Question for Brooks Saddle owners?
05-14-08, 08:28 AM
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Question for Brooks Saddle owners?
What's the youngest person you know using a Brooks?
Just wondering if Brooks are much more common to the mature group that may have grown up with their product and how well it is transcending to a younger audience.
Thoughts??
Just wondering if Brooks are much more common to the mature group that may have grown up with their product and how well it is transcending to a younger audience.
Thoughts??
05-14-08, 08:39 AM
#2
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Early twenties, but I was given a perfect B-15 by another twenty something who wouldn't even do a test ride. Said it "looked uncomfortable & heavy". His loss, my gain!
06-15-08, 09:27 PM
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I started on mine at about 20. Worked better than anything else at the time. Of course, that was over 30 years ago! Tried it lately. Prefer modern.
06-15-08, 09:40 PM
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I have a 26 y/o friend who has a B17 on one of his bikes. Most people I know, of all ages, have never tried one but are sure they wouldn't like it.
06-15-08, 11:16 PM
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12 years old- today. Son was given a 74 Raleigh LTD 3 for birthday. We cleaned it up. He is riding it and refuses to swwap out that old Brooks seat for he other softer gel seat.
06-16-08, 11:46 AM
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There are a lot of factors to juggle when picking out a saddle. Comfort, style, weight and price to name a few. How one prioritizes those factors depends on experience. You won't find any 20 something bike riders who have 30+ years of bicycling experience.
06-16-08, 12:14 PM
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The young roadies I've chatted with about saddles have said that given how much they paid for a light bike, there was no way they were going to put a Brooks on it.
But other 20-somethings, like a couple of wrenches who work at a LBS, told me that on their commuter bikes, they used Brooks, along with albatross bars.
But other 20-somethings, like a couple of wrenches who work at a LBS, told me that on their commuter bikes, they used Brooks, along with albatross bars.
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There are two types of road bikers: bikers who are faster than me, and me. Bruce Cameron - Denver Post
06-16-08, 01:12 PM
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27 years old, riding a B17 since May 2008 
I won't switch anymore: could replace with another brook saddle if the need occurs but won't change, no!
I won't switch anymore: could replace with another brook saddle if the need occurs but won't change, no!
06-16-08, 01:53 PM
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I am not a Brooks owner but looked at a Brooks in 1968 for a Schwinn. I remember it being pitched as a "racing saddle". Anyway...here are some guys who may have been riding on Brooks saddles along with toe clips and I suspect steel cleats on the bottom of their shoes. It is unclear which brand of cigarette they were smoking during the TdF race (I have not verified the authenticity of this pic as a real shot from the TdF but I have seen a poster in a bike shop). Are any of our guys in this shot?
Another racing phrase related to Brooks is riding on the rivets. In time trialing, one tries to more forward to generate more power. So riding on the nose of a Brooks saddle was referred to riding on the rivets. Now UCI has the rule that the nose of the saddle must be 5 cm back from the center of the crank axel. So by definition, we all time trial on the rivets, if we have any.
It is probably marketing...Brooks may not spend enough money promoting its saddles and cannot make them light enough to be competitive with other choices and shelf space in bike shops. However,this sport is tough enough so ride on whatever feels comfortable.
Another racing phrase related to Brooks is riding on the rivets. In time trialing, one tries to more forward to generate more power. So riding on the nose of a Brooks saddle was referred to riding on the rivets. Now UCI has the rule that the nose of the saddle must be 5 cm back from the center of the crank axel. So by definition, we all time trial on the rivets, if we have any.
It is probably marketing...Brooks may not spend enough money promoting its saddles and cannot make them light enough to be competitive with other choices and shelf space in bike shops. However,this sport is tough enough so ride on whatever feels comfortable.
Last edited by Hermes; 06-16-08 at 02:03 PM.
06-16-08, 01:58 PM
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So by definition, we all time trial on the rivets, if we have any.
06-16-08, 03:53 PM
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I started riding tensioned leather saddles at age 12 (Bianchi-labeled, made by Ideale?), and never stopped. I bought a week-old Brooks Pro for $5 at age 22 (1972) and still ride on it, 50k mi / 80k km later.
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
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06-16-08, 04:05 PM
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My older son is 21 and he took my swift with him when he went to Boston for a summer job 2 weeks ago. 
I admit that I was not riding it, but I might have. 
I have found my Terry fly more comfortable recently though, so I thought I'd let him finish breaking it in for me.
I admit that I was not riding it, but I might have. I have found my Terry fly more comfortable recently though, so I thought I'd let him finish breaking it in for me.
06-16-08, 06:51 PM
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I'll be 55 tomorrow and I'm riding this Brooks right now on my commuter 
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06-16-08, 06:56 PM
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When I first started seriously riding some of my riding pals had brooks. I got one and it was indeed very comfy.
Later on when I took riding back up I could not find a comfy saddle and got a brooks again. I have just ordered a flyer for a mongoose hilltopper that is going to be a commuter.
Later on when I took riding back up I could not find a comfy saddle and got a brooks again. I have just ordered a flyer for a mongoose hilltopper that is going to be a commuter.
