George

After over 600 miles and the dents in the saddle are showing pretty good the Brooks B17 is to narrow. Do you think I should try thr B 67 or try something else without springs.The B 17 is a nice saddle but to narrow for me. Thanks George

Nermal

I would try something wider, and probably within the Brooks line. Still, my champion flyer is sprung, and I like it. If you don't have a suspension seat post, you might go the spring route, though not the flyer. It is just a B-17 with springs.

cheeseflavor

Hi George,

Can I ask what makes you think it's too narrow? What are the symptoms? I ask, because I used to think wider saddles were better too. Now, I find the narrower saddles are actually more comfortable for me.

Steve

George

Hi Steve,I'm just about on the rivets on the top and I'm on the frame on the bottom. O called the dealer and he said I could try a B 67 and is sending it. I just don't know if I want a sprung saddle or not.I kind of thought it was to narrow,but I wanted to wait until I had it broken in. I just sat in it today for my whole trip and when I got home I checked it out and that's how I made my mind up. The dealer agreed with me. George

George

I'm kind of in a bind now because I don't know which way to go.George

pastorbobnlnh 

George,

Do you have an extra seatpost and a small backpack? If so you could mount the new seat on the post, adjust to the correct angle, back and forth, etc., and then take the B-17 mounted to the post in the backpack. Ride some distance out (10-15 miles?), swap seats, and then ride back. This way you are comparing both over the same road and the swap will take fewer tools and time. Let us know how it works out.

Velo Dog

FWIW, I'm inclined to wonder if width is really the problem. You're right there, of course, and I won't argue if you think it is. But I'm a pretty big guy (6'4"/250), and the depressions where my sit bones hit my B-17s are in at least an inch and a quarter from the edge on each side. I could be a LOT wider than I am and still fit the thing, and not that many people are a lot wider than I am. If you haven't already spent the money, you might try adjusting the tilt of the saddle a millimeter or two at a time, up or down. I've found a tiny adjustment makes a big difference.

Nermal

I'm going to get a Salsa seatpost so I can adjust tilt or fore & aft without affecting the other.

jcm

Hi George,
What ever happened to your wife's B67? You said you liked it a while ago. I love mine. For the style of bike you have, it would work well for weight distribution. You won't feel like you are rocking because the springs are very firm. I use an ordinary B17 on my Sequoia, but the posture is a little more aggressive that on my other bikes. Still, I think about a Champion Flyer occasionally...

Keep us informed.

George

My wife tried the B 67 womans and tried the mens as well and she didn't care for either. I was trying to make the B 17 work and I still may.I sent it back to were I bought it and told them to look at it and tell me what's going on.After riding the Brooks and then trying the Serfas I'd like the get mine back.After all is said and done if it does'nt work I'm going to ride my B 17 until the new unsprung B 68 comes out. Thanks George

will dehne

George:
I send you a PM but just in case you did not get it, here it is:
You motivated me to make a test ride with my Brooks Proffessional saddle.
I never pay attention to it since this is not my focus but today I did it because of your reports.
I did 50 miles in pooring rain on this saddle. No stich was dry and the saddle was not dry either. I report to you no problems.
Next day:
Same saddle, was not raining. Saddle was fine, my A** did not hurt at all. I paid attention were I was sitting on the saddle. About 50% on Aerobars which means I sit flat, way back on the saddle, the other 50% sitting upright and 75% back from the nose of the saddle. In either case, no problem.
I was going for speed and my focus was to catch this other guy half my age. Perhaps that distracted me from saddle problems.
In my opinion, the Brooks Proffessional is a nice piece of work.

pastorbobnlnh 

I agree with Will. He rides for speed and distance. I ride for exercise and relaxation (of the mind). My Brooks Professional is the best saddle I've ever sat upon. I bought mine on ebay. It was NOS, an '84, that looked as if it had never been used. I mounted it last winter and it replaced a Trico gel saddle (which even with its cutout was a numb-er). It took about 4 hours of riding on a trainer not to feel too hard, and about another 3-5 hours to feel really comfortable. But since May, when the bike came off the trainer and went back outdoors, the Professional has felt super. I never hurt, I never go numb, I never have complaints. I'm also a big guy at 6' 1", 245 lbs. Narrow doesn't bother me.

George

The Pro being 10mm narrower I thought I would be sitting on the Rivets. I know I'm missing something please explain. Thanks again George

will dehne

George:
I am now thinking that you have special issues which some of us not have. According to you, you are sitting much more upright for health reasons.
I also sit more upright than most performance bikers but probably not like you.
In the position I ride, my bones are clearly supported by the leather saddle and not on the rivets.
The feeling is as if I sit on a comfortable leather round bar. My legs are free to pedal due to the low friction of this saddle and also because it is narrower.
I often use the Aerobars. In that case I slide back on the saddle where the rivets are. That is not an issue because my weight is much supported on the elbows and less on the saddle.
I am trying to help you but feel you need someone to look what you are doing.
I suspect that your weight rests fully on the saddle as where as my weight is balanced between saddle and bars and legs on the pedals.
If all your weight is on the saddle, I do not know what to tell you.
Will

BluesDawg

BINGO! Internet discussion boards are great ways to communicate, but there are times when nothing works like face to face. You could try sending some pictures, but if you could find a knowledgeable person to work with on this, you would probably have a lot better chance of making sense of the situation. I realize that may be a lot easier said than done. The woods are not crawling with Brooks experts.

jcm

BluesDawg wrote: "The woods are not crawling with Brooks experts."

Very true. The only experts I know of are right here in BF. It's the only place you'll find tons of 'em in one spot. Ditto on the pic. That would help. What is your normal riding position??? Upright or racing? Show us your rig. Maybe with you standing next to it for some idea of height reference.

BluesDawg: Please PM me about your 80's Something S-12-S. Got a line on one just for grins.

George

I sent the B 17 back to Wallingford and talked to them yesterday. They said that the saddle wasn't to wide I was sitting to far back.After hearing that I dug up most of the pictures on this forum and mine looked like a lot of others I saw. I think if I was to sit closer to the nose I'd be sitting on it. I'm really glad that it isn't to narrow because I like the saddle very much. When I get the saddle back I'll see if I can post some pictures. If it's just a matter of copy and paste. I never posted any pictures on A forum,please explain.The reason I thought the saddle was to narrow is the dents are starting to show and on the front 2 rivets I'm about 1/4 inch on either side from the rivets. I would think on the bottom I'd be on the frame. It is comfortable and I told them to send back the saddle and I wont worry about the fit.I've gone a little over 20 miles on it without stopping for a saddle break and I felt fine.I'm trying to take it somewhat easy so I don't get hurt and so far it's been working. I'm sorry to be such a pain in the saddle about this but I really like the sport and I really want it to work.When I get this Arthriris under control I'd like to start touring a little. George

pastorbobnlnh 

George,

Posting pictures is simple but make certain to use "reply w/ quote" or "reply" and not "Quick Reply" which automatically is under the latest post.

After you have typed your message scroll down below the dialogue box and you will see a button marked "Manage Attachements." Click on that button. A separate window then pops up and you have two options. "Upload file from your computer" or "Upload file from a URL." I use the computer option and click on "Browse." Then find the file name for the picture in your computer, highlight and click "open" then click "upload."

A few tips: Know the name of the picture file, where it is located on your computer, and that it is under 100 kb in size (but not too small or people can't see the picture very well).

Good luck!

George

Thanks pastor,Ill try it when I get my saddle back.

George

I'm trying to post a picture

George

I tried about 5 times and it does'nt seem to work,thanks anyhow,George

jcm

Hi George,
I went nuts trying to post pics. Then, a gal by the handle of LollyPop told me to
1)go to TinyPic.com
2)click Browse
3)double-click your pic from My Pictures or wherever the Browse command lands you.
4)click Up Load
It will appear as a Link or an IMG (image).
5)Copy the Link or IMG (which posts an actual pic) by highlighting, then right click to select Copy
6)click Back til you are back in your Reply, then Paste.

Then add your text.
Me and old Trek after 70 miles last winter:
https://i10.tinypic.com/4fuwzup.jpg

sauerwald

George -
Is your seatpost a straight or setback seatpost? - I ride a B-17 and find that I need a setback seatpost to put the saddle as far back as I like.

George

Thanks guys,I'll try again with the picture. I took the measurement where I think I'll be pretty close to where I'm suppose to be and I have been reading about setback seatpost and after the measurement I should know if I need one. I did read that in some cases that the saddle didn't slid back as far as it should for some people.I sat on a stool against the wall and put a level against my knees too the wall and came up with 26".I don't know if that's longer than most people but at this time that's all I can go by.I was thinking that I cant slid it back to far or I'll be sitting on the nose of the saddle.George

George