Now Cardiff sends us the "Cornwall", "Mercia" and "Wessex". The leather shell is the same shape on all three, so the models are only differentiated by the type of rivets and rails. We have to say they are all quite handsome. The cowhide is thick and durable. Hardware is simple and sturdy. One guy here has been riding one of these for 2 months. He had re-adjust the tightness once and recommends maybe adding some low strength lock-tite to the threads.
The Cardiff "Cornwall" (Standard steel rivets, chrome plate CrMo rails; the most affordable of the three at $80.00)
The Cardiff "Mercia" (with hammered copper plated rivet and copper-plated rails. $100)
The Cardiff "Wessex" (chrome-plated coil spring model, $100)
The adjustment is handled by an Allen key. There is also wrench to hold the nut in place while turning the adjustment bolt.
These look nice. What's up with having to tighten after 2 months? Shouldn't that only have to be done after the saddle is *really* worn?
ReplyDeleteAre the rails longer then the Brooks?
ReplyDelete((What's up with having to tighten after 2 months?)) We found they come slightly loose. I guess it's a different approach. You dial it in after riding some.
ReplyDelete((Are the rails longer then the Brooks?))
You can push it farther back by 1 cm.
These saddles would look so good on a mixte. You suppose someone from SOMA could actually provide an update (and not blame the lack of communication on my LBS)?
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous: Barring any unforeseen circumstances we should see Buena Vistas in our warehouse in two weeks. Thanks for not giving up on it.
ReplyDeleteWhen I said "dealer leaving you hanging", I was just trying to empathise with you. To me your comment read like you were slightly frustrated with the dealer. I was not trying to cast blame. Guess I need to work on those empathy skills.
We asked the factory to get them here in Jan. They said "possibly", but didn't come through. We never announced Jan. was a certainty. The people wanted a delivery date even when we didn't have one; we gave them our best guess.
This time it is not a guess. It is certain. Unless the ship sinks off the coast or there is something wrong with the shipment, I see shops getting these before the end of the month.
Yes these saddles would look awesome on a mixte!