Black leather bike saddles have been around since the dawn of bicycle creation in the early 19th century. Back then, the saddle or seat was given very little attention compared to the mechanical components, which often led to soreness and unpleasant bruising in sensitive areas.
Over the years, bicycle saddles have seen some improvement—but they have also seen some downgrades in quality. Unfortunately, most modern bikes come with the standard plastic saddle, which is usually preferred for its low cost by cyclists who only ride occasionally. Plastic saddles lack the true comfort, style, and durability that a leather saddles provides.
The Making of Black Leather Bicycle Seats
One of the most important aspects of a quality black leather bike seat is the leather itself. At Selle Anatomica, we use the industry’s best full-grain leather, which is flexible yet firm, for all our seats. In most cases, you’ll find that leather bicycle seats only have one layer of full-grain leather. This is not the case at Selle Anatomica. Because of our special molding process, which you’ll hear more about in a moment, the top of our leather—called top-grain—is much softer. We’ve found that doubling our bike seats with a full-grain plus a top-grain layer, which holds tension and firmness, gives the perfect amount of stiffness and flexibility to mold to your shape.
Why Choose a Selle Anatomica Saddle?
The premium black leather bicycle saddles at Selle Anatomica are unique from other brands you may know. Instead of using the standard wet molding process to shape your leather, we’ve developed a new, hot and dry molding method. This method produces the same durability as wet molding, but the saddle will require far less time to break in. This is because our hot and dry process uses resin and leather instead of carbon and leather, giving a more flexible leather top.
Black leather is one of the most durable leathers due to the chemicals in the tanning solutions and the methods we use for molding. This makes our black leather bike seats our longest-lasting option. For this reason, we recommend a black leather seat for anyone planning on touring.
Caring for Your Black Leather Bicycle Saddle
Our black leather bike saddles need to be waterproofed consistently. Due to the unique WaterShed finish, the leather top does not need to be treated. Rather, you should focus on waterproofing the raw edges and the underside of the seat. We do not recommend using Proofide, solvents, or other silicone products, as they soften the leather. Saddle Sauce, available at Selle Anatomica, is suggested instead. Beeswax is also acceptable and will not damage the black leather.
