Rivet Independence chromoly saddle

On the surface the Rivet Independence is a traditional leather saddle, but it has a modern twist in the form of a composite resin frame.

Regular readers may remember me raving about the Rivet Pearl that I tested a while back. The Indie came in shortly before I rode London-Edinburgh-London. I was in two minds which to pick, but settled for the Pearl on the grounds that I'd spent longer with it and knew it would be good for the ride. Having spent several hundred miles perched on the Independent I can confidently say that it would have been just as good.

The Indie sits in the middle of Rivet's range, measured by width. At 160mm it's 10mm narrower than the Pearl and just 5mm wider than the Diablo. It shares the quality construction and thick leather of the Pearl, along with the all-important tension plate underneath, which prevent the saddle from splaying. 

Where it differs significantly from the other saddles in the range is the composite resin frame (complete with bag loops). This sturdy plastic helps to keep the weight down (a chromoly Indie weighs just a whisker more than a titanium Pearl). I'd guess that it may also help absorb vibrations, although that's more conjecture than fact and frankly, my backside isn't that sensitive a testing instrument.

Initially I was sold. The Independence was very comfy from the off (bearing in mind that I have more Brooks saddles than most people would consider healthy). On a subsequent 100km ride I found myself wincing more than once - the Indie is definitely firmer than the Pearl. All Rivet saddles can be 'tuned' using the nose bolt but I opted to persevere rather than bugger about. After that slightly ouchy ride things settled down.

I wouldn't say that it needed to be broken in, in the often overstated 'ride through the pain' sense, but there was a brief process of negotiation to go through before my backside and the saddle were in complete harmony.

Rivet saddles are proudly touted as being waterproof, as they put it "our cows wear raincoats" and don't need treating with Proofide. That may be true of the majority of the range, but the Natural (buff) colour that I tested *isn't*. I only discovered this after leaving my bike parked up outside a pub in the rain. After just a short spell the water drops had formed dark blotches, almost like raised blisters.

I gave it a going over with Proofide once it had dried and since then the surface has developed a rather pleasing 'aged' patina, but it would have been useful to know beforehand that some kind of treatment was in order. Annoyingly this happened before I got any pics, so thanks go to Rivet for supplying the ones that accompany this review.

Standard saddle review disclaimer

All saddles are subjective - there is no such thing as a standard issue backside - but anyone who fancies trying a leather saddle would do well to try the Independence.

Verdict

Excellent long distance saddle with novel construction that keeps weight down.