Touring - Which saddle? The B67 S?

Hi there. Am treating myself to a new saddle for my birthday. :)

I am hoping a Brooks saddle makes me a bit more comfy on long rides.

Just checking -- as a woman, is the B67 S the model for me? I sit fairly upright and do not want any kind of racing or narrow saddle. I just want to check before I order.

Here is the one I am thinking of getting:

B67 S (http://www.withingtoncycles.co.uk/product.php?id=1164&node_id=1365)

I like the colour of the one in the picture. Is that honey?

Wait, what about this one, the Countess?

The Countess (http://www.withingtoncycles.co.uk/product.php?WSCam=froogle&WSEvt=Brooks+Countess+Saddle&id=1158&node_id=1365)

I am not a woman but I did buy one of the countess seats for my wife who has had difficulty finding a seat that fit. She has been happy with it. The angle of tilt is also important and this may vary from person to person. She actually prefers a slight nose down tilt on all of her saddles. This is different than what I like and counter to most recommendations. You will know when you get it right. I have ridden on her saddle several times and like it ok. It is on a hybrid bike with fairly upright seating. I think you will like it. By the way Wallingford bikes sell these ( and all Brooks) with a 6 mo return policy- a good recommendation in itself.

Hi,
saddles are tough to pick. The first issue is the width of your sit bones.
Specialized has you sit on a piece of memory foam and then they measure the
distance.

The second is length. I think Brooks saddles are mostly too short (they are for me, anyway). So I would have you look closely at the mens saddles. Their most popular one is the B17. Many gals like it as well.

Having said all that... Sis rides a B67 and my wife rides a Brooks Finesse. Sis is big in the hips, sits almost bolt upright, and for the first time in her life has stopped fidgetting on the saddle on long rides.

Wifey gets sore on long rides in the tender places, but things are better with that saddle than they ever were before, and trust me, we tried dozens of saddles. I didn't spend all that money until I was bloody desperate.

I use a SelleAnAtomica Titanico, which is an update of the Brooks design.
http://mcmwin.com/commercial%20portal.htm
Scroll down the page for a video of how it works. Be warned it is a somewhat unusual perspective.

Give us an idea of your height and weight (in pounds) and we might be able to
suggest a couple to try. If you can get a measure of your sitbone width, that's even better.

My wife rides a B67S and a B72 she likes them both. she likes the B67S more for long rides.

Yes, that's the honey one.
Long ride comfort is the number one reason I went all Brooks. I have three honey B67s and two black 17s. Oh, and one black B73. I've heard that many women prefer the peak slightly down or level while men seem to raise them a bit. If you have no break-in issues, you will probably enjoy riding alot more than you do now. If, on the other hand, break-in breaks you, you had better have made your purchase from Wallingford.

I think there are several characteristics that set Brooks apart from all other saddles:
1) They wick away moisture. We all know what happens when moisture becomes chafing and such.
2) Consequently, you stay cooler longer.
3) They are slick, not 'grippy', which contributes to being cooler and dryer. Proper adjustment assures that you will not slide out of position, but can re-arrange things at will.
4) They eventually conform to the individual, making the best custom saddle you can ever get.
5) They change with the owner over the years. You will stop looking and spending $$$.
6) Extremely durable. Don't think they are prissy about weather - not so. Your butt will protect it from heavy rain and fenders will do the rest. There are water resistant treatments available. Proofide is not one of them although it's close. There are better.
7) The models you are considering are not as expensive as some ergo/synthetics which are popular with alot of riders.

Measure your ischials.
Stack a few squares of cardboard. Sit down on the stack with your knees slightly elevated. Watch TV for a little while. Then measure the indents center-to-center. That's your buttprint. Not to get too personal, LollyP, but there's another measurement I suggest: The 'thickness' of the area just where the hamstring joins the groin. Not to put too fine a point on it - do your upper thighs touch together or is there room for the wider B67 rather than the Contess. If you, like me, have muscular hamstrings, then you, being a woman and presumably smaller, might experience a charlie horse effect back-under-there when climbing. It's minor and goes away quickly once you go over the top. For me, the trade off of supreme comfort is worth this slight annoyance.

On the "S" for "Short" being female specific:
Well, I'm not a female, and neither is Sheldon Brown, but I sort of think along his lines. He thinks the short saddles are a holdover from when "ladies" wore dresses or skirts while a-riding. Not sure about any real anatomical reason for the different length of the peak. The Brits can be rather stodgy about design changes. :)

I'm pretty sure Machka uses a regular B67. I'm thinking of getting one, probably for Christmas. I do have a Fizik saddle, men's model with a long nose. I don't like the long nose part. It is not really a problem, but it does affect the way I swing my leg over the bike. It seems to be in the way.

Excellent tips! Thanks everyone!

I have a B67 that I really, really like, and am taking it to Ireland with me next summer to put on the hire bike.

My wife has the Champion Flyer "S" (http://www.withingtoncycles.co.uk/product.php?id=1160&node_id=1365) she has done two fairly long tours with it without any problems.