Touring - Touring saddle

Whats a good touring saddle? Brooks or fizik? I have a selle italia gel and its 143mm too small for my sit bones . I need a 153mm wide saddle any suggestions?

I will be the first, but not the last to recommend Brooks. I got the Brooks B-17 PRE-AGED model, and it was heaven from the first day. It has some give, gives that nice 'leather hammock' effect, and my first ride with it was 45 miles, and once I got the angle adjusted right, I didn't notice it the rest of the ride.

Do a search on Brooks and you'll find a ton of threads, including various break-in techniques. I love mine now, much nicer than that CODA that was on my C-dale T800. Quite frankly, I think that saddle is outlawed under the Geneva Conventions. (at least in my case)

Steve W.
Who LOVES his brooks.

My standard B17 is over 160mm wide. Needless to say I second Mentor58's comments on this saddle.

My standard B17 is over 160mm wide. Needless to say I second Mentor58's comments on this saddle.

I'm sure Brooks saddles are terrific. But in threads that touch on them it's rarely recognized that many people find them so difficult to break in as to be unacceptable. I've read advice to people who've been suffering on a Brooks for months to persevere until it feels better. To my mind, if a saddle doesn't feel good after a reasonable amount of time, either the rider needs better conditioning, the saddle position needs adjusting, or, most likely, the saddle isn't for him. On this forum, Brooks is more like a religion than a recommendation!

I'm sure Brooks saddles are terrific. But in threads that touch on them it's rarely recognized that many people find them so difficult to break in as to be unacceptable. I've read advice to people who've been suffering on a Brooks for months to persevere until it feels better.

I'm absolutely happy with my Brooks saddles. I have two B17's and a Flyer; these were comfortable straight from the box and even got better after the break-in period (the two B17's are now well beyond the recommended mileage to accomodate the leather to my sitting bones).

somewhat firm is MUCH better than somewhat mushy/soft (i.e. GEL)

Brooks fills the bill, and the B17 is a nice happy medium between firm and break-able (break-in-able)

Saddles are a personal thing. Take any recommendations made here with a grain of salt. You may bolt on the saddle preferred by most of those appending to this (or any other) thread and hate it. That said, I think Brooks saddles are the bee's knees. You can always buy one at http://www.wallbike.com where the liberal return policy allows you to return the saddle if you don't like it. Have fun!!

I have never used a Brooks saddle, so cannot compare to the four or five saddles I have had over the years made of some kind of synthetic skin wrapped around a foam- and/or gel-padded frame.

I have found all of these saddles to be reasonably comfortable, and have never had to stop riding because of discomfort in the nether-regions.

I echo drcrash's reminder that "Saddles are a personal thing" and bernmart's observation that "Brooks is more like a religion than a recommendation" on this forum!

I like WTB for their comfort and duarbility.

Saddles are a personal thing. Take any recommendations made here with a grain of salt. Absolutely true! BUT... There's a very good reason Brooks have been around for so long, and it's not just fad or fashion.
My personal favorite for right now is either a broken-in Brooks Pro (these DO take some time to break in), or the B-17 Standard. The narrower B-17N just feels too narrow for me. The Pro uses thicker leather and takes longer to break in than the B-17, but they're intended to last through years of daily use. Nothing looks as nice as a Brooks while it's breaking in! This one's got about 1K miles on it so far...

I've got four Brooks saddles - 2 B.17 Champion Specials, a B.17 Standard and a Swift. The only place I wouldn't use a Brooks is my mtb ' cause I couldn't bear to crash one.

I recently tried a Fizik Pave on my Surly LHT. It was ok, but I really missed the Brooks, so out came the credit card! ;)

On this forum, Brooks is more like a religion than a recommendation!

I think that is putting it a bit mildly.

Steve W
Who's a 'Never Was" not a 'Has Been'

google rido and check it out. dirt cheap. extremely comfortable to me and many others and no break-in period. got an award from cycling plus (excellent UK cycle mag that puts all U.S. mags to shame).

I too pondered on this subject at great legnths, then I consulted the oracle, this forum and sure enough ended up with the Brooks B67. Yes the saddle is exclent, as for the break in period, well for me it was comfortable right from the start, and I would not think of buying anything else. One bit of advise. Check the website out, google this, they really have it simple as to which kind of brooks will suite you. They describe the kind of riding you do then list the options of saddles to suite the type of riding. This is the way you should choose your saddle rather than listining which everybody else preferes. Helped me choose the right saddle. good luck

I'm sure Brooks saddles are terrific. But in threads that touch on them it's rarely recognized that many people find them so difficult to break in as to be unacceptable. I've read advice to people who've been suffering on a Brooks for months to persevere until it feels better. To my mind, if a saddle doesn't feel good after a reasonable amount of time, either the rider needs better conditioning, the saddle position needs adjusting, or, most likely, the saddle isn't for him. On this forum, Brooks is more like a religion than a recommendation!

Break in? Within three short rides it was the most comfortable saddle ever.

Its all a personal thing, but if you're talking about long distance cycling and you don't have extreme special needs and are not gram-shaving, the brooks saddles are excellent.

Fizik is also very good. I use one of their MTB saddles. Very nice and light.

However, I can literally pedal all day on my brooks professional and not have any saddle-related soreness whatsoever, YMMV.

as others have said saddles are a very personal thing, i went with a brooks and couldn't be happier. as far as break in went there was none for me, it was great right out of the box.
if you go to www.wallbike.com for a brooks they have a 6 month return policy so it gives you a chance to try it out and see if you like it. for breaking it in i'd follow their instructions. don't go sticking it in 30 wieght oil or folloing some of the other silly suggestions ive seen. also the people there are very friendly and helpful if you call them up.

Whats a good touring saddle? Brooks or fizik? I have a selle italia gel and its 143mm too small for my sit bones . I need a 153mm wide saddle any suggestions?

The B-17 narrow or the Swift from Brooks are 152mm wide. The B17N is relatively cheap and is a bit softer then other Brooks in my experience. That makes the saddle easier to break in than some of the other models. I have 3 B17N and one Professional and I prefer the 17's. I even put one on my Stumpjumper FSR. Everyone wonders how I can ride such a hard saddle but they just don't know how comfy it is.

Thanks to all who replied!!! The brooks seem like a great choice. I was looking at the Terry fly gel for 50.00..Anybody ever own a terry?

I know it's not as sexy as leather, but the most comfortable 'hours in the saddle' seat I've ever used, is the Specialized BG Sport (http://brandscycle.com/site/itemdetails.cfm?ID=718).

This thing just puts your weight where it SHOULD BE - on those bony bits, not the sweet meats.

I know it's not as sexy as leather, but the most comfortable 'hours in the saddle' seat I've ever used, is the Specialized BG Sport (http://brandscycle.com/site/itemdetails.cfm?ID=718).

This thing just puts your weight where it SHOULD BE - on those bony bits, not the sweet meats.

I know that saddles are a very personal thing but...I don't know how anyone can ride on the Specialized stuff! I've had 2 of them, the latest one one of their minimally padded models that comes on the Stumpjumper FSR Expert and both of them numbed the old Wallys within half an hour of riding. They just directed the saddle material up into the veins that they are supposed to protect and worked as effectively as a tourniquet.

They just directed the saddle material up into the veins that they are supposed to protect and worked as effectively as a tourniquet.

Not this one. Did you look at the link?
There is no 'saddle material' 'up into the veins' to act as a 'tourniquet'.
That's why this saddle is so comfy. Ya can't be squeezed by something that isn't there! :)

Not this one. Did you look at the link?
There is no 'saddle material' 'up into the veins' to act as a 'tourniquet'.
That's why this saddle is so comfy. Ya can't be squeezed by something that isn't there! :)

Yep, I looked. And that is exactly one of the models I tried. The foam around the junk saver hole compressed right into the veins in my groin and did exactly what it supposedly designed not to do. I've ridden a lot of saddles and this one was the worst for me. As I've said however, saddles are an individual taste. What works for me, might not work for you and vice versa.

My experience is the same as Cyccommute. Saddle with holes or channels simply pinch in all the wrong places.

Look at pro cyclists - their livelyhood depends on spending hours in the saddles & you don't see them with weirdly-shaped anatomical seats.

My experience is the same as Cyccommute. Saddle with holes or channels simply pinch in all the wrong places.

Look at pro cyclists - their livelyhood depends on spending hours in the saddles & you don't see them with weirdly-shaped anatomical seats.

Yeah, but they're in superb shape, spend a lot of time out of the saddle, and are paid to suffer. There has to be a middle ground. I replaced the stock Specialized Milano seat that came with my new bike with a Selle Italia Max Flite Gel Flow, and so far it seems to be a good compromise between the squishiness of heavily cushioned saddles, and the plank-hardness of racing saddles. But for you Brooks guys, note that Nashbar has the B-17 on sale!

Brooks is not a 'religion' for me. I have one. I love it. I just did 3800 miles on it. If it had sucked I would have swapped it about 3500 miles ago, Brooks or not. I had to use hydrocortozone on two days out of 50 because of chaffing, and both were 100+ mile days.

That said, none of my various riding partners had to worry about their saddles getting wet, and I had to be very careful when I was in KY and VA because it rained a lot. That was kind of a pain. The Caradace saddle cover that I got did a good job of keeping the saddle dry, but is made of a material that got very uncomfortable after about 5-10 miles of riding.

The Caradace saddle cover that I got did a good job of keeping the saddle dry, but is made of a material that got very uncomfortable after about 5-10 miles of riding.


I agree about the Carradice cover - its too complicated for its own good. I like the Selle Italia cover. Wallbike.com use to have them, but I can't find them on their web site now..