...watch it there Joe, I represent that remark.
Actually, up until the last few years, the preponderance of my riding days (...daze?) would have been spent in the Great Northwest (...pre-teen through early college years in Portland, Oregon followed by a twenty plus year stint in the Seattle / Bellevue area) which is noted more for its damp clime - decidedly unlike the brutal winter cold and ever present prairie winds of SOUTH Dakota.
But Joe is right on the money with his notation regarding the ability to drop a few grams from this fine saddle (...3ttt #30 Superleggero) with a bit of judicious drilling on the underside of its shell (...indeed, I plead guilty as charged). As it turns out, my personally modified 3ttt #30 Superleggero from "back in the day" actually weighs in at 227 grams while a bone stock NOS Cinelli Unicanitor #4 that I just pulled out of its plastic bag nearly broke my digital scale at a hefty 433 grams. And since I already had that very pair of unmounted saddles easily at hand, I decided to do a little bit of sizing with the old fabric tape measure. While my quick recollection may have been that its profile approximates that of the Cinelli Unicanitor, Joe would be even more accurate in his assessment that the 3ttt "...is probably narrower in general". In fact, the 3ttt is 1/2 inch narrower at its widest point, 1/2 inch narrower through its sides where your thighs might appreciate it, and just over 1/4 inch shorter in overall length when compared to its Cinelli counterpart.
Robert "give me a meter stick, and I'll rule the world" Broderick ...the "Frozen Flatlands" of South Dakota Sioux Falls, USA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>From: Joseph Bender-Zanoni <joebz@optonline.net>
>To: "R.S. Broderick" <rsb000@hotmail.com>
>CC: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org, gillies@cs.ubc.ca
>Subject: Re: [CR]Light Saddles Before 1982 ??
>Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2006 22:14:27 -0400
>
>Like Robert I liked and still like the 3TTT with alloy rails. It is made
>of a particularly rigid and tough brand of nylon called Rilsan. It is not
>quite shaped like a Unicanitor (probably narrower in general) and if you
>don't like the shape you are doomed. The rigidity allows judicious
>drilling of the shell to further lower the weight. Drill out the areas
>where you need resiliency and you might save another 1/2 ounce.
>
>Robert probably liked it because the Rilsan was supposed to have less
>rigidity increase at low temperature according to at least one ski boot
>manufacturer. A natural for ND.
>
>Joe Bender-Zanoni
>Great Notch, NJ
>
>R.S. Broderick wrote:
>>Don,
>>
>>My personal choice of compromise for a reasonably lightweight yet
>>comfortable saddle suitable for racing use circa mid 1970's through early
>>1980's was the 3ttt #30 Superleggero with alloy rails that tipped the
>>scales at 290 grams officially (...although it could sometimes be found
>>weighing a tad less if your LBS was willing to let you individually weigh
>>their various stock on hand - for me, it helped to have worked part time
>>there during the summer months). Basically, this saddle is lightly padded
>>and remarkably similar to a Cinelli Unicanitor in its profile. So, if the
>>Cinelli works well for you and you are not too heavy yourself (...one of
>>my riding buddys back in the day was 6' 6" and 210 pounds and he rode the
>>heck out of one of these alloy railed saddles without incident), then the
>>3ttt is likely to suit you as well.
>>
>>By the way, if anyone out there happens to be sitting on (...yes, pun
>>intended) one of these very same 3ttt Superleggero saddles in REAL nice
>>used, or better yet NOS, condition, PLEASE contact me directly and off
>>list as I would LOVE to find one in better shape than that which I have on
>>hand so that I may use it in conjunction with my never ending Gitane TdF
>>retro-racer restoration project.
>>
>>Robert "pragmatic weight weenie" Broderick
>>...the "Frozen Flatlands" of South Dakota
>>Sioux Falls, USA
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>>>From: Donald Gillies <gillies@cs.ubc.ca>
>>>To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>>>Subject: [CR]Light Saddles Before 1982 ??
>>>Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2006 14:34:43 -0700 (PDT)
>>>
>>>1. I have a very light saddle that came on an ALAN frame. It is
>>>labeled SYSTEME and i wondered if this was in the timeline, and
>>>if anyone could tell me something about these saddles ??
>>>
>>>2. Who made the lightest saddles before 1982 ( name and model ), and
>>>if so, were they worth riding or just a pain in the you-know-where.
>>>For example, Cinelli uncovered plastic saddles were pretty light, but
>>>i believe that these were too uncomfortable for all but track racing ...
>>>
>>>Thanx in advance,
>>>
>>>- Don Gillies
>>>San Diego, CA, USA