Professional Cycling For the Fans - Do any TdF riders use a Brooks saddle?

Just curious if anyone is riding on a Brooks.

I would sincerely doubt it. You will see some old school saddles like a Rolls or a Concor, but I'm betting no Brooks.

Just curious if anyone is riding on a Brooks.

maybe 50 years ago when brooks saddles were "light" :roflmao2:.

ed rader

Weight probably isn't an issue with modern bikes, as a Brooks would probably bring the bikes in compliance with weight regulations without artificially adding as much weight elsewhere on the bike.

The weight may be an issue in the riders' minds if they don't think about the big picture.

Let's enlarge the question a little.

There was an "info-interview" today about Specialized shoes, and the rider mentioned that they weren't required to use a certain shoe by sponsorship contract so he could use any shoe he liked and he chose...

Yet saddles are an even more personal choice. I wonder if there is any sponsorship contract requiring a team to ride a certain make of saddle?

Think how painful a Brooks would be when someone is riding all-out "on the rivet". . . .the nose of the saddle for those not familiar with the slang.:(

Let's enlarge the question a little.


Yet saddles are an even more personal choice. I wonder if there is any sponsorship contract requiring a team to ride a certain make of saddle?


No. . . as this is the cyclists most vulnerable spot, along with feet. Get it wrong and you could be not riding for a while, and no one wants that.

Weight probably isn't an issue with modern bikes, as a Brooks would probably bring the bikes in compliance with weight regulations without artificially adding as much weight elsewhere on the bike.

The weight may be an issue in the riders' minds if they don't think about the big picture.

you mean riders could choose brooks saddles to add weigh to their bikes? okaaaaay.........:lol:.

ed rader

No. . . as this is the cyclists most vulnerable spot, along with feet. Get it wrong and you could be not riding for a while, and no one wants that.

My thoughts too, but the implication in the interview was that some teams do have shoe contracts.

I have no doubt that some riders in the TDF use Brooks saddles on their bikes...

just not on their TDF bikes.

What old school saddle is Armsrong riding on?

What old school saddle is Armsrong riding on? i just caught a glimpse and it looked like a concor.

ed rader

He used to ride (if I recall correctly - there's an old thread here on it) a Selle San Marco something. Likely still does.

Saw lots of Ariones and Aliantes this Tour so far. Though, I'm sure, they are the fancy ones, not the low enders like mine.

i just caught a glimpse and it looked like a concor.

ed rader

Selle San Marco Concor has often been reported as his saddle of choice. I recall seeing something whee he'd switched to a more modern saddle(perhaps Bontrager) but that may well have just been marketing.

Selle San Marco Concor has often been reported as his saddle of choice. I recall seeing something whee he'd switched to a more modern saddle(perhaps Bontrager) but that may well have just been marketing.

Or its even better marketing to ride a different old school saddle we can fun-fact chat about as you people are doing. ;)
Sad isnt it

Boonen rides a Selle San Marco Regal, sort of a Brooks look a like.

Garthr, Brooks saddles were what they road when the phrase 'on the rivet' came
about. You know, the rivet on the nose of the saddle?


Marty

you mean riders could choose brooks saddles to add weigh to their bikes? okaaaaay.........:lol:.

ed rader

if it feels good on their butt... why not? they already have to put weights in the seatpost (and elsewhere) to bring the bike up to 15lbs

if it feels good on their butt... why not? they already have to put weights in the seatpost (and elsewhere) to bring the bike up to 15lbs

Butt it wouldn't feel good on their butts... Brooks saddles only feel good to people who ride in a much more upright position than racers do.

Butt I'm sure someone here is the exception and he'll chastise me now.

Butt it wouldn't feel good on their butts... Brooks saddles only feel good to people who ride in a much more upright position than racers do.

Butt I'm sure someone here is the exception and he'll chastise me now.

I was thinking the same thing...

That's funny, Pro riders on a Brook's.

That's funny, Pro riders on a Brook's.

it really is. these guys aren't a bunch or rivendell retrogrouches, you know :D.

ed rader

it really is. these guys aren't a bunch or rivendell retrogrouches, you know :D.

ed rader

True enough but Brooks does not only make touring saddles or ones with springs. They make several models with a racing profile, thus my inquiry. I guess plastic/vinyl has evolved to a point where it is in fact superior to leather, at least in a professional racing situation.

Ivan Basso rides a brooks. Not on his race bike though.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3243/2809824281_6cc856a5ec.jpg

The over-ratedness of Brooks cannot be understated enough.

The over-ratedness of Brooks cannot be understated enough.

Two questions.

1. Have you been studying rhetoric under Yogi Berra?

2. 436874 ???

Just curious if anyone is riding on a Brooks.
Not since the early '70s.

And no one ever rode the Tour on a recumbent.

The ignorance in this thread outreaches the Lance threads.

Richard

I saw a clip that some riders are using the new Specialized Romins

Two questions.

1. Have you been studying rhetoric under Yogi Berra?

2. 436874 ???

:roflmao2: :roflmao2: :roflmao2:

The ignorance in this thread outreaches the Lance threads.

Richard

OMG, Excellent point... I never saw it that way before!

Boonen rides a Selle San Marco Regal, sort of a Brooks look a like.

Garthr, Brooks saddles were what they road when the phrase 'on the rivet' came
about.

Anyone else need to read that line twice to realize it was *not* referring to a certain Country-Western singer?:twitchy:

Selle San Marco Concor has often been reported as his saddle of choice. I recall seeing something whee he'd switched to a more modern saddle(perhaps Bontrager) but that may well have just been marketing.

I normally use the original Selle Italia Flites on my bikes, but after reading the same thing, I picked up a Selle San Marco Concor Light from eBay for my mtn bike, (which is rarely used). After a major mechanical failure sidelined my touring bike, I pressed the mtn bike into service for a couple 3-7 hour climbing rides last week. I was favorably impressed with that saddle!

I was going to say I think the Bontrager saddle that lance uses is a rebadged Concor Light.

A good Brooks weighs about the same as a Turbo or Rolls- about 350 grams. A really light race perch goes around 150 grams or less. The difference is one swallow of water from your bidon.

The Bontrager sales training video tells how Lance's first new Madone was delivered with a new Bontrager saddle. A mechanic offered to switch it for his preferred Concor, but Lance said no, this one's pretty good.

By the time the racing started the Bontragers were gone and the Concors were back.

By the way, the San Marco Regal only looks like a Brooks. The Regal has a plastic shell, foam pad, and leather cover. I don't know what the rivets are for, but they look nice.

My guess is that Boonen only used the Regal for Paris-Roubaix. The smart riders all have their bikes specially prepared for the pave. If you watch "A Sunday in Hell," about the 1976 Paris-Roubaix, you will see the bikes of some French and Belgian teams equipped with leather saddles, along with their Mafac center-pull brakes.

The Bontrager sales training video tells how Lance's first new Madone was delivered with a new Bontrager saddle. A mechanic offered to switch it for his preferred Concor, but Lance said no, this one's pretty good.

By the time the racing started the Bontragers were gone and the Concors were back.

By the way, the San Marco Regal only looks like a Brooks. The Regal has a plastic shell, foam pad, and leather cover. I don't know what the rivets are for, but they look nice.

My guess is that Boonen only used the Regal for Paris-Roubaix. The smart riders all have their bikes specially prepared for the pave. If you watch "A Sunday in Hell," about the 1976 Paris-Roubaix, you will see the bikes of some French and Belgian teams equipped with leather saddles, along with their Mafac center-pull brakes.


The old San Marco Regal is Boonen's saddle of choice for all races. Same for McEwen. Same for alot of pros. Bikes have a weight limit now, and the frames are getting so light that the weight of the saddle isn't even an issue. Comfort is the key.

you mean riders could choose brooks saddles to add weigh to their bikes? okaaaaay.........:lol:.

ed rader

Yes, they could. With bikes these days well under the weight limit, the riders often add powermeters to get the weight up. They don't ride superlight saddles and they prefer aluminum bars and stems to carbon.

Some superstars get endorsements to ride carbotitanio weight weenie saddles but most ride whatever's most comfortable.

Anyone else need to read that line twice to realize it was *not* referring to a certain Country-Western singer?:twitchy:

Or have to shake the image of a western saddle out of their head?

Yes, they could. With bikes these days well under the weight limit, the riders often add powermeters to get the weight up. They don't ride superlight saddles and they prefer aluminum bars and stems to carbon.

Some superstars get endorsements to ride carbotitanio weight weenie saddles but most ride whatever's most comfortable.

yeah but they don't. that was my point. they aren't using brooks saddles to make their bikes heavier.

ed rader

The Bontrager sales training video tells how Lance's first new Madone was delivered with a new Bontrager saddle. A mechanic offered to switch it for his preferred Concor, but Lance said no, this one's pretty good.

By the time the racing started the Bontragers were gone and the Concors were back.

By the way, the San Marco Regal only looks like a Brooks. The Regal has a plastic shell, foam pad, and leather cover. I don't know what the rivets are for, but they look nice.

My guess is that Boonen only used the Regal for Paris-Roubaix. The smart riders all have their bikes specially prepared for the pave. If you watch "A Sunday in Hell," about the 1976 Paris-Roubaix, you will see the bikes of some French and Belgian teams equipped with leather saddles, along with their Mafac center-pull brakes.

they are for looks. i rode a regal titanium for years.

ed rader

The over-ratedness of Brooks cannot be understated enough.

shouldn't it be "overstated enough?"

He used to ride (if I recall correctly - there's an old thread here on it) a Selle San Marco something. Likely still does.

a San Marco Concor has been my saddle of choice since 86.......... great saddle:thumb:

Pros can ride any saddle they choose & they don't choose Brooks. Next question. What was the last year a Brooks was used in real pro level events? 1980, or about the time better plastic saddles were available? Probably.

The biggest advantage of a Brooks saddle is its biggest handicap in a race situation: you have to personally break it in. Brooks saddles might be OK if you only ride one bike, but a pro cyclist is using several bikes and can't be bothered to break in saddles for all his bikes. For example, the pro crashes or has a mechanical. The team car pulls up and gives him a new bike. But now the mechanic also has to remove the saddle from the old bike and install it on the new one, then adjust it perfectly. I don't think so...

Also, Brooks saddles require too much care. Pros ride in the worst weather conditions, and the bikes don't have fenders. A carefully broken-in saddle becomes toast after a 250 km race in the rain.

Pros use the padded plastic leather-covered saddles because they are uniform, durable, and weather-proof. Brooks saddles might ultimately be more comfortable (an arguable point - I actually think a lot of Brooks saddle users lie about how comfortable they are), but they are impractical for serious professionals.

I'm using a San Marco Era on randonneur rides, and I find it's perfectly comfortable for the first 300 km. That's all you need for a racing saddle.

L.

Total bike weight is not an issue, but, I suspect that weight placement could be. That being the case, you would want as many of those 15 pounds close to the ground, not at the highest point on the bike which is the saddle.

Not being a racer, I could be totally wrong on this point.

What I don't understand is why Brooks, who is certainly the most recognizable name in bike saddles, doesn't put more effort into having a tdf presence. I would think that it would be a good idea from a marketing point of view.

The biggest advantage of a Brooks saddle is its biggest handicap in a race situation: you have to personally break it in. Brooks saddles might be OK if you only ride one bike, but a pro cyclist is using several bikes and can't be bothered to break in saddles for all his bikes. For example, the pro crashes or has a mechanical. The team car pulls up and gives him a new bike. But now the mechanic also has to remove the saddle from the old bike and install it on the new one, then adjust it perfectly. I don't think so...

Also, Brooks saddles require too much care. Pros ride in the worst weather conditions, and the bikes don't have fenders. A carefully broken-in saddle becomes toast after a 250 km race in the rain.

Pros use the padded plastic leather-covered saddles because they are uniform, durable, and weather-proof. Brooks saddles might ultimately be more comfortable (an arguable point - I actually think a lot of Brooks saddle users lie about how comfortable they are), but they are impractical for serious professionals.



^^^
Bingo, give this man a cigar.

Total bike weight is not an issue, but, I suspect that weight placement could be. That being the case, you would want as many of those 15 pounds close to the ground, not at the highest point on the bike which is the saddle.

Not being a racer, I could be totally wrong on this point.

What I don't understand is why Brooks, who is certainly the most recognizable name in bike saddles, doesn't put more effort into having a tdf presence. I would think that it would be a good idea from a marketing point of view.

Brooks is owned by an Italian company that does have saddles in use in the peloton. I actually think it's better for the company to not dilute it's name by trying to be all things to all riders.

fwiw, five of my bikes have Brooks saddles, one has an Ideale, the MTB has a Wrights, and only the two I like to ride fast have something else. Comfort is still a factor, but compromises sometimes need to be made.

Who would want to put that ugly ugly seat on their beautiful bike?

Who would want to put that ugly ugly seat on their beautiful bike?

Or, in the case of carbon fiber bikes, who would want to put a beautiful saddle on an ugly ugly bike. It all depends on your point of view.