Just in: Rivet Imogene saddle

The Imogene is the latest innovative leather saddle from Rivet and we’ve got the first one in the UK.

Like all of Rivet’s saddles, the Imogene is cut from thick leather which has been waterproofed and bonded to an underlayer. The top has a long slot to relieve pressure and there’s a tension plate underneath, to stop the saddle from spreading. The rails are made from chromoly attached to a composite frame. The nose shackle is also made from a tough composite.

Rivet sell their saddles as being unisex. It’s all about the distance between your sit bones and although at the extreme ends of the scale there can be a bit of difference between men and women, there’s also a big area in the middle where they overlap. Rivet have a handy graph comparing their saddles. The Imogene is towards the wider end of the scale but it’s by no means a women’s specific saddle.

There’s always a slight weight penalty with leather saddles and Imogene weighs in at 490g. That’s just 30g heavier than a titanium Pearl and 35g lighter than a Brooks B17. To be honest, if you’re in the market for a leather saddle then a few grams here or there is less important than being comfy on a long ride, which is why you see so many of them on Audaxes and touring bikes. The Imogene’s composite frame and shackle help keep the weight down as well as being, potentially, more robust than titanium, which can fail thanks to the constant flexing.

The chromoly Imogene retails at $195, which should translate into a UK price of £150. We’ll confirm that with UK distributor Carradice before the final review goes up.

We rated previous Rivet saddles very highly for comfort, quality and value for money. The Imogene will be replacing a well-loved Pearl on tester Rob’s audax bike. Once he’s given it a thorough battering we’ll let you know what he thought.

- Buyer's guide to cycling saddles + 11 of the best

http://rivetcycleworks.com/