George

Well we got our two new Brooks.My wife didn't like hers because it was to narrow.I don't know what to say about mine.I guess it was hard but it didn't feel bad. The trouble was I kept sliding forward on the horn then when I tilted the seat back it kept crushing my what you call ems.Eight miles later( dropped my wife off after five) I must have stopped ten times to get a happy medium and I ended pretty close to level. Besides tilt,do these things stay that slippery,if not what can I do. It felt real good onch I tilted it back,all but that crushed feeling. I was wonder about a good pair of shorts may stop that, I don't know. I just have some cheap Cannondales now. Thanks George

Louis

Good shorts always help. Many B-17 users, myself included, end up with a slight "nose up" position. The slippery feeling will subside as the saddle breaks in. As I mentioned in another thread, it's going to take some dialing in especially since it's your first Brooks.

turtleguy54

George, I personally like the slipperiness of the saddles. Once you have the fit comfortable and the saddle broken in a bit, you are able to move around on the saddle much easier than others. It was the friction from the other saddles that bothered my thighs and bottom.

Today I went for a hot, muggy, and windy 22 miler. About nine miles in I stopped to try a little adjustment so I would feel more comfortable in the drops. You can't even tell I tilted the saddle one notch on the seat post but when I sat on it, it was all the difference in the world. My butt found that sweet spot and I was very comfortable in the drops (no pressure from leaning forward). It put just a little bit more pressure on my arms but not so much I felt like I was falling forward. Just goes to show how the smallest adjustment can change the feel of the saddle.

Be patient and play with it.

Rick

Kenal0

The slipperyness will go away pretty quickly. As I recall you have to hold on real good when the saddles are brand new or take the chance of sliding right off. The dressing will also make it slippery.
Kenal0

George

I don't know if it's been tried or not,but I just came in from working on the seat. I got a rubber mallet and I just kept pushing on the seat and it's getting more pliable as I do it. I thought about it thinking about how we use to do that with shoes.I give it another try tomorrow. I guess I'll have to send my wifes back and get another one a little wider.Thanks again George

BluesDawg

NOOOOOOOOO!!! STOP!!!!!

Please don't ruin that beautiful saddle. Just ride it. Once you find the right tilt and start to ride a little farther back on the seat so your sit bones support you and hold your tender parts off the seat, the crushing will end.

Louis

George, keep in mind the saddle is not supposed to become soft like a padded saddle. The comfort comes from the "hammock effect" of sitting on suspended leather. When it moulds to the shape of your butt bones the leather will still feel hard to the touch of your fingers.

If you try to make the saddle spongy soft you will liklely ruin it.

zagnut

Are we still talking saddles here?

Birddog

George

We just got back from a 15 mile ride and I think I have a keeper. My wife and I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and we couldn't lean forward to much without hurting to much, so both seats are about 1" up in the horn.When they start to get broken in I can start lowering them again.Last night I only pushed with the mallet for about 1/2 hour. Do you think I screwed it up. It still feels pretty hard but it didn't feel that bad. If I can go 15 or 20 miles a day without hurting I'm happy. Thanks for all your help, George

Bekologist

6 months to two years to get those puppies 'well broken in' as well. you'll notice it about year two....

Baggsy

Let your butt be the one to break it in, custom fit that way...well, unless your butt is shaped like a mallet???

George

Hey Baggsy, I picked up a pair of PI shorts and they fit the new seat perfect.I don't think I hurt the saddle, it's still hard as a rock George

Baggsy

Enjoy it George...sounds like you're well on your way. I did 75 miles on one today and my butt feels fine - my back, legs, shoulders, calves, elbows, toes, ankles, ears, nose, and fingers are a different matter...

George

Getting old is grand.

two wheel texan

The slick feel will disapate after you ride it a while. I have had my B-17 about 2 months now and have put about 500 miles on it. It felt good right out of the box to me (except for being slick) and is feeling better everytime I ride it. I played with the tilt and started with slight upward tilt to begin with but this put to much pressure on sensitive areas. Since then I have lowered it and it is pretty much level now. ( I used a carpenters level to get it dialed in) and that seems to work well for me. I have an Avatar Gel on my other bike and before I got the Brooks I thought that saddle was pretty good. Have ridden it recently and it now seems hard compared to the Brooks. Thinking about buying one of the Pro's or Swifts to replace it with if everything continues to go well with the B-17. I also have an Alias in a 143 width that I would like to sell if anyone is looking for one of those saddles.It is in like new condition and has maybe 100 miles on it at most.

kk4df

I see that Brooks makes a women's saddle, a bit wider and shorter.

https://www.wallbike.com/b17s.html

George

A little to narrow for my wife. I was thinking the b67, but she said wait. She likes the stock seat that came with the bike. I don't know how long that will last, but the riding shorts help a lot, George

John E

My Brooks Pro was nicely broken in at 15k mi / 25k km and is still going strong at three times that distance.

Nermal

Geez, should I cancel my order? 15k miles is a long ways to break in a saddle.

George

If mine isn't broken in,in 6months or 500 miles I'm going to have to let it go.As I said before it really doesn't feel bad right out of the box,George

BluesDawg

Be patient. The more you ride on your Brooks, the more it conforms to your shape and the more comfortable it gets. It really doesn't take very long, but if it did it would still be worth it. I just did a century today on my Bridgestone with a 2 year old B17. It has developed very distinct depressions where my sit bones go and has really become comfortable. I was almost unaware of the saddle (or the bike for that matter). When you find the right stuff and get it dialed in just right, it is so nice!

will dehne

George:
Your post inspired me to take my Brooks Pro on a 200 mile ride. This is the Brooks Pro I normally use for training LESS bike shorts. There are at least 5000 miles on that saddle. Here is my trip report.
The first 150 miles were done at my top speed and the Brooks was not there.
The last 50 miles were a problem due to improper food intake, called bonking.
That is were the Brooks also was a problem.
Go figure.

George

Hi Will, riding 200 miles is pretty impressive. I wish I started riding sooner so I could do things like that.I'm riding about 15 miles a day but my RA ( Rheumatoid Arthritis ) is flared up and not under control yet. When I do get it under control I'll ride more but surely not as much as you.I don't know all this bike language yet. When you said the Brooks was not there that means you didn't feel it right and you said bonking was from the wrong food intake but how was the Brooks a problem? I was reading in the touring forum that them guys do hit it with a mallet and motor oil and all kinds of things. I really don't think it's really that bad, but I'm not going that far either. I did get a pair of PI shorts like you said and they help out a lot. I'm headed out the door to go another 12 to 15 I can't wait for these drugs to kick in so I can do more,I really like this riding, Have fun and take care, George

will dehne

Hello George:
Please do not give up. I am 65 this year and yes, in very good shape because of luck and tremendous amount of exercise.
In January 2004 I was over 240 lb., had knee injury from a fall and had to take heavy doses of Vioxx and later Advil. I got rid of all that with a lot of no load exercise on a bike trainer, at least one hour/day. BTW, I am diagnosed with Arthritis in both knees.
OTOH I just biked coast to coast.
My comment regarding the Brooks meant that I could not feel it in any way since I am used to that saddle LESS bike pants. That means that my sit bones have created dimples and with the PI shorts that meant no discomfort.
Bonking means that I did something stupid. I did high performance biking and had a high protein breakfast and not enough carbohydrates. All of a sudden I ran out of energy. When that happens, everything hurts, including sitting on the Brooks. (Not the fault of Brooks)

My recommendation to you is this: Put on a lot of miles on the road or trainer. Play around with saddle adjustments, it does make a lot of difference. Saddle height, tilt, location forward or back. All this is very important and we all had to learn it. I assume you have a proper sized bike?
IMHO saddle adjustment is more important than saddle type.
As I said, I am using a Brooks Pro LESS bike shorts for over one hour every day.
No discomfort.

capejohn

It took mine off after 6 months. It was never "not" painfull to ride.