Yet another broken Spa Aire Ti Grumble..grumble

[aidan.f]

Have two of these only last about 12 months
The first failure May  2020 was the nose pressing  - the bit that is riveted to the leather.
LwAb has mentioned in a previous post (that I now cannot find) that this part has now been modified.
Second failure last night was the rail bearer  - I don't have the bits - they rattled off the frame and fell onto the road somewhere near Annan. This saddle has not had much use at all.



Good saddle with U shaped rail bearer, this is what fractured - after the bang i felt  a rough edge just before everything fell onto the road via my chain stay :-(

I'm getting a bit cheesed of with this - it's a shame as they  are comfy  and a good price (I'm using three). - Now  thinking about going to GB saddles.
Not sure whether it has got something to do with riding a trike - I'm 80 odd Kilos ATM and don't sit like a sack of coal.

[rogerzilla]

My Wharfe (the one mike gave me because it was too hard for him) broke there.  Spa sent me a free replacement part, which was nice.  The saddle popped a rivet about a year later, which was less repairable.

[aidan.f]

Thanks for the tip, do you have an estimate of how long before your failure?

[rogerzilla]

I think I'd had it for about a year.  I don't know how much mike rode on it.

[BFC]

I have had two "tension shackles" fail (so far!). Both saddles were date code 1707, honey.
One snapped after 618miles, returned to Spa at my cost (they did not refund the postage) for a very slow trip round the world on a long holiday, not yet been re fitted to a bike.
Second snapped after 2616 miles. E-mailed Spa asking if they had parts available rather than posting it around the planet. No response.
Both failures were on a fixed track bike I used for commutting and audax with carradice bagman bracket.
Ordered a Brooks BYB140 from SJS (chrome version, Ti version BYB289 out of stock and bloody expensive), which fitted after a little fettling with a file to trim the nose height.
One other on a bike at the moment, 1624 miles date code 1610 in black (geared bike used for audax, also with bagman bracket).
One other unused waiting for me to get round to fitting, date code 1610 in brown.
I have another BYB140 in the spares box, it's easier to fit than it is to change a saddle.

[aidan.f]

Spa are sending me a shackle and a saddle to replace one that never came back from its holiday.
They don't think the shackle is prone to failure.

[aidan.f]

Well: There are two different nose shackles...
I noticed that the replacement shackle sits parallel to the tension bolt bush, unlike both the new saddle and one I bought earlier this year.


Here are the two shackles back to back, flush is the lower one.


And side by side flush on right.

I am sure the flush fit will be a lot stronger, so why different shackles?
Re-design as a result of failures?

[PeterM]

I had a Ti Rivet saddle fail similarly.  They are now using some kind of nylon or plastic rather than Ti for the nose assembly.  This has proved much more robust.

[BFC]

Spa now have replacement shackles and bolts available (Ti and steel).

[aidan.f]

Thanks, I got a couple of Ti shackles from them. Ground down the nibs that press against the rails for a flush fit against the tension bolt.

[BFC]

The black saddle had the usual shackle failure yesterday, mid ride. The comfort on the following 75 miles home was not the best with a lower effective seat height and distinct lack of springiness. It was creaking (new feature) beforehand, but blissfully silent after breaking...

Covered 2705 miles total, felt the "ping" and picked up the bolt before total loss, shackle replaced from my spares stock - must order more (and carry on the bikes for longer rides)!

[alexb]

Weird that it's the shackle that fails on these. It's usually the bolt that breaks on Brooks saddles.

[aidan.f]

I have now have a Giles Berthould. Better, stronger design. More comfortable, no problems during LEL.
Worth the extra £££'s may buy another, just like bikes n+1

[JonBuoy]

I have now have a Giles Berthould. Better, stronger design. More comfortable, no problems during LEL.
Worth the extra £££'s may buy another, just like bikes n+1

Which one did you go for?

[freeflow]

I'd be more interested in how the forward/backward adjustment compares to the Nidd.  One of the advantages of the Nidd over a Brooks is the extra 25mm for moving the saddle back.

[aidan.f]

Aravis, the fore and aft adjustment is ok but not as much a a Nidd