Selle Italia Turbo - Any Good?

I know the Turbo has iconic status, but I have never used one, and as I more often run the almost as legendary Charge Spoon, I wondered if the Turbo is actually a comfortable saddle to use.

I like them, you can pick one up for £10 easy enough if you want to try one

That's what I was thinking, but for a couple more quid I could get a Spoon, only it would not look quite as 'retro'.

How about a Charge Bucket? Deliberately Turbo-esque looks, but Spoon-shaped on top:

http://chargebikes.com/products/bucket/

Interesting.

Road CC said that the Bucket is made on the same last as the Turbo, they also said it's not as comfy as the Spoon.

Ah, OK, maybe it's not the same shape. Although deeper sides == less flex which would also make a difference. Not expensive, though, might be worth a punt

MikeD":g5787rq3 said:

might be worth a punt

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Yes, I think I may give one a go.

I use Turbos (and the derivatives) on all my bikes, I really like the shape, they come in a multitude of colours and they were used and made over a long period of time. You may not find them comfy, I don't particularly get on with the Rolls for instance and saddles are a bit tricky to recommend for other people. Personally I don't understand why everyone on here goes out of their way to fit Modern saddles (the Spoon) to their vintage bikes it has in my opinion ruined more than one decent build, but I know you are not bothered about the originality/period correctness.

In summary, give it a go.

I used a leather vetta gel turbo BITD absolutely loved it, use a spoon nowadays and it's similar-ish although maybe not as comfy for me.
It's a very subjective thing though the old bum perch

Rod_Saetan":1xri14r5 said:

I know you are not bothered about the originality/period correctness.

Click to expand...

That's true, but the bike still has to look 'right' and in this case I am using a fair amount of period correct components, at least above the centre line of the bike.

I use Spoon saddles because I find them really comfortable, at least on mtb's, and as all my bikes get ridden, then comfort is very important. In this particular instance, I don't think the look of the Spoon is correct for this bike, and as the Turbo is easily available and was an option when the bike was new (and is used in at least one brochure photo), I thought it would be the best option, provided it is comfortable.

As I have still got a lot of bits to find, and also as the frame is far from ready, I think I'll see what I can find on the bay over the next few weeks.

bren, that's good info, thanks.