Update: Origin-8 Racing Saddle
This is a short follow-up to my original review of the Origin-8 brown racing saddle…
After I got mine last May, I quickly discovered that they were damn near impossible to find anymore. I searched from time to time all summer, and came up blank every time, that is, until last week. I was doing a Google search for Velo saddles (in general), and accidentally found an eBay seller with one left in stock for $16 (the brown models are specially made by Velo for Origin-8). I jumped on it right away, and now I have one for each bike. If I find another one, I’ll buy it and keep it as a spare.
In other words, it’s an awesome saddle, and I’m extremely happy with it, despite the somewhat heavy weight (they average around 300g). The first one I bought has seen a lot of XC riding–and wrecking–and plenty of road and rail-trail riding, and is still holding up well. The logo on top is slightly fading, but I won’t take points off for that, since it’s to be expected (click one the following image for a better view):
If you’re looking for a great saddle, but can live without the special stitching and color, then these are readily available on eBay if you search for "Velo fixed gear saddle" and they come in a ton of colors, with a plain vinyl cover, for around $20. The next image is of a black one I got with my EighthInch Scrambler complete build. It looks a whole lot different without the custom stitching, but it’s exactly the same seat.
If you’re looking for a brown one, get it when the opportunity presents itself, or you may be out of luck later. Otherwise, the plain colored ones are a great alternative and will more easily match the colors you already have on your bike. I’m sticking with the brown, though!
Related posts:
http://one9.us/blog/cycling/origin-8-racing-saddle-review
http://one9.us/blog/cycling/eighthinch-scrambler-v2-review-preview