An Idéale 64 Cyclo-Touriste in tan leather on a chrome seatpost, its hawk bill nose and Croupon Garanti oval catching the light above the coiled rear springs

Idéale Saddles Image Gallery

The Idéale wordmark in heavy black serif capitals with an acute accent over the first E

Idéale saddles were made at Pont-Saint-Pierre in the Eure for just over a century, first by F. Tron & Cie and then by Tron et Berthet, and for much of that time they were the leather saddle a French rider reached for. This gallery gathers the marque's surviving visual record: the works and the people who staffed it, the advertising that carried the name from the Salon du Cycle of 1894 to the Rilsan topped Profil TB 1 of the 1970s, the catalogs and spare parts tariffs that document the range model by model, and close photographs of the saddles themselves.

The company told one joke for fifty years — a stout rider jolting over a barred road while a slim rider glides past on an Idéale, under the line on roule sans douleur — and it appears here in three variants. Alongside it sit the things that made the claim stick: Marcel Berthet's hour records, the rôdée main leather treatment devised by Daniel Rebour that did away with the breaking-in period, and the duralumin No. 90 that Tron et Berthet called the lightest saddle in the world. Read the full history in our companion article, Idéale Saddles: Behind the Leather Curtain.

Color lithograph poster by H. Gray for the 1894 Salon du Cycle at the Salle Wagram in Paris, showing a woman in a long skirt and feathered hat beside a bicycle shod with Seddon tires
Page IV of the 1902 trade annual L'Industrie des Cycles et Automobiles, advertising Selles Bauriat under J.-B. Derangeon with six saddle models including the Franco-Américaine No. 52 racing pattern
Selle Bauriat advertising postcard signed Mich, captioned Plus douce qu'un oreiller, showing a man in a nightcap in bed hugging a sprung leather saddle like a pillow
A nickel plated J.F. Tron saute-ruisseau skirt holder, its looped wire guard hanging below a round medallion embossed with a profile head
A wide Paris boulevard about 1890, lined with Haussmann facades, where a lone cyclist rides away between horse drawn cabs and delivery wagons
The Touring Club de France chalet in 1898, a garden restaurant among bare trees with diners at outdoor tables and a cyclist standing with a bicycle at left
Color advertising card reading Avec la selle Idéale on roule sans douleur, contrasting a stout rider jolting over a barred road detour with a slim rider gliding past on smooth ground
Cover of the Touring Club de France Revue Mensuelle for August 1914 to April 1915, framed in tricolor diagonal stripes over a table of contents headed L'Œuvre du Soldat au Front
The metal stamping shop at Tron et Cie in 1935, a line of belt driven flywheel presses hung from overhead lineshafting with an operator seated at the nearest machine
Head-on portrait of Marcel Berthet on a track bicycle at the velodrome, in a chevroned jersey with both hands on the bars
A restored 1904 F. Tron et Cie runabout photographed in a field, its green body and wooden bucket seat set on bright yellow wire wheels
Postcard captioned Pont-Saint-Pierre, Usine F. Tron, showing the long brick and stone factory beside its millrace with about twenty workers posed along the bank
Group portrait of about sixty Tron et Cie workers in 1922, men and women ranged in rows outside the arched factory windows with two dogs lying at the front
Company photograph of about ninety Idéale staff gathered on the roadside bank after the opening of the works canteen
The inauguration of the works canteen at Idéale, staff seated the length of long tables set with wine bottles and cups, faces turned toward the camera
Elevated view of the Tron et Berthet works after the 1948 alterations, a long glazed hall lettered Selles Tron & Berthet Idéale across its fascia with the town and chimney behind
Three men of F. Tron et Cie at a workshop bench beside a lathe, photographed against a wall of factory windows
Marcel Berthet crouched inside the Vélo Torpille Bunau-Varilla, a fully faired streamliner held upright at the trackside by a man in a bowler hat
F. Tron letterhead of 1 August 1910 from Pont-Saint-Pierre in the Eure, engraved with a view of the hydraulic and steam works and completed as a handwritten invoice
The F & J Tron et Berthet stand at the 1929 Salon du Cycle in Paris, banked with saddles under a Selle Moto Idéale avec Brooks banner, a giant cardboard elephant and a clown figure among the display cards
The Idéale assembly shop in 1935, workers ranged along a long bench with finished saddles stacked in wicker crates in the foreground and racks of parts behind
The leather assembly shop at Idéale, women working at a long bench among saddle frames and coiled springs, with racks of springs stacked at right under a wall clock
Postcard view of the F. Tron works at Pont-Saint-Pierre seen across the millpond, a tall brick chimney rising beside the three story mill building
1927 advertisement for Manufacture de Selles pour Cycles Idéale, Tron & Enfants of Pont-Saint-Pierre, picturing the No. 110 road, No. 52 racing and No. 103 touring patterns with dimensions
Advertising card reading Cyclistes exigez la selle superlégère Idéale, première marque française, over an orange saddle on a frame lettered métal ultra léger, haute résistance
Advertisement claiming two of the three Poly trophy events for French saddles, listing the winning mixed tandems and randonneurs on Herse and Hugonnier-Routens machines all mounted with the Idéale
Tron & Berthet catalog page showing the Idéale and Elaedy trademark ovals side by side above a note claiming exclusive rights to Dunlop saddle tops, with agents listed for Paris, the provinces, Belgium and Spain
Anglo-Continental of Harrogate announcing three new Idéale saddles, the No. 60 on a duralumin girder frame in Record and Professionnel grades and the chrome framed No. 47 with a patented cyclo-cross nose
Cegedur advertisement urging cycle makers to combine lightness, elegance and strength through Duralumin and Duralinox light alloys, over a montage of hubs, cranksets and lamps
Trade advertisement for Tron et Berthet as le caillebotis français, showing the Camesec and Cametra grating patterns with the Paris sales office and the Pont-Saint-Pierre works
Trade advertisement announcing that Ets Tron & Berthet now issue a numbered open ended guarantee voucher with Idéale saddles numbers 51, 52, 57, 58 and 59
Advertisement for Emeriau of 63 rue de Lyon in Paris, made to measure cyclotouring specialist, paired with an Idéale saddle billed as the saddle that honors French industry
Advertisement for the Idéale Columbia leather saddle built under Christol license, headed travel first class and distributed by Ets Lonchampt of Pontault-Combault
Race advertisement noting Goldschmidt leading the Tour de France on general classification after six stages on a Ch. Garin cycle, delivered with the Idéale saddle made specially for racers
Blue ground advertising card headed Avec la selle Idéale, on roule sans douleurs, in which a stout rider bumps over cobbles past a Rue Barrée sign while a gaunt rider glides alongside
Monochrome version of the Idéale cartoon advertisement, on roule sans douleur, showing a rider jolting across a barred road detour beside a rider gliding past a chateau on smooth ground
Daniel Rebour cartoon advertisement from Le Cycle in which two hands break in a cow like leather, promoting the Idéale No. 90 competition saddle rôdée main in steel or duralumin
Banner advertisement for the Idéale 63 Record, the super saddle for cyclotourists at 600 grams, claiming victory with the Derny pacers of Bordeaux-Paris who all used it
Cover of the Idéale catalog of about 1936, headed Selles, with a copper toned Type Record No. 57 saddle floating above its ghosted frame on a black ground
Page 6 of the Idéale catalog of about 1936, listing the racing saddles Nos. 52, 62 and 51 Record and comparing the Idéale, Elaedy and Nortex grades of models 145, 67, 44, 38 and 41
Page 10 of the Idéale catalog of about 1936, headed Idéale Dunlop Exclusivité, showing road patterns 110, 204 and 103 and heavyweight patterns 301, 55 and 56 with rubber Dunlop tops
Page 11 of the Idéale catalog of about 1936, covering Idéale Dunlop heavyweight, racing, ladies and motorcycle patterns from the No. 320 to the F 400 motor saddle
Cover of the Tron & Berthet spare parts tariff for Idéale, Elaedy, Nortex and Lion saddles, the four brand names stacked in red and black over a ruled Art Deco panel
Page 2 of the Idéale spare parts tariff, pricing tension shells, springs, crescents and cradles in enamel and nickel for saddle models 1 bis through 11
Page 3 of the Idéale spare parts tariff, headed with Vanderstuyft's paced hour record of 122.771 km on an Idéale saddle, listing parts for models 103, 20, 85, 303, 304, 22 and 24
Page 4 of the Idéale spare parts tariff, headed with Marcel Berthet's Vélodyne hour record of 49.922 km, listing parts for the No. 80 Record and models 78, 79, 55 and 56
Page 5 of the Idéale spare parts tariff, headed L'Ancêtre Williams monte la Selle Idéale, listing parts for models 70, 14, 15, 320, 325 and 330
Page 6 of the Idéale spare parts tariff, headed advertising is good but quality is better, listing parts for the racing models 38 to 67 and the duralumin railed 54 and 57
Page 7 of the Idéale spare parts tariff, headed Les Jeunes Champions montent la Selle Idéale, listing parts for models 36, 30, 134, 12 and 13
Page 8 of the Idéale spare parts tariff, a table of chariot seat clamps in nickel and cadmium priced against every saddle model from the Lion and Enfant to the 63 and 64 Record
Page one of the 1969 Idéale No. 90 brochure, offering the Special Competition saddle in steel or light alloy, stamped rôdée main selon Rebour and recommended by Tour de France chief mechanic Paul Delay
Page two of the 1969 Idéale brochure, a typed Tron & Berthet letter explaining the rôdée main treatment devised by Daniel Rebour that suppled the leather in the factory so the saddle needed no breaking in
Advertisement for the Idéale Profil TB 1 headed l'anti gadget, listing its 270 by 150 mm top in Rilsan, latex foam and haute couture hide, from Tron & Berthet at Pont Saint Pierre
Page 16 of Ron Kitching's Everything Cycling, listing the Idéale 2000 to 2003 series, the No. 80 Record and Speciale, the No. 90 and 90R, the Randonneuse 2004, the No. 88 and the No. 92 Diagonale KR
Page 15 of the 1981 Bikecology catalog, ranking Idéale seats as the classic alongside Brooks Professional and the Concor by San Marco, with dollar prices and rôdée main selon Rebour noted
Geffac export sheet for the Idéale Cyclo, Route and Enfant series, ranging from the sprung Cyclo 125 and Tan-Sad Junior to the No. 303 heavyweight and the moulded No. 130 Nortal
Geffac export sheet for the Idéale Courses et Spécialités series, from the No. 39 and No. 42 through the No. 80 Record to the No. 90 competition in steel at 720 grams or duralumin at 500 grams
Page 113 of the Établissements Fernand Simon supplier catalog, headed Selles en Caoutchouc Texto-Gom et Idéale Dunlop, showing ten rubber topped saddles with model numbers from 6750 to 6805 and their prices
Page 41 of the 1939 Gentil et Cie catalog headed Selles Idéale, showing ten models numbered 1151 to 1160 with their dimensions and spring counts beneath the Dunlop Drilastic diamond
Page 39 of Gene Portuesi’s Cyclo-pedia in full, listing the Idéale No. 90-3 and No. 90-2 competition saddles, the No. 91 swallow, the No. 39, the Rilsan 2000, 2001 and 2002, two saddle clips, the No. 41 cover and the No. 44 child carrier
Cyclo-pedia catalog page for Idéale, describing the No. 90-3 and No. 90-2 competition saddles hand treated to Daniel Rebour's recommendations, the No. 91 swallow pattern and the No. 39
Enlarged detail from the Idéale spare parts tariff showing the No. 15 saddle frame with its parts numbered and named in French, from the tension shell to the crescent and its bolt
Angled macro of the Croupon Garanti oval stamped into a black leather saddle flap, two open eyelets below it and the bench edge falling away into shadow
The enameled Idéale nose plate on a black leather saddle nose, photographed straight on above a wooden bench
The rear of an Idéale saddle seen head on, the nameplate above and the polished alloy clamp bands stamped Alliage Léger Traité Fortal flanking the seatpost clamp
Macro of the Fortal shield stamped into a polished light alloy clamp band, reading alliage léger traité, beside the clamp bolt
Macro of the embossed Idéale Type 80 Record badge on black leather, Made in France arched above the oval between the T and B roundels, with copper rivets along the flap
Sharp macro of the Croupon Garanti oval pressed into black leather, its letters catching the light above a row of silvered rivets
The enameled Idéale nose plate riveted to a saddle, with the polished alloy clamp bands visible below in the shadow
Wide macro of a black Idéale flap carrying both the Type 80 Record badge and the Croupon Garanti oval, its skirt of silvered rivets running above an oak bench
Tight macro of the enameled Idéale nose plate, its white letters on black held by two dome rivets in scuffed leather
Underside of an Idéale saddle showing the alloy undercarriage and tension bolt slung between the chrome rear tabs riveted through the hide
Macro of the Idéale seatpost clamp hardware, its polished alloy jaws and dome headed bolt seen from below
The nose of an Idéale 59 embossed Made in France, clamped to a Zeus seatpost whose plate carries the Zeus name
An Idéale TB 1 in deep red suede, unsprung and photographed against white to show its narrow nose and flared tail
An Idéale 64 Cyclo-Touriste in tan leather on a chrome seatpost, its hawk bill nose and Croupon Garanti oval catching the light above the coiled rear springs
A black Idéale TB 60 Cyclo-Touriste saddle in three quarter view, its embossed oval and three vent holes visible over copper rivets at the nose
Spanning the marque's full run from an 1894 Salon du Cycle poster to the Rilsan topped Profil TB 1 of the 1970s, this gallery traces Idéale in factory photographs, advertising, catalog pages, spare parts tariffs and close studies of the saddles themselves.

Idéale Saddles: Behind the Leather Curtain

Model Guide: Idéale Saddles and Clips

Idéale History: A Timeline of Key Corporate and Technical Events

Idéale Saddles: Going Back in Time With Rare Company Photos

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