Our leather saddles come in different shapes and styles depending on what kind of bike or riding position. For example, a wider saddle with springs is ideal for an upright, 90-degree posture. The springs will give you a nice comfy ride, damping the vibrations on the saddle and not feeling bumps on the roads as it soaks up the shocks, otherwise it will travel directly up to the spine. Saddles in this width would be the B67, B66, B33 and others.
Middle widths are often used for touring or commuting when the spinal angle of the rider is in a 45 to 60 degrees position. A middle width will work fine for the times when you want to go fast and low, but if you want a relaxing ride, you can do that too. There’s room for both on these saddles. A typical saddle in this range is our classic, best-selling B17, or its rubber companion, the Cambium C17.
As a general rule, the more athletic the riding position, the narrower the saddle. The narrowest saddles are for riders who lean forward to cheat the wind while sitting more toward the front of the saddle to maximise power transfer to the pedals. During hard efforts, the rider will even be perched directly on the nose! This is, by the way, where we got the saying ‘on the rivet.’