Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Brooks B17 - First Impressions, Quite Positive

I just completed my first ride on my new Brooks B17 Champion Special Ti and I am very impressed. I have been disappointed before so I am holding my "final" comments and recommendations until I can get a couple of hundred miles on it; but, so far so good.

I went out for a 20 mile ride but ended up going 30 miles. I average about 18 mph so I was on the saddle for an 1 hour and 40 minutes. After 10 miles I have very little discomfort. At 20 miles my sit bones felt just about the same as they have been with most of my recent saddle selections. At 30 miles I felt that I could have gone on for 50 miles if I needed to. I plan to do another 30 mile ride tomorrow.

I was worried the B17 would be too wide. That has turned out to be of no concern as the read to front transition is quite signficant and the front of the saddle is just as narrow as most of the popular lightweight saddles like the toupe and the aliante. Clearance for leg movement was excellent.

The new B17 feels very hard and an initial impression would be that it would be hard on the sit bones from the start. However, while it feels hard, it isn't any harder on the sit bones than the Toupe Gel I rode for 2,000 miles.

I treated the top of the saddle with Proofhide and wiped it off after it sat overnight. I then repeated the Proofhide treatment the second night before I went on my initial ride. The saddle was slippery for the first 10 miles or so but nothing that caused a problem.

I set up the front of the saddle to be level and I found that I tended to slide forward a bit with some added pressure on may hands. I might tilt the saddle up just a touch before my ride tomorrow.

So, after the first ride I have high hopes that this will be the saddle that will allow me to go on 3 plus hour rides without concern about how my butt may feel by the end of the ride.

With the heat and humidity here in Houston, this saddle might just get broken in faster than I expected.

By the way, I got the saddle from the folks at Wallingford Bike www.wallbike.com and I as very pleased with the service.

+1 for the service at Wallingford. I got my B-17 CS Honey/Copper in last week and while the color looked nicer than I thought it would I was not as happy with how it looked on the bike. I contacted them, sent it back and my Black/Copper saddle is now on its way.

I'll withhold judgement on it until I actually get some serious time in it. Initial impressions from the ride around the block were hard and slippery but I can see the potential for comfort after the break in. I am glad to hear the width doesn't seem to be as much an issue as you would think.

I set up the front of the saddle to be level and I found that I tended to slide forward a bit with some added pressure on may hands. I might tilt the saddle up just a touch before my ride tomorrow.
Probably the number one reason I gave up on Brooks was that I couldn't find an angle that kept me from sliding forward while not mashing my little buddy. By the time the rear portion is level enough that I don't have to hold myself in place with my arms, the front portion is pointed too steeply up, and if I lower the nose to alleviate the trouble, the rear portion ends up tilted down enough to constantly slide me forward onto the nose anyway. Frustrating, and no amount of additional tension gets rid of that "hammock" shape.

i've been riding on a B17 for the past year now and i have to say that i'm quite pleased. i'm not at the point where i would say it's the best saddle i've ever owned (although it the honey/copper is the prettiest) but it is quite comfortable for long (> 100miles/166kms) distances. on a lark i took it for a two hour ride last weekend wearing only street clothes and was entirely comfortable.

fwiw, i also found it hard and slick at first and still slide forward some but i'm beginning to wear it down enough so it's not so much a problem. i'm a believer.

** mp **

I just completed my first ride on my new Brooks B17 Champion Special Ti and I am very impressed. I have been disappointed before so I am holding my "final" comments and recommendations until I can get a couple of hundred miles on it; but, so far so good.

I went out for a 20 mile ride but ended up going 30 miles.

Let us hear from you when you've done a lot of miles. Many saddles will be fine or outstanding for a 30 mile ride. I just bought a Brooks Swift. It felt neat on my first ride of 10 miles. I was praising myself for finally investing in a classic that will last forever. But the halo is going dim and I am really thinking of returning it. I now have 350 miles on it. I've ridden several 50 mile rides. I rode a 60 mile ride today and thought I was going to die. I've never, ever experienced such a painful ride. I rode the Texas MS150 in April on a Terry Falcon saddle that was immensely more comfortable than this. I've got some serious saddle sores developing that will put me off the bike for a week or more.

Nothing is wrong with the saddle. I've either got some fit issues or I am one of those rare people that just cannot use a Brooks. As far as fit goes, I've paid a local shop for a professional fitting that has the reputation of doing it right.

In the meantime, I am sitting on a pillow and my butt is throbbing. :-(

Bob

I currently have about 600 miles on Brooks B17 (champion model?) and it still has not broken in, whatever that means. But as the OP says, it does not feel any different from my prior saddle, a Specialized Body Geometry saddle that was "falling" apart.

wrobertdavis, I don't know what's wrong with you (I am not blaming the victim here) but for you to be experiencing such pain and developing sores is a bit worrisome. I've just completed a 64 miles ride yesterday and my butt is only slightly tender.

I have a b17 on my mountain bike and I have done over 3000klm in the last 12 month. I have also got a Brooks Flyer on my Road bike and I have done over 1000klm on that over the last 12 months. So far I have no complaints. I did nearly 90 klm on my road bike this morning and apart from being bit tender, I am ok, and I will ride about 60klm again tomorrow.

I have a b17 on my mountain bike and I have done over 3000klm in the last 12 month.
I tried a B-17 on my mountain bike, too, and although I found it to be comfortable where my backside is concerned, just the opposite was true for another part of my anatomy. No matter how much I adjusted it, the pressure on my family jewels was too much, and I ended up putting it on my Dahon folder, where it causes no such problems. I suspect that the difference is the height of the handlebars, those on the mountain bike being too low for such a saddle. I'd really like to figure out a way to use it on my mountain bike. I don't know if I should go over to another style of handlebars or try another Brooks model. Any suggestions?

After reading all the positive reviews of the Brooks, I put a B17 on my bike late last year. I used it on a number of rides, including one century, and while it wasn't uncomfortable, it was very slippery, and I got tired of continually adjusting my position.

So I put the stock seat back on my bike, figuring that the bit of padding it offered would let me sink in just a little, and not slip around. I did a 30 mile ride on it, and found that I was in much more discomfort than after the century on the Brooks.

So I went back to the Brooks. For some reason, I'm not sliding around any more (I'm guessing I inadvertently raised the nose a notch during the swap). At any rate, I'm quite satisfied with it, now.

I tried a B-17 on my mountain bike, too, and although I found it to be comfortable where my backside is concerned, just the opposite was true for another part of my anatomy. No matter how much I adjusted it, the pressure on my family jewels was too much, and I ended up putting it on my Dahon folder, where it causes no such problems. I suspect that the difference is the height of the handlebars, those on the mountain bike being too low for such a saddle. I'd really like to figure out a way to use it on my mountain bike. I don't know if I should go over to another style of handlebars or try another Brooks model. Any suggestions?

Your guess that your handle bars are to low could be possible. I checked my mountain bike and my saddle and handlebars are level. I use my mountain bike mainly on rail trails and bike paths, I don't do down hill racing and anything to extreme.

wrobertdavis, I don't know what's wrong with you (I am not blaming the victim here) but for you to be experiencing such pain and developing sores is a bit worrisome. I've just completed a 64 miles ride yesterday and my butt is only slightly tender.

Worrisome, indeed! Its downright depressing. I rode a century in April using a Terry Falcon and it wasn't as bad as this. I think I've just got one of those sensitive butts. I swore when I got the Brooks, I would stick it out for 6 months and endure whatever it took to give it a chance. But I never dreamed it would be this hard.

Next step: Selle Anatomica.

Bob

Brooks are the only saddles that are so comfortable that I never even think about my arse or saddles during long rides.

I have ridden my Brooks Team Professional for ~1100 miles so far and it is finally broken in. The team saddle is the thickest and breaks in the slowest. I used proofide and even soaked the interior with lexol, another leather conditioner. I am not a small rider 170-180 depending upon time of year and I am a masher. I can get on this saddle after winter and ride two hours without pain. I got bronchitis this year, again dammit, and didn't ride for 5 weeks. My first ride was a 45 mile run with friends and the saddle did it's trick. I could have ridden another 45. The biggest weakness w/Brooks is their limited rail movement. I can't get the saddle as far back as I would have liked.

I'm trying a Brooks Swift on another bike. I'll let you know how it breaks in.

I have ridden my Brooks Team Professional for ~1100 miles so far and it is finally broken in. The team saddle is the thickest and breaks in the slowest. I used proofide and even soaked the interior with lexol, another leather conditioner. I am not a small rider 170-180 depending upon time of year and I am a masher. I can get on this saddle after winter and ride two hours without pain. I got bronchitis this year, again dammit, and didn't ride for 5 weeks. My first ride was a 45 mile run with friends and the saddle did it's trick. I could have ridden another 45. The biggest weakness w/Brooks is their limited rail movement. I can't get the saddle as far back as I would have liked.

I'm trying a Brooks Swift on another bike. I'll let you know how it breaks in.

So tell me. Did the Brooks ever seem like a torture device to you or were you fairly comfortable during the entire break-in. I'm trying to decide if I can survive the break-in on my Brooks swift. I did 105 miles last weekend and was told I was crazy for doing such a thing on a Brooks that is not broken in. It was a real challenge. I rode about 15% of the time standing up to give my butt some relief.

Bob