San Marco Rolls steel rails.........370g too heavy ?

Sunderland Supporter

I have never tried a rolls but I have read a lot of good things about them. Going rate for a nice used steel rails one on ebay is £25, only thing that concerns me is 370g weight for steel rails type, has anybody ever tried one ?

napoleond

Weight is the last thing on my mind when choosing a saddle. Comfort is the most important. Then if I can get a bling saddle that's comfortable then that's a bonus.

You'll find a LOT of pros use that saddle.

Sunderland Supporter

NapoleonD wrote:

Weight is the last thing on my mind when choosing a saddle. Comfort is the most important. Then if I can get a bling saddle that's comfortable then that's a bonus.

You'll find a LOT of pros use that saddle.

The rolls appears to be quite a narrow saddle. Ive heard riders say that to use a saddle like the Fizik Arione , another narrow type, the rider has got to have good flexibility otherwise aching sore hamstrings etc can become problems, would good flexibility be a must have for using the rolls ?

napoleond

The only way to find out is to try it. Have a look at the saddle exchange thread in the classifieds or do what I do and go for the buy/sell on ebay route. I always tended to break even. I've settled on a Fizik Aliante, yet to try anything better (although SMP came very close, just couldn't get it to right setback with my bike.)

crankycrank

Agree with NapD. I've been using a Rolls for about 20 yrs and love it but would go with a lighter one if it was as comfortable. I have yet to find that saddle though. Of course that is just for me but it may feel like a torture device to others and you may find a lighter, cheaper saddle that is more comfortable to you. A lighter saddle is always nice but when my arse is screaming it doesn't matter much. You just have to buy and try. For 25 quid you could re-sell it without much of a loss if you don't like it and try something else.

petemadoc

370g

Not heavy enough!

You want one of these

http://www.brooksengland.com/catalogue- ... 17+Select/

greasedscotsman

The Rolls is a great saddle, I've got one on 3 of my bikes. Just depends on if it works with your ass or not and the only way to find out is to try it!

The only thing I would point out is the side of the Rolls are quite deep compared to some newer saddles, so you might have problems with certain types of seatpost. Ones like this...



...probably won't work.

keef66

I just slapped a Brooks B17 special on my lightweight alu bike. Looks a bit incongruous but it's like riding around in a gentleman's club. Certainly can't tell it weighs as much as my toolbox.

Pross

I've got a 20 year old Rolls on my winter bike and have considered putting it onto my best bike. I eventually chose not to due to it not matching rather than weight.

racingcondor

370g is still only 150 (ish) heavier than a standard Arione. Last time I looked that was about the same as 2 bars and a gel. Yeah it's a heavy saddle (especially since you could theoretically shave 300g off that) but the wrong saddle will hold you back a lot more than 150g.

Sunderland Supporter

I got a 9/10 condition used rolls this morning , took it home only to discover the rails are too narrow !! When I measured them it appears the gap between them is only 34mm. Is there anything I can do besides bin it , the item was sold as seen.

Edit: spoke to guy at local bike shop who told me to bring it in for a look, he says they are standard size and should fit a modern stem. still looks too small to me though

keef66

I've occasionally had to persuade a saddle's rails to agree with the seatpost clamp. I think some manufacturers' tolerances are a bit vague.

greasedscotsman

Sunderland Supporter wrote:

Edit: spoke to guy at local bike shop who told me to bring it in for a look, he says they are standard size and should fit a modern stem. still looks too small to me though

Stem? Think that's where your going wrong!

Sunderland Supporter

greasedscotsman wrote:

Sunderland Supporter wrote:

Edit: spoke to guy at local bike shop who told me to bring it in for a look, he says they are standard size and should fit a modern stem. still looks too small to me though

Stem? Think that's where your going wrong!

I meant seatpost :oops:

sorry

greasedscotsman

Sunderland Supporter wrote:

I meant seatpost :oops:

sorry

Sorry, I couldn't resist. I don't think you should have any problems fitting it to your seatpost, pretty sure it's a standard size. I've just had to "persuade" as Keef66 puts it a Arione onto a Cervelo seat post. Think the tolerances on some saddles aren't very good.

crankycrank

+2^^^

Sunderland Supporter

As it turns out, one side of the rails didnt look as straight as the other, I took one of those short but heavy hammers and gave that side a couple of good wallops. I was then able to mount the saddle and will give it a test ride on Saturday afternoon. Its pretty much unused so I expect it will take a few runs to mould the shape of my butt into the leather. The saddle I removed from my bike was a white charge spoon and I gotta admit the bike looks very different indeed sporting a black selle san marco rolls. I do hope it lives up to the multitude of positive reviews I read about it.