I rode the saddle that came on my Dolce until it literally ripped apart at the seams and had foam hanging out (and it's still on that bike). Funny thing is, once I got my Selle an-atomica, I realized my old saddle wasn't even comfortable! Ignorance is bliss. I guess you can ride it 'til it either hurts or falls apart.

I did read somewhere that bike shorts have a 6 month lifespan, but i'm not sure if that's 6 months for George Hincapie, or 6 months for me. His six months would take me about a decade kinda like dog years.