Only my personal experience .
The late 1970's models were , Racing , Touring , Women's . They were available in Models , I , II , and III . The Model III ( three ) were extremely light , with aluminum rails that looked just the same as the steel rails , same size , same smooth-drawn finish . The fact that they had no surface "stress-risers" might have worked in their favor . They did occasionally break . I knew somebody who broke one .
I've weighed 180 pounds , plus or minus 5 pounds , for a long , long time . I've put thousands of happy miles on an Avocet Touring III , with no problems what so ever . I've never shied away from rough roads . I used it for long fast "training" rides . I used it for long recreational rides . I used it for regular commuting . No problems . I have ALWAYS tried to lift my butt when going over bumps , no matter what bicycle , or which saddle , I was using . It's better for the machine . It's better for my butt ! That seat is mounted on my Frejus-Legnano right now . It's mounted on an Avocet seatpost . When I give that bicycle the total overhaul it deserves , I'll return the original 1972 Brooks Professional , and the original Campagnolo seatpost to their original places on the machine . Still , there's nothing wrong with that Avocet seat , or that Avocet seatpost .
My second Avocet Touring III is mounted on my Ron Cooper . It's mounted on a Weyless seatpost . That particular saddle was hanging on a L.B.S. wall , gathering dust , for 10 or 15 years before I bought it and installed it . I only have perhaps 1,000 miles of use on that one . But again , I've had no problems at all .
General advice that was much discussed in the 1970's & 1980's - don't "crimp" your aluminum rails !! Make darn sure that your seatpost ( seat pillar , seat pin ) does NOT have any sharp points or rough edges which come in contact with the aluminum seat rails !! People really did try smoothing out the inside surfaces of the clamps on their seatposts . It really did seem to help . People also tried smoothing out the rough cast or forged rails on other brands of saddles . I don't know if that helped . Do not over tighten !! Now that's a tough one . If the seatpost holds the rails too loosely , there will be a tiny amount of movement , a "working" of the rails . That's not good . It will leave permanent scuff-marks on the rails , and maybe create stress-risers . But , if the rails are clamped so tightly that they have permanent squeeze-marks left in them , that's at least as bad , probably worse .
There ya go .
Twenty or twenty-five years later & I'm still happy with mine .
Of course , if it were the extremely expensive , extremely hard to replace , factory original , Italiano , vintage saddle , I might not risk riding on it .
Happy Ought Three ! ,
Cheers ,
Raoul Delmare
Marysville Kansas