Leather saddles were at one time the ONLY thing a pro cyclist would ride on. Though popularity has dwindled due to improvements in man made materials, there are still many people (self included) who prefer a leather saddle. They can be hard at first, but once broken in, a leather saddle conforms to the shape of ones anatomy can be the most comfortable thing one has ever ridden on.
Brooks is one of those companies with a staunchly loyal fan base and they still sell every saddle they produce. This is the Brooks Team Professional that is mounted on my own 2000 Bianchi Veloce. I also own a Brooks Colt, which is on my other road bike, a mid-80's Schwinn Prologue.
For those interested in such things, there is some fascinating history and interesting cycling photography to be found at Brookssaddles.com
Pre-challenge notes:
Took a few different edits to get the highlight areas to appear with detail and not blown out. I may still take a slight hit for the glare, but under basic rules, I was unable to tone it down any more without losing other aspects of visual impact. I also expect to get some comments about my choice of crop. Expecting a mid-5, but hoping for a low 6 out of this.
Post-challenge notes:
Came in a little lower than I'd hoped, but still on the + side of a 5 and in the front half of the peloton. I was right that the glare hurt it some. A couple of commenters suggested this looked like an ad. They nailed it. I had been looking at ads and trying to get a similar look.
Added 3/26/10: Looking back on this almost 2 years later, I can now see why my entry came in where it did.
Statistics
Place: 64 out of 139 Avg (all users): 5.2768 Avg (commenters): 5.7000 Avg (participants): 5.0877 Avg (non-participants): 5.3413 Views since voting: 1184 Views during voting: 325 Votes: 224 Comments: 10 Favorites: 0
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
Photographer found comment helpful.
