womble

BTW, I rode a B17 narrow for a year. It never got any softer, but I am very light (and it was comfortable right off)

dirtyphotons

yeah, i wish they made a model with some sort of compromise in that department. for what it's worth, i've ridden a few 50+ miles on my brooks on a fixed gear and never had any numbness or discomfort.

Machka 

You don't need a valley when your saddle allows you to sit on your sitbones like you are supposed to!

bbattle

Naw, he's going all the way back to fixed gear and Major Taylor track bars.

bbattle

I was wondering that, too. The "Pleather, not Leather" police will track you down.

danimal123

I had a Brooks B17-Narrow on my road bike for 800 miles. Proofided it regularly and it still hasn't broken in. Feels like riding a concrete saddle.

I know folks say some Brooks saddles take >1000 miles to break in, but I was getting sick of the chafing, soreness and...er...numbness I was getting (and yes, it was professionally fitted). Took it back, got it re-adjusted...still had the same problems.

Soooooooo, after >800 miles, I finally decided I wasn't a Brooks kind of guy. I put my stock saddle back on and it feels great, even after 8+ hours in the saddle. Life's too short to ride in pain, so my Brooks is now on my commuter bike. It's only a 10 mile commute, and it doesn't hurt during those 10 miles, so maybe after another 800-1000 miles it'll be broken in and ready to go on some 100+ mile rides. Until then, I'm not using it for anything longer than a 30-45 minute ride.

How do people put up w/ the break-in period if they have some long-distance rides on their calendars? I just found it too painful to bother with.

Dan

dirtyphotons

that's the name of the game, ride what feels good. op, try riding on a broken in brooks before buying if you can.

dan, sorry to hear about your bad experience, hope it gets more comfortable for you. if it doesn't pm me an offer and i might be able to take it off your hands

xSandmaNx

just looking at those things makes my ass hurt. selle italia slk for me

Mo'Phat

Some asses are just shaped differently. I agree that Life's too short to ride in pain, that's why I ditched my Selle Italia Flite for a Brooks Team Pro. No pain.

Some people can just hop on a brand new Brooks and it's like they just collapsed into their favorite easy chair. I conditioned the heck out of mine with an oil used for breaking in horse saddles and baseball mitts. It's still firm, but doesn't feel like a board to the touch. For what it's worth, it fit my butt just right from day 1, but after 1500+ miles on it, it's only become more comfortable. I've done up to a 75 mile ride on it.

jfmckenna

I put a B17 on my touring bike and after about 200 miles I feel as though I can sit on that thing all day with no discomfort at all. I was so impressed with it that I bought a Swift TI and put it on my fixed gear bike. This one is definitelly hard but really no worse than any of the other saddles I have. If it prooves to be comfortable it is going on my light weight racing bike, I don't care if it weighs twice as much as my Terry Zero saddle.

The whole idea behind it makes sense to me. If you are the type of person that has gone through 10 different saddles like I have and still cannot find one that fits then you need to get a saddle that is built to break into your personal fit. The Brooks conforms to your anatomy rather then plastic saddles that are built for the average joe anatomy.

The only thing I don't like about them aside from the weight penalty is that they do require a lot of care and need to be protected from extensive rain.

lotek 

I've said it before, a B17 should be comfortable right out of the box, sure you might
have some pain from actually sitting on your sit bones but that should pass in a day or two.
What is important is the setup of the saddle. A slight raise of the nose of the saddle is in
order, nothing too drastic (one or two degree raise). The nonsense about B17 not being designed
for the drops is exactly that. Yah it's designed for a more upright position but that is from having a
smaller drop between saddle and handlebars, not the result of riding in the drops.
A judicious amount of proofide applied once a month helps, and 1 good application to
the bottom of the saddle per year for waterproofing.
As stated above lighter riders will have a harder time breaking in a Brooks.

marty

Second Mouse

Various quotes:

"....i like mine."

"For me...it is completely the bomb in comfort."

"...and thought I would switch to the more comfortable B17. Well, it was a no Go! I can't ride on a saddle that wide on a road bike."

"My Brooks B-17 is the most comfortable saddle I've ever owned. I doubt I'll ever go back to another kind of saddle."

"Soooooooo, after >800 miles, I finally decided I wasn't a Brooks kind of guy."


Looks like one size doesn't fit all. Part of what appealed to me was all that goofy traditional stuff. Real leather, that nutty "presentation" box the saddle comes in, etc. But I liked the feel of the saddle from day one, even though it's only got about 400 miles on it, with no rides over about 40 miles so far. I'm planning on an MS 150 and a century or two this year, so it will be interesting to see how the various parts hold up. Or don't.

I'm a little surprised this thread hasn't taken off on how to condition the saddle. One of the things the Proofide people tell you is that you shouldn't use anything with any oils in it, since the oils will clog up the pores in the saddle and make it so the leather won't breathe any more. Proofide is made of beeswax, which, they say, doesn't do that. This is all from the Proofide folks, so it's all just FWIW. Previous threads have suggested some pretty exotic break-in methods--soaking the saddle in water, slathering oil all over it, that sort of thing.

Cheers.

cs1

+1

Grooves are scrictly gimmicks. Properly designed saddles don't need any of that garbage.

Tim

jimx200

Thumbs up on the Brooks B-17. I played saddle roulette for two years and after my first ride on the Brooks...finally some comfort.

Sincitycycler

Cool. I'm 197 lbs and use a retro Eddy-style upright position.

Ordered a honey colored one!

pathdoc

I'm having a custom single speed bike built that will look like something out of the 1950's. I'll be putting a Brooks on that one.

ZachS

it has nothing to do with letting the leather 'breathe'; a piece of leather that thick treated with oil OR wax is completely airtight. oil softens the leather more than wax does, and softens it much more quickly. some people think this is a good thing, some people think this is a bad thing. the brooks company, for what it's worth, thinks it's a bad thing. but plenty of folks like the results they get with oil. maybe something worth trying if your saddle doesn't seem to be 'breaking in' after a couple applications of wax and a few hundred miles.

bkrownd

I have two saddles without the central valley, and one with it. It's no gimmick - If I ride the two without the valley for too long there is major chafing. The saddle with the valley doesn't chafe there. Big difference.

chipcom 

All 5 bikes in my 'stable' have Brooks saddles. I can't recommend them highly enough, with two caveats:

1. The B17 isn't always the best choice, depending upon your riding position and style. That said, it does have the lowest return rate of all the Brooks saddles sold at Wallingford, who offers a six-month return policy that can't be beat. Rule of thumb is that a B17 is for a more upright riding position, Team Pro for those who are a little more agressive, Swift or Swallow for a more agressive racing style. The width is also a factor, the B17 being the widest and the Swift the narrowest of the 4 I mentioned. A saddle that is too narrow is gonna ruin your day, too wide will ruin your evening.

2. Fit of the bike, including saddle position, is critical for ANY saddle's comfort. You can have the best saddle in the world and it'll feel like an ass-hatchet if it or the bike are not fit to you properly.

But come on Sin, you been around here long enough that you've heard all this before. Were you just trolling for a Brooks debate?

Machka 

They aren't supposed to get softer! They are just supposed to conform to your shape ... which is what makes them so comfortable.

Portis

I"ve got 3 Brooks B17's. I don't understand this "break in" nonsense. Actually my newest saddle is my most comfortable. It's only got around 1000 miles on it. My others have a LOT more, but they are comfy as well.

I think the break in period is actually your arse getting broken in, not the saddle. The strength of these saddles is that they force you to sit you your sit bones ONLY. As the saddles age, other parts of your anatomy tend to engage the saddle somewhat.

Wil Davis

Now there's an interesting idea…

- Wil

Machka 

The saddle does break in.

Take a look at the photos I posted back on page 1. My broken in saddle has fairly deep (and lop-sided) butt-grooves and quite a curve to it, as compared with the new saddle which is basically flat and smooth.

Once you get those deep butt-grooves, you know your saddle has broken in .... if you haven't got them yet, it isn't broken in yet.

Portis

Machka,

Both of my other Brooks saddles are severely broken in. that is why i implied that the new saddle is more comfortable, It doesn't have the dimples. What I am saying Machka, is that you could pick up a new B17 tomorrow and ride it comfortably.

A rider new to a Brooks probably could not. That is why I say that it is the rider's backside that gets the breaking in.

Machka 

Actually, when I first tried the B-17 I thought I'd have to send it back .... I was in PAIN!! It was a good 200K before I started to think that maybe, possibly, I might be able to keep it for short distance riding, and another 200K before I decided there was a chance it might be OK for long distance riding.