I’ve been riding the Selle Italia Flite saddle for almost thirty years. The only thing that causes me to replace one is that the leather on each side of the nose eventually wears out, and I end up with a rough leather edge that may or may not damage my clothes (or skin).
Is the leather bonded to the minimal foam underneath? Who might be able to replace the leather and/or foam on one of these? I say replace rather than repair, since I don’t think having seams would be a great idea.
Although this saddle (when I can find it) runs < $100, I would think it’d be cheaper to fix than replace.
At $80 per saddle plus shipping both ways it makes the PBK price of $75 seem like a great deal.
At times in the past I’ve used a thin lycra cover to decrease friction over a roughened saddle nose. When it comes down to it, if you just think of the saddle as a consumable like tires and chains you’d probably be ahead in the worry department.
(edit: http://www.instructables.com/...an-old-bicycle-seat/ seems rather straightforward)
Thanks for that link - at least your saddle is still in production. My wife rides the Selle Italia SLR Genuine Gel (without the cutout) which Selle discontinued 2-3 years or so back but has a tendency to wear the leather off one side of the nose of the saddle after ~5-6 months. At least with that link, I now have some options for repairing the old saddles instead of scouring the web for a replacement.
I wear through the leather on my saddles along the bottom edge, and have had good luck using electrical tape to repair the wear. If the tape wears through, rip it off and replace it.
Tried alot of saddles but I always go back to the Selle T1.
Its shape seems to conform to me best.
I re-upholstered 3 saddles already using a local craftsman.
I purchased excess leather from a local shoe factory (in all the colors I wanted).
Cost is about $2 per piece/color.
Had a local sewing shop embroider my company logo in each one, about $5 per embroidery.
Then I head to a leather craftsman who strips & installs new leather, cost is $4/saddle for labor & materials.
Total is about $11 per saddle.
Worn out leather:
Stripped saddle:
Work process:
Finished saddles:
Leather souvenir (lost the others):
Looks like a do-able DIY but its so cheap to have it done by skilled people here might as well have them do it.
