Hi Robert,
I think you've probably solved the mystery and thanks for the interesting history on 3ttt and Greenpeace's involvement in denouncing the saddles. You're correct about the logo on my saddle being just the silver 3ttt sans SL.
As for the elephant ear saddle, I was a bit surprised at the low-ish selling price also. I would have put in a bid but forgot to enter it into my auction sniper software in time.
Cheers, Tam Pham Huntington Beach, CA - USA
On Nov 7, 2007 11:54 AM, R.S. Broderick <rsb000@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Tam,
>
> That looks to be the very same unusual seal skin covering that is normally
> associated with the earliest examples of 3ttt Superleggero saddles
> (...guaranteed to offend absolutely everyone in the Greenpeace crowd -
> much
> to the chagrin of 3ttt no doubt, Greenpeace used to advertise in the likes
> of Bike World denouncing the brutal clubbing of those ever so cute baby
> seals which were ostensibly being killed for their neophyte white fur and
> not their tough and waterproof hide which rather came from adult mammals).
> Unless my eyes are completely shot, the 3ttt logo on yours appears to be
> silver and not gold and is absent the distinguishing "SL" markings, which
> would make this the first non-Superleggero model I have seen sporting this
> type of covering.
>
> I rode a slightly modified 3ttt Superleggero for both many years and many
> miles back in the mid to late 1970's and still find the SL to be my saddle
> of preference from that era. In addition to being extremely durable, the
> other compelling advantage of the seal skin covering was that it was
> essentially impervious to the damp and often chilly climes of the Great
> Northwest (...the likes of which would hasten the demise of "lesser"
> leather
> saddles that now fetch much higher prices in collector circles) such that
> I
> could ride right on through the pouring rain and never once concern myself
> about trying to keep my saddle dry or having to treat its leather covering
> either in preparation or after the fact.
>
> I once queried this list in search of one or more replacements for my old
> 3ttt seal skinned SL, but to no avail. Since that time, I have been
> fortunate enough to snap up a few here and there via eBay so that I should
> now be set for the rest of my riding days. In fact, I even saw fit to
> offer
> my original slightly battle scarred example to the CR List on the cheap,
> and
> when everyone here expressed an underwhelming interest, I sold it off on
> eBay to a gentleman over in Japan. If you would be interested in having
> me
> forward to you "OFF LIST" pictures of my old saddle from said eBay auction
> listing so that you might confirm it's unique covering as being an exact
> match for your saddle, I would be more than happy to do so.
>
> Regards,
>
> Robert "Tecno Tubo Torino" Broderick
> ...the "Frozen Flatlands" of South Dakota
> Sioux Falls, USA
>
> P.S. Yes indeed, I did monitor the original eBay auction in question for
> the rare elephant ear version Paris-Sport saddle offered by Mike Fraysse.
> Quite frankly, I was stunned to see it close at its opening price after
> having elicited only one bid. I know more than a few high-end custom pool
> cue artisans - several of which even occasionally offer their many
> multi-thousand dollar wares with such trappings as elephant ear wraps -
> and
> I can tell you that this material is now exceedingly rare, highly durable,
> and very, very expensive. From that perspective alone, the auction winner
> for that Paris-Sport saddle was most fortunate in their purchase.
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> >From: "Tam Pham" <terminaut@gmail.com>
> >To: CR <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> >Subject: [CR]Exotic saddle materials
> >Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2007 10:16:25 -0800
> >
> >Did anyone else see the elephant ear leather saddle that was on eBay
> >recently? Here's a link to it:
> >
> >http://ebay.com/<blah>
> >
> >Upon seeing that I was reminded of another unusual saddle in my garage
> and
> >thought I'd check the list to see if someone is able to identify the
> cover
> >material. It's an old 3TTT saddle and a detailed photo of it can be seen
> >here:
> >
> >http://www.chainedrevolution.com/images/bikes/misc/3tttsaddle.jpg
> >
> >Cheers,
> >Tam Pham
> >Huntington Beach, CA - USA