My experience: About a six weeks ago, I put a VO Model 8 saddle on my Xtracycle and have been riding it several times a week.
Function: 5/5
Style: 5/5
Build Quality: 4/5
Overall: 5/5
Availability: Retails for $85 in Brown or Black at retailers who stock Velo Orange products or directly from the Velo Orange online store.
Summary:
Online supplier of retro bicycle components and accessories, Velo Orange, currently sells two models of leather saddles that are similar in design to a Brooks B-67, a wide saddle with springs best suited to an upright riding position. The saddles, called the VO Model 8 in brown and VO model 7 in black, retails for $85, a substantial savings over the $125 price of a B-67.
While the breakin period takes a little longer than a Brooks, the VO Model 8 is a well made, stylish saddle that deserves consideration if you are not set on the Brooks name.
Function
The VO Model 8 is a double single rail saddle that will fit most seat posts. It includes springs in the back for some suspension as well as a tension bolt for re-tightening the leather. One nice feature that is not on the Brooks is that the tightening bolt is an Allen style (hex) like much of the rest of the parts on a bicycle which means you don’t need a special tool to tighten the saddle. Brooks requires a special wrench which of course you have to purchase separately. The VO Model 8 comes with the correct Allen wrench included. The saddle also comes with a color matched string tie through in the middle of the saddle to prevent the sides from flaring out. This is an option Brooks owners often have to do on their own. Finally, metal loops on the back for saddle bags finish out this very functional, transportation focuses product.
The saddle itself feels much like the B67. I will say that the saddle does take considerably longer to break in than a Brooks. I like a firm saddle and have found the Brooks pretty much good to go from installation (others find the Brooks initially too firm and report a few week break in period.) The Model 8 took about a month of riding several times a week to get there. Now, it feels fine as it has contoured to my body.
Style and Build Quality
I found the style and build quality to be a match to the Brooks B67. The style of the leather is a little different with a more textured appearance. While I find the smoother leather of the B67 a bit more attractive, the texture surface does keep you from sliding around.
Instead of the small metal plate with the brand on the back, Velo Orange has had a larger “VO” carved into the seat. I think this was a good move as a metal plate would make the saddle look too much like a knockoff. In fact, I was riding with Marcus a few weeks ago, and he did not even realize it was not a Brooks until we started talking about it.
My one minor gripe on build quality is the occasional occurrence of squeaky springs. After about a month, I’d hear the springs squeak pretty loudly when I tried to pedal hard or I’d hit a bump. Brooks are susceptible to this as well, and a tightening of the saddle reduced this a bit.
Final Thoughts
Velo Orange has produced a quality saddle at a great price that will look great on your English roadster or Dutch city bike. As long as you can give up the Brooks cache and accept a little longer break in period, you’ll love this saddle.
on Mar 19th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Review: VO Model 8 Saddle from Velo Orange: http://tinyurl.com/c25c9z
on Mar 24th, 2009 at 10:50 am
I think you mispoke: the V-O saddle is a “single-rail” saddle, meaning it has a single rail on each side. “Double-rail” saddles have two rails on each side, and are fairly rare in the US these days. Regardless, you are correct that V-O saddles fit virtually every contemporary seatpost. Thanks for reviewing practical items like this one!
Cheers, David
on Mar 24th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
You can solve the squeaking problem by putting a couple of drops of thick oil (like Phil’s Tenacious) on the nuts that hold the coil springs on both ends, and on the front where the frame pivots. That does it for me.
on Apr 7th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
I’ve been using one of these for about a month or so. It’s wonderful. It does squeak a bit now and then, but I actually kind of like that for the moment. It’s lighter than the sprung B-66 Universal it replaced, but I’m not sure how much is the difference. Veddy nice saddle.
on Apr 7th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
They do look good. One thing I’d have to note though is they look like they need a lot of leather treatment when you first get them – they’re very dry.
on Jun 11th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Thanks for the review. As you may know, the Peddler Bike Shop, at 119 E. North Loop, carries the Velo Orange line.
on Jun 11th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Thanks, Lefty. As long as we are plugging local businesses, the VO saddles and quite a few other Velo Orange products are standard components on the Ferguson line of city bikes by my company Violet Crown Cycles. You can check them out at the Sunset Valley Farmers’ Market every Saturday and buy them on my bikes or shop at the Peddler if you want to add them to your current bike.
on Aug 3rd, 2009 at 10:44 am
I have a VO model 6 on my Urban Fixie. It’s a great saddle. I really like the way the leather is “tied” (via rivet) together under the “neck” of the saddle to help keep the leather taut. As for spring noise, my Koga Miyata World traveler has a Brooks Conquest – the springs squeaked on it, too.
on Sep 27th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
I had a model 8, and the frame rails under the saddle broke. I’m not some huge guy; I weigh 170 and I’m 5’9″ tall. Velo Orange refused to replace the frame, because I’ve had the saddle longer than a year. It irked me because this is a part that I don’t expect should break, ever, and I’d expect the manufacturer to replace the part. I have several Brooks saddles that I’ve had for over ten years with no problems. Brooks for me from now on.
on Oct 17th, 2010 at 6:54 pm
i Ieally like the saddle , how it looks and how it feels. Unfortunately mine broke as well . I was riding and heard a snap. Thought it was maybe the saddle squeaking. A little distance later same sound again. Going over some streetcar tracks the saddle popped off!. I am about a buck sixty and thought damn ! I need to loose some weight. The shop I got it from replaced it no questions asked. Velo Orange apparently fixed the problem with reinforcements where the saddle and seat meet at the rear. I see now rails are snapping too. Oh well I will put this one one and pray it doen not fail. It would be a bitch to ride out of saddle all the way home.I have a couple of Ideal and a Cinelli I have had for almost 30 years.No problem , they are bullet proof.
on Nov 19th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
First of all, thanks Elliott for the fine review and all commenters for your feedback. I will try to keep this fairly short but I would like to give you a little insight into Velo Orange and address a few issues:
1. Issues with past production runs of Velo Orange saddles and what has been done about it
2. Velo Orange return policies
3. The size of Velo Orange and our customer service department
I will acknowledge that we had a moderate number of saddles returned due to breakage at the rail attachment. This issue only affected the Model 6, and the actual failure rate was quite low given the large number we have shipped. This joint has been strengthened and all saddles shipping for the past few months feature this stronger rail attachment.
As for failure of other models such as the Model 8 with the broken rail, these have been very rare though no product is ever prefect with a zero failure rate. Which brings me to my second point: our return policy.
We aim to please as much as we can, but unfortunately not everyone will end up happy. We must work within the policies set by the company owner and spelled out in the Frequently Asked Questions on our website. We will exchange defective items up to one year from purchase. This is a fairly typical warranty shared with many consumer products and we feel it is a reasonable time frame to discover product defects. We are aware that some large corporations will take basically any product back for a nearly unlimited time period, but we simply aren’t large enough to offer that kind of guarantee.
Many people seem to think that Velo Orange is a much larger company than it really is. Perhaps this is because of our rapid growth or the large number of products we are able to offer. Either way, Velo Orange is still a small business and we make the best effort we can. I have seen speculation in online forums making unfair comparisons between the level of our customer service department and that of Zappos.com. For a sense of scale, if you increased our staff by 50%, and then increased that size two orders of magnitude, Velo Orange would be almost as large as Zappos. Being so small makes filling all of the needed rolls in our organization a challenge but we are constantly working on it. We are making changes to our customer service process, but keep in mind that we are still a small business.
We appreciate your patronage and enthusiasm so if you have an issue that needs our attention, please contact us using the “Contact Us” link on our website. As directed on that page, email is the best method as it is monitored by several people though if your issue is more urgent you are welcome to call.
Thank you for your time and attention,
Robert George
Velo Orange