I agree. Back when I bought my Albions, Pelham Saddlery was an Albion dealer, as well as dealer for quite a few brands. They didn’t favor any particular brand and showed me new and used saddles. I was able to rule out some brands that didn’t work, like Stubben, which my BO had recommended. They were hard as a rock and I had instant pain when I sat.
Several years later Albion changed their distribution to reps, which has pluses and minuses. Clearly the manufacturer has more control over who sells their saddles and their qualifications as fitters, which is reasonable. But if the rep doesn’t have something that meets your needs, where does that leave you? There is a large tack store an hour from here which has a lot of new and used saddles but no expertise in fitting. I steer people away from them unless they take someone along who knows what they should look for. Drive a little longer and you get more expertise and a larger inventory.
I love my Albion and will always advocate for the brand. That’s because they make excellent saddles but aren’t a prominent brand in the U.S. Like any other brand, they work for some of us and not for others.
