Road Cycling - An Equation

One banana + one apple + 2 powerbars + 1.4 liters of PowerAde + 2 liters of water + 102 kilometers = today's metric century (my first). I know this is not all that uncommon a distance, but, considering that three months ago, because a disk in my cervical spine decided it had had enough, I doubted I'd ever ride any long distance again, I am estatic. I had a high-rise stem put on the Fooge, which has helped with my neck problems. Unfortunately, the higher bars have made the stock saddle on the Fooge too uncomfortable, so...

I know, I know, one cannot really recommend a saddle for anyone else's rear end. And before the Brooks advocates start chiming in, I am interested in three Brooks saddles, the B-17, the Professional, and, even though its price is bursting the seams of my budget envelope, the Swift. If anyone has tried more than one of these saddles, I'd appreciate comparisons. Let me know of any other saddles worth considering, too.

Congratulations on your recovery and on your metric. A different saddle recommendation is tough. You have changed your posture and that changes the angle of attack and the amount of weight on your hinder parts. This, as you know, affects the comfort of your saddle.

I suppose if it is really extreme, you could go recumbant. I am not that high on recumbants but I have had a fair number of friends who have had physical problems of one sort or another that makes riding diamond frame bikes pretty impractical and nearly all of them have found recumbants to be a fine answer.

Never rode a swift, but have some expereince with Pro and B17.

If you have wider sit bones The B17 is the way to go, I also like it's shorter nose.

The Pro is a stiffer, longer, and more narrow but I think looks much better.

I think the B17 needs much less break in time and can give a great ride without any break in. It just gets better with age.

One more thing, if you are sitting very upright your spine will be compressed every time you hit a bump. So you may try a sprung saddle to help with the shock

Thanks for the comments. My bars are level with the saddle now, so I'm not really that upright. The change in bar position changed my position on the saddle just enough to make the stock Fuji Roubaix one much less comfortable.

[ B-17, the Professional, and, even though its price is bursting the seams of my budget envelope, the Swift. If anyone has tried more than one of these saddles, I'd appreciate comparisons. Let me know of any other saddles worth considering, too.[/QUOTE]


I'm sure you'll get plenty of responses to this one! I replaced the OEM Selle Viper with a B-17 a few months ago. I expected this big huge break-in; I never had that problem. It's been reasonable since the get-go and keeps getting better. Like others have said, it really disappears beneath you. Other than a little squeaking on a couple of climbs, it's fine. Never bites me like the other saddle. I have experienced a bit of numbness but actually think it's caused more by the thick pad of the shorts, rather than the saddle; a quick "adjustment" and I'm okay.

For comparison's sake, I'm 5'9, 155.

Sheldon
OCR2