Snazzy New Seat for the Ross

There was nothing wrong with the current saddle, function wise. It's had a slight wobble, something inherent in the structure and not fixable. But that wasn't the issue. It would hold up for years, had I decided to keep it. Wanted to keep it. But I couldn't put up with the heavy, clunky looking saddle any longer, especially after spiffing up the tires last fall. Seat, be gone!

Enter Nashbar's AR2 saddle. I immediately fell in love with its sleek design. I must admit I eyed the black version with white trim, but it wasn't on sale. The white color, however, grew on me, especially after enjoying the white saddle on the rental bike in Provence. This new seat has less padding than the old touring saddle, but the lower tire pressure should make up for any discomfort.

Yes, those are more bikes stored on the sleeping porch.

Wrenching in the kitchen, once again, saves the day for quick maintenance.

What is so difficult about photographing seats? It took several shots to get
this to look halfway decent and not like a shriveled apple or something phallic. 

The new saddle is too narrow to reattach my license plate in the same manner. The laminate is also coming apart, so after I fix it, I may zip-tie it to the rear rack.

Before.

After riding with the shifting cables above the bar I discovered I needed an alternate hand position. I moved them so the cables route under the bar. Then I'll be able to grab the bar near the stem. With the stem at maximum height, the secondary hand position is significantly more elevated than the grips. I need the extra height. I may eventually want to cover the bare metal, but as always I try out the changes before further customization.

After.

Much more hand room! I also moved the mirror further toward the brakes.

Of course the green bag may not be a good fit now. The buckles tend to slide a bit and ring the new silver bell that I'm trying out. But not to worry. I've an alternate handbag that I'm just dying to fix up—with a bit of anniebikes flair of course—that should suit the Ross.

Ta da! The saddle makes the Ross quite sporty, exactly what I was after. And she's itching to be ridden.

The old saddle will find a new home. It's a classic leather Selle Royale Tourist M, probably from my husband's 70s Peugeot that he stripped years ago. He recently mentioned that he needs to replace the seat on his Bridgestone MB-2. So I piped up,"Hey, have I the seat for you!"