15.12.2023 Contec Classic Exclusive saddle frame broken!

 ~o~

  Friday 15th 41F/5C. Heavily overcast. 150 yard thick mist and very damp. Up at 7.30 after waking earlier and failing to gain altitude. 

 9.00 I ought to go for my walk before sloth sets in. 

 10.00 Back from my walk to the lanes. Much milder. I wore my dayglo cycling jacket for visibility in the mist. Backed up by the Puma boots with white bumper strips. Everybody [the traffic] gave me an unusually wide berth. Which avoided tyre spray from the wet roads. A pheasant dashed away as I passed. I started talking to myself on the way back but couldn't get any sense out of him. As usual. Not much else to report. 

 Broken Contec saddle frame member!

 Morning coffee over. I have a grocery shopping list. Which must be attended to this morning. It has reached 65F/18C in the room. The baskets full of  logs from the greenhouse are coming in at over 20% moisture content. I am experimenting with larger logs. Just to see if they will burn without my splitting them. Fine so far. It just needs enough air to keep the og  burning steadily on a red fire base.

 I was just comparing the Contec saddle to a very similar Brooks. When I noticed the spring frame is broken! Purchased in April of this year. So only 8 months from new. The frame member could be replaced if I can find a source. The village cycle shop where I bought it has very sadly closed down. So I can't return the saddle for replacement under guarantee. 

These images show the broken frame member[ arrowed above] Smaller arrows indicate the horrible sharp bends. Which should never be used on a stressed, spring steel wire frame. The sharp corners act as local stress points and must seriously risk breakage. I am a modest 75-80kg. [12 stone]

 Examination of the entire saddle frame showed crude bends at all major stress points. Bends should be smooth and made to a small radius. Not bent over a sharp edge! This is a great shame. I really liked the Contec. It provides the width so vital to an upright position. Over which I have no choice. As my ageing hands and wrists can no longer tolerate a leaning forwards position. There is too much of my [modest] weight thrown onto my hands. 

 The Contec saddle cost me about half the retail price of a near identical Brooks shop price. Yet the Contec has many plus points in its favour over the Brooks B67. Thicker leather, connected side skirts, hex key tension adjustment, all chromed frame amongst others.  

A wider view of the Contec saddle.
Showing the upper frame wire break

 The skirts can be tied with shoes laces if they flare after some use and abuse. I did that to my B17 Special. Though this hardens the ride to some extent it extends the saddle's useful life considerably. The flaring of the skirts must provide some extra comfort on rough roads. Though only in the centre of the saddle. Where there really shouldn't be too much pressure anyway. 

 Hence the craze for carving or moulding elliptical slots in many saddles. To relieve pressure on the perineum. This whole subject may be highly dependent on the rider's forward lean angle. 

 I see the B67 is readily available at about 900 Danish Kroner. [About £105 GBP] The B67 has a textured [dimpled] leather top. While the Contec is smooth but naturally aged. I like both saddles for their looks on my all black, Moustache e-bike. Which, to my eyes, pretends to be an old motorcycle from the early 1900s.

  The Brooks B67 is closest to the Contec in design. Though the B67 is slightly smaller in width and length. Some of the Brooks sprung saddles will not fit a modern seat post. I am using a dropper post so have zero choice in this matter. The dropper post uses the modern micro-adjustable saddle clamp. 

 The Moustache is lethal [IMHO] without a dropper post. This is due to the very high bottom bracket height. I literally dropped the Moustache onto the handlebar end several times before I fitted the dropper post. The ground is simply far too far away when dismounting. I have a Medium frame size. Which matches my height. 

 Both saddles have springs at the rear [for rider suspension] but have only a frame pivot at the front. Most of the rider's weight is on the wide "bench" at the rear of the saddle. So the lack of forward springing is of less significance. While still providing greater rider comfort over rough roads. 

 Some Brooks models have more of less complex springing at increased weight. Some have multiple springs running fore and aft. The risk of any springs is the saddle rocking laterally while pedalling. The Contec and B67 may be slightly less likely to rock sideways due to the fixed front pivot. 

 I noticed the Contec knocking loudly early on yesterday's ride but forgot to check the reason when I came home. It had stopped knocking because the broken spring had moved sideways against the inside of the skirt.   

 In the absence of a local Contec cycle parts dealer I have emailed the company in Germany with images of the broken saddle.

 A shopping trip in the dark allowed me to catch up on my missing groceries. I went in the old car.

 Then it took me half an hour to do the backlog of washing up. I don't know why I am so loathe to do it on a daily basis. I had run out of every plate, bowl, mug, pan and cutlery.

Dinner was salad. The 6 minute, boiled eggs were still runny but acceptable.

~o~