Having ridden the Alloy Rail Ideal for about 35 years, I assert they are quite comfortable. I do
have the spring-loaded nose version. The leather is almost like new, though I have not been
an everyday long distance rider. Mine happens to have come with cutaway sides. I will warn
you to be careful with the seat clamp. I am still searching for a clamp, having found no one
who could braze or weld the little tilt tabs which broke when I hit a tree root a couple of years
ago. I believe they might not have broken if the large adjustment nut had been tighter. But
the clamp, as I discovered, is next to impossible to find, separate from a very expensive saddle.
I replaced the Ideal temporarily with the Brooks Ti Swallow, which is not more comfortable than the
Ideal for me, but more comfortable than the composite saddles I use on my other bikes. My
experience lead to adjusting the nose to be very slightly, a centimeter or less, up from level so that
it is natural for the sit bones to be on the wider part of the saddle. Another difference with
'modern' saddles is that I am always shifting, forward and back. Good luck with it. I suspect
it will come to be your favorite after you adjust to each other.
Mike Breen (mike@brooksidehouse.org)
Oakland, CA