claire

I'm not sure this is the best place to post this, but since most Brooks users are long-distance cyclists, this might be the best place...
So, the question is, what is the process the Brooks fit to your butt? I've put about 600 km on mine, in the beginning my ischions would hurt but I thought it's just the Brooks forming, so I don't mind so much. But on my last 2 rides (about 100-120 km) I finished the ride with "pidgeon eggs" on each of my ischions (plus some chafing but that might just depend on my shorts), it doesn't hurt so much but it feels very weird when I sit even on a regular chair at work! Is this the normal process??
I'm off next week for 6 weeks touring, and I thought I would finally "make it" during the ride, but I'm afraid I'm going to inflict permanent injuries to my butt, and it would not be a good idea a month before PBP... I've got my Specialized Dolce for PBP that I like very much, but I like my touring bike having a Brooks! Looks so much better!!
So, should I perseverate with the Brooks or just give up?

Hocam

Sometimes the brooks is not meant for you. I'd give it another 200k and see what happens but I've never had those problems breaking in a new brooks. Usually it starts to feel like a hammock on my bum after 300 miles for me.

gosmsgo

I dont know. That sounds weird.

I can ride over a century on my brooks without bike shorts and feel fine.

Which brooks do you have?

SandLizrd

It took me 1000 miles to get the Brooks to feel right. I've heard others say the same. I'd recommend more miles at a better time. If that's not working for you, try another 1000 kilometers at a better time

claire

I've got the basic B17S.
I'm ready to suffer for a few hundred km if I need to, to reach the ultimate comfort of a Brooks, but I could feel these pidgeon eggs on my butt all day when I was sitting on my chair at work and it's quite disturbing!

tmdesou

I tried to break in my Brooks as is typically recommended - with no "special" treatment other than riding it. It hadn't worked for me after 1000 miles and was still somewhat uncomfortable. I was about to give up on it, but on a recommendation from a friend I soaked the saddle in water for 15 minutes and rode it wet one time. It broke in perfectly and has been quite comfortable since then.

gosmsgo

I didnt realize you were female.

I bet you are so light that your breakin time will be much longer then most.

My wife weighs 100 pounds and has several hundred miles on her brooks without putting a single dent in it yet. Your breakin time may be much longer then average 150# plus males.

luckily my wife thinks hers is comfortable even without breaking in so we are ok. You might want to get your wet or soak it in neatsfoot oil.

I really hate to say that though because I think you will take a few years of life out of it.

Goonster

Neither my wife nor I believe in break-in. She rides Pro S's and Finesses, I ride B17's.

Anecdotally, I believe that the extended-break-in-is-required folks are in the minority. I ride with a guy who puts a brand new Brooks, straight out of the box, on his bike before every major (600+ km) brevet.

The position has to be just right. Experiment with angle. Consider raising the nose just a bit higher than you would on a "normal" saddle.

On the other hand, if the discomfort you're feeling is right were the sitbones rest on the saddle, then the Brooks may indeed not be for you.

Machka 

Mine took 800 kms to break in ... for dents to form.

What angle is your saddle at? Try tipping the nose up a bit. When I first rode my Brooks, I had the nose tipped downward a bit and I was uncomfortable!! Then a few people suggested I tip the nose up. At first that felt kind of awkward, but better than it had, and then everything settled in.

knobster

You could also try loosening it up a bit. Try turning the nut on the front about a half a turn. Worked on my B17 and once it broke in, I turned it back to the original setting.

papawizo

The pigeon eggs. Are you talking lumps? I couldn't ride my Brooks. I had lumps in uncomfortable places (they didn't go away for a long time). I couldn't ride for 3 weeks. Some bodies don't adjust even with miles. I had 4000 miles and knew it wasn't the break in time. For shorter rides I was great but for longer rides it did me in. Great saddles, well constructed, just not for me. I thought, gee, these are the ultimate long distance saddles. It must be something with me. Well, it was, and I can't ride a Brooks. Ultimately, everyone's body is different. The Brooks was too wide for me so I ride a selle an-atomica and have no problems.
jv

claire

Yeah lumps, that's it... It never happened to me with any of my other saddles... A friend had the same thing but that was after riding a 1,000 km brevet, not just a 100 km ride like me!! I can really imagine that the Brooks would be comfortable at some point and I don't mind suffering a bit, but I'm thinking the lumps might be a bit too much...
To gosmsgo: I don't think the problem is me being too light... unfortunately...

gosmsgo

My brooks is starting to sag quite a bit. The bars are touching the leather in a spot.

Im reluctant to tighten the nut after only 1 year. I wanted the saddle to last a few decades and Ive heard that once you start tightening it the end is near.

roughrider504

What did you use to condition it? I talked to the nice people at Wallingford bicycle parts when I went to pick up my Brooks, and they said if you use oils and things it will speed up the break in process yes, yet it could deform really quickly.

gosmsgo

I have only used proofhide and I have used that 2 or 3 times in the past year.

roughrider504

Riding it wet could be another thing

gosmsgo

I never let it get wet.

I bought an ardvark saddle cover that I put on it everytime a single cloud passes over!!!

It does get soaked with butt sweat nearly everyday though.

markf

The B17 on my commuter bike and the Swift on my tourer felt just right from the start, although I was very careful to position the saddle just right for my particular anatomy. I carried wrenches to adjust the saddle height and angle on the first few rides. Have you played with the saddle position at all? Try a few adjustments, and bring tools to adjust the saddle position on your next few rides before you do anything drastic that would permanently alter the saddle.

Caspar_s

How often does he do that? And what does he do with the old ones?

Sounds like he could sell them on here as pre-broken in

Hezz

I have a B17 on one of my bikes and I found that it was reasonably comfortable right out of the box. I did several hours of searching the internet to find out what is the best way to break it in.

Most recommended soaking it in some kind of oil for several hours and others said that it should break in by itself given enough riding time. I came to the conclusion that most of the recommended oil soak methods could make the leather too soft and give a hammock effect and shorten the life of the seat.

Another method was to sand off the upper finish and then put a damp cloth on the seat and let the leather soak up the moisture and then go riding with the wet cloth for a few hours. The seat is supposed to form to your anatomy and then you let it dry and put some kind of a finish on the top to help make it water resistant.

All I have done is use sno-seal on the bottom to help weather proof the seat and after about six months the seat has still not moulded to my butt even though I am 212 pounds.

Still, the seat is comfortable as is for me for about three hours and managable for four hours though the fourth hour is a little uncomfortable.

But now I am looking for methods to get the seat to have a better fit.

I had not heard of the water soaking method but perhaps that might work. Followed by a sno-seal treatment afterwards. The biggest problem that I see however, is that the upper finish keeps most treatments from soaking in well and the leather is too thick for just the bottom application to work.

I am still looking for better options on how to do this.

freako

How heavy are you Claire? If your a petite, that B17 uses thick leather and it may take you another 800km to break in. You could try softening it with Profide recommended for Brooks saddles, but don't go crazy with applying it, just follow the directions.

wrobertdavis

Hear here! I was having progressively horrible rides on my Brooks Swift and was about to write it off. I tried to get a Selle Anatomica before my next century but they are so busy, he said he could not get it out in a week. I did buy the paper written on fitting handlebars and saddles from the Selle Anatomica website. Even though I've had 3 professional fittings and read lots of articles, this one seemed to say some things in a way that were new or more emphatic to me.

1. Don't set your saddle too high - you'll grind your butt to shreds if you do.
2. Rotate the saddle (left or right) to accomodate for certain assymetrical conditions.
3. Raise the nose of the saddle 1/8 to 1/4 inch higher than level.

According to the guideline measurements in the article, my saddle was 1 1/2" too high! I did not have the patience to sneak up on a good fit. I lowered the saddle 1". I raised the nose 1/4" and I rotated the saddle 1 degree to the right (I always get sore in the same place on the left side).

As soon as I started riding, I knew something was different. The saddle was way more comfortable than it had been. I was able to peddle at 100 cadence without bouncing. I still had a saddle sore from my last 60 mile ride, but it was not bothering me.

Now I am experienced enough to know that I really haven't tested it fully. I've done two 25 mile rides to see if I was anywhere in the ballpark. For me, significant pain starts setting in around 40 miles if things are not right. Tomorrow I am going to ride a 55 mile test ride over a well know route that I've used for saddle testing in the past. At the end of that ride I will know whether I am onto something or this is another false start.

I have come to the conclusion that Brooks saddles are very unforgiving of a fit that is even slightly off, but must be pretty sweet if you ever find that good fit.

A Selle Anatomica is in my future if I don't converge on something good with the Brooks in the next 200 miles.

Bob

Six jours

And the funniest typo award for June goes to...

wrobertdavis

This was not a typo but perhaps an unclear context. "Assymetrical conditions" was meant to refer to physical assymetry in the rider's pelvic structure.

Bob

Six jours

There's no "ass" in "asymmetrical" -- unless maybe you're talking about saddle adjustment.