General Cycling Discussion - New Brooks on order

My brand new Brooks B17 is on order and should be in this week. I am very excited because the very old brown B17 does not look good on my new bike. The new black one will match much better. I'm hoping that the break-in period will not be long. My old B17 is going to be swapped onto my main '73 Voyageur. I finally wore out the saddle on it.

Any hints on break-in besides ride two hundred miles?

I'm also thinking about cutting the leather the way some others have described so it looks more like the modern saddles. Has anyone had any problems with doing this? I weigh almost 200 lbs. so I'm wondering if that will be a problem?

Any hints on break-in besides ride two hundred miles?


Ride a thousand miles. ;)

My brand new Brooks B17 is on order and should be in this week. I am very excited because the very old brown B17 does not look good on my new bike. The new black one will match much better. I'm hoping that the break-in period will not be long. My old B17 is going to be swapped onto my main '73 Voyageur. I finally wore out the saddle on it.

Any hints on break-in besides ride two hundred miles?

I'm also thinking about cutting the leather the way some others have described so it looks more like the modern saddles. Has anyone had any problems with doing this? I weigh almost 200 lbs. so I'm wondering if that will be a problem?

Ride 320 kilometers. ;)

Be leary of using any sort of accelerated break-in. It's almost a given you'll overshoot the mark and be left with a saggy, useless saddle. I'm in your weight class. Your Brooks will break in quickly.

I have a B67 arriving tomorrow. The plan is to heat it with a hair dryer and apply Proofide. Since Proofide is Tallow, wax, castor/cod-oil and citronela oil, it'll melt and wick into the saddle. SMALL AMOUNTS only.
The Proofide should keep any moisture or oils already in the saddle there.

I found a 1976 Brooks in the trash a few months ago. It was so dry it made crackling noises when flexed. I heated it, added petroleum jelly and wax and that got it back to "like new" condition. I wouldn't DARE trying that with a new Brooks.

:)

It's been 3 weeks and every time I walk into the LBS, he tells me that I'm on back order - until today! He said it will be in by Friday. I'm hoping!!! It was worth the wait because I'm getting it cheap. Yahoo!!!

onbike_1939 has a nice process. I'll see if I can find a link to it.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=123134&page=2
post #45.

Wow, thanks!

Just ride it. B17 isn't near as thick as a pro. I'm in your weight range and the B17 I got last spring was comfortable from the start. Now it's something I never think about ... except when someone I'm riding with *****es about their saddle and I realize how comfortable I am :)

I didn't have proofide, so I used SnoSeal which is beeswax

They don't need no stinkin' break in, just ride :-)

I am going to ride it before trying anything else. Once I ride it, then I have to think about whether I want to chop it. And then I will think about the conditioning. The Pro saddle that I have on the bike now is going to get conditioned, it needs it.

My B17 came it today! I stopped by the lbs and they had it!!! Woo Hoo! It's brand new and beautiful. I'm going to put it on tonight and take the first ride tomorrow. I can't wait.

Never having ridden with a brooks saddle nor knowing anyone who has, are they truely as comfortable as people say once they are broken in? I've been cycling for a long time and have always heard that the brooks saddles are the best, what is it about them that makes them so comfortable? I ask since I'm in the market for a new saddle and have been thinking about the brooks since you don't hear much bad about them.

They don't need no stinkin' break in, just ride :-)

+1

I have 3 B-17's. Only one is not "broken in" yet. I can barely tell the difference. I am always amazed to hear people talk about all of the things they do to their innocent Brooks saddles. Just ride the darned thing.

Many experts agree that a tension spanner is better if you don't own one. Many people ruin their saddles with this "wrench." My oldest saddle is only a couple years old with about 6000 miles of saddle time on it. I have absolutely no need to tension it.

Nor do i need to do anything else. Occasionally, i have applied proofhide. Maybe 3 times.

Any hints on break-in besides ride two hundred miles?


I put mine on and it was great from the first ride after I got it adjusted properly. What breal-in?

Never having ridden with a brooks saddle nor knowing anyone who has, are they truely as comfortable as people say once they are broken in? I've been cycling for a long time and have always heard that the brooks saddles are the best, what is it about them that makes them so comfortable? I ask since I'm in the market for a new saddle and have been thinking about the brooks since you don't hear much bad about them.
Yes, they are that comfortable. They conform to your butt and give just the right amount of support without any sideways wiggle.

Dunno. My Brooks B17 was as hard as steel for the first while, it felt like I was straddling a steel pipe. I usually commute in plain undies and shorts, but I was forced to wear cycling knicks until it was broken in. Now it is without any doubt the most comfortable saddle I have. The leather becomes softer and conforms to your shape, and prevents areas that were not meant for sitting on getting squashed. Imagine you have twin sitbones-shaped 'cups' perfectly supporting your sit bones and nothing else. The cups are strung up in a 'hammock' and gently absorbs road shocks.

That is the Brooks.

Rode 12 miles today and the new B17 is heaven. No break in needed here, the ride was great. No soreness or pain. It is slippery though! Now I just have to figure out if I am going to trim the sides like I did the Brooks Pro.

I would tell you to definitely use Proofide a time or two, if for nothing else than simply conditioning the leather to keep it from drying out. Apply it occasionally for the same reason. It will also help to make the saddle resist water better.

I've treated a Pro several times - probably 10 or 12 since it was new 18 months ago, and I've been caught in downpours but no ill effects to the saddle. I only rode it for a few miles just to get home and get off to allow it to dry overnight, but this has happened 3 or 4 times and the Pro is not stretched out or damaged in any way.

I guess it's pretty much impervious to water now. :) It won't be too long before my new Swift will be the same.

Good advise. I'm going to have to get some. I never had a Brooks saddle before and now in the span of a couple of months I have three of them. Now I gotta start taking care of them!