Touring - brooks for touring?

i´m putting together a new steel frame mtb for touring and am having a hard time deciding which brooks saddle to go for.

candidates are: swift, b-17, team pro. do all terrains(that´s the reason for choosing a mtb) and am not heavy. i heard that swift is only for road bike, is that true?

am having headaches, but hope no pain in the ass.

How about a Conquest? That's what I put on my hardtail MTB. It's a little narrower than a B-17 I believe and has springs to help make the ride a little smoother.

I used this setup for a 700 mile tour last summer with no problems.

Aside from that, a B-17 is hard to beat for touring.

I have the Conquest on one Mtb and the Pro on another.

B-17 in my tourer and the Pro in my Kona mtb.

don´t know, don´t really like the look of sprung saddles. feels like they´re for old men, i know, they´re not, but i just can´t get rid of that image.

swift looks just fantastic, but rather expensive; team pro is cheaper and b-17 is the most economical one, very attractive price. but i just can´t make up my mind cause swift is just too beautiful!

Blazing Saddles, a great film!!!

don´t know, don´t really like the look of sprung saddles. feels like they´re for old men, i know, they´re not, but i just can´t get rid of that image.

Hey, it's OK....I don't blame you.... I used to feel the same way until I turned 50.... then all of a sudden, sprung saddles became attractive. I ride completely rigid Mtb's and I tried suspension seatposts but not nearly as effective as my Conquest.

ok, i´ve made up my mind, i´m going for b-17, funcion and comfort(and economy) wins after all, well, that was the reason why i chose brooks at the first place so it would be kinda dumb to get an extremely expensive swift and just to find out that it doesn´t suit my purpose.

Get if from wallbike.com he's got a generous return/swap policy.

waiting on my B17 from wallbike.com as we speak...COME ON FEDEX! I WANT TO RIDE!

I got a sprung Brooks on sale for $40. I fgured for that price, what the hell. It sat in a closet for over a year. This fall I pulled it out, slapped it on my bike, and now that I am actually using it.... I think it looks perfect. Wonder if they could make me one in titanium? :roflmao:

maybe i´ll get a B17 N instead of a standard because i´m only 5´7, 123lbs and my handlebar is lower than the seatpost so i figured a N will also do. what do you think?

i was debating whether to get the standard or the narrow...i'm 155 lbs and 6 feet tall, but the seat i've been riding on is even narrower than the B17N, so i thought maybe i should go with the narrow...Bill at wallbike.com said it's more about riding style than size...if you're not too high above the handlebars, that most people get a B17...my seat is about 2" above the handlebars and he said i could go either way...i ended up getting the standard, took it out for the first time today and did 34 miles...no break-in, no nuthin', this seat is awesome! i love it.

frankly, i think i would have been fine with the narrow as well...it's not that much narrower and if you have a skinny arse, it's probably just a personal choice...aesthetically i think i'd prefer the narrow, but the standard is on my bike and it works so i'm keeping it...no sense in messing with a good thing...

does aggressive means less comfort in the long term?

Brooks Team Pro. Enough said.

Cheers

If you see yourself as a high performance kinda guy, something like the Team Pro is your saddle. It felt like a wedge trying to split me in two. So I ride a B17. The Swift is also something you should take a look at. That might be your answer.

http://www.wallbike.com/Swift.html

If you see yourself as a high performance kinda guy, something like the Team Pro is your saddle. It felt like a wedge trying to split me in two. So I ride a B17.
My thoughts (experience), too.

can't stand it anymore so just borrowed someone else's saddle and wandered around adjusting to the suitable height and it's about 2.5" above the handlebar, but the actual distance is going to be shorter because i felt special stress on my wrists and probably would raise the handlebar higher to see if could improve on that.

Schumius,
your fit is wrong. Let's start with placing the handlebar and the seat at the same level. Then we need to get the bar closer or further away to get you into a comfy position.

"There is, however, a position that allows good performance while minimizing risk of lower back injury. I like a stem height and length that puts your back about 50 degrees from horizontal, while your arms and legs bend slightly at the elbows, as shown in figure 2 up there. To achieve this, you'll probably have to raise your bars, and assuming you want to keep the same bar style (as opposed to riding with stingray bars or something), that usually means getting another stem, one with a taller quill or a steep rise to it. If you hit the sweet spot, a photo of you from the side will reveal a nice pyramid composed of top tube, torso and arms."

From... http://www.rivendellbicycles.com/html/rr_raisestem.html

hey thanks late, great article! just lowered the seat post by 1 cm after reading it, i´ll read the related article as well, but i am off now, got to finish a paper due tomorrow. maybe will have to change the stem as well.

after several test rides and adjustments, the saddle is now 1.7" above the handlebar, and i can't go any further down, my legs would be cramped so i think i need to change the stem or handlebar or maybe even the frame to one that has higher top tube.