance on this bike are the brake selection and the placement of the rear brake bridge. I went with the Shimano 57mm reach calipers for the improved stopping power of other brakes at this price point. I would love to have a set of the new Paul Racer M brakes, but they are out of budget for this year. That being said, I was still able to get a 45mm fender into the caliper with minimal fender squeeze. There is plenty of room for the 29mm tires. The shape of the brake caliper below the mounting bolt is where the space constraints start. The Shimano caliper is very meaty in this area and eats up almost 4mm of space. When this combines with the fixed arc of a plastic fender you lose tire clearance quick.
End of the story, they work and I will be out in the weather next week. Enjoying the sunshine for a day, and hoping it will last
traditional leather saddle.
Initially I mounted the saddle on My Eisentraut for the spring and summer. After a few initial adjustments the position of the saddle was similar to that of my Brooks saddles with thee exception of tilt. The Berthoud is much better set almost level to the ground. Comfort was immediate, no break in required and I put in a couple 40 mile rides in the first week I had the saddle. The shape is a bit flatter in the rear than the Brooks offerings while having steep drop off in the transition to narrow nose. My sit bones are well supported with zero thigh rub. I should note that I previously bought and sold a Selle Anatomica due to the excessive thigh rub I had with the more triangular shape of that saddle.
Over the summer it just kept getting better. While the saddle started to match my shape of my sit bones, the post ride deformation was barely noticeable. The saddle leather is reported to be waterproof, and with the rainy season in the rear view mirror I was relying on sweat to indicate if this was true, but there was never any indication of moisture damage
Around mid summer I was having trouble with getting the B17 on my Roadeo just right. The roadeo was becoming my primary ride and I moved the Berthoud over. Problem solved immediately. Summer into fall, roads paved and dirt, as well as some single track and the saddle was going strong. Only at one point on a long hot dirt climb did I notice the saddle becoming a bit too compliant. 
Closer inspection on a water break revealed that a few of the screws had started to loosen up a bit. Tightening up with the allen key on my multi tool was sufficient to complete the ride. That evening I removed each screw one at a time and added a little blue loctite before reinstalling the screws. It has been over 6 months since this incident with no further indication of further loosening.
With the onset of our rainy season I was once again wondering about the water proof claim for the leather. Throwing caution to the wind I have ridden the saddle in multiple storms. The only additional protection came from fenders and my soaked body sitting on it. Once again after weeks of rain there is no indication of moisture damage.
The leather is holding up incredibly well considering the abuse my 220 lbs has thrown at it over the last 14 months. Of the 5 brooks saddles I have owned only 2 have performed this well and three were duds. The leather appears to be waterproof as claimed, it will get a matte finish when damp, but dries back to a shine. The cork color has rubbed off a bit on the nose. I have not yet needed to adjust the tension, although curiosity is getting the better of me and I may start to play with it a bit in the coming weeks. I would whole heartedly recommend these saddles to anyone looking for an alternative to the brooks offerings. While the price is a little higher, I have more faith in these saddle's ability to perform as claimed right out of the box.
