brooks saddles on road bikes?
03-01-13, 12:01 PM
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brooks saddles on road bikes?
Do these go hand-in-hand?: Brooks leather saddle on a road bike. Saw one the other day, and it looked fantastic. 
03-01-13, 12:07 PM
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no.
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03-01-13, 12:16 PM
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To me, they just don't seem to be good designs for someone riding in a road cycling position either in the drops or on the hoods with a typical saddle to bar drop. However, to each their own. In my opinion they are much better suited for touring/trekking or casual shorter rides. Also it is tough to understand why someone would spend a bunch of money on a carbon bike and then put an anchor on their seatpost - the lightest brooks saddle is 370g. However, I've heard enough people swear by them to acknowledge that they are extremely comfortable for some.
03-01-13, 12:29 PM
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However, if you look at the setup on most of the bikes that use them, they are pretty upright, and appear to work better with an upright position for most riders (although the swift model is supposed to be better for an agressive position.)
Thus, if you don't run much if any drop, and value comfort over weight Brooks may work for you.
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03-01-13, 12:31 PM
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03-01-13, 12:36 PM
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Yes. They work exceedingly well on road bikes. I'm not a weight weenie, though both of the steel framed bikes below weigh in the 21-22 lb range with pedals, bottle cages, etc. Almost all my bikes are equipped with a Brooks or Ideale saddle.
Rapide - WMRT Ride - 1 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr
Alpine Cycles - Mid- to Late-80's - 2 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr
Rapide - WMRT Ride - 1 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr
Alpine Cycles - Mid- to Late-80's - 2 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr
03-01-13, 12:38 PM
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03-01-13, 01:00 PM
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Depends on the setup. In general Brooks saddles work better with minimal to no saddle to bar drop. The short rails often mean lots of setback is needed. The Velo Orange seatpost is good for this if your bike takes a 27.2 post.
Aesthetically they can look great or really out of place depending on the bike.
Aesthetically they can look great or really out of place depending on the bike.
Last edited by marqueemoon; 03-01-13 at 01:17 PM.
03-01-13, 01:04 PM
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03-01-13, 01:14 PM
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While not a brooks, I run ~5cm of drop (not a lot, but a lot more than I used to) with my selle anatomica titanico, and have no problem with all positions. SA Titanicos are also heavy saddles, but the thing could weigh 5 pounds and I would still use it. I can't tolerate a normal saddle, now (surgery over my right sitbone last year to remove some large painful cysts has made it impossible to tolerate the pressure on the sitbones from a normal saddle).
03-01-13, 03:01 PM
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Cycling to me is a form of exercise and not a fashion show so anything that meets my needs is going on my bike.
03-01-13, 03:13 PM
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Good point, for some people that is the case, but for others cycling is a lot more. Interestingly enough, I have ridden other saddles and they are just uncomfortable to me. I've not yet had a Brooks saddle that wasn't comfortable to me. I like a saddle to be comfortable to me.
03-01-13, 04:26 PM
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If you ride on the tops, sure. The saddle will weigh as much as your frame, though.
Notice the cross brakes. If you can get beyond the distraction...
03-01-13, 05:45 PM
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This. I've been riding for 44 years as an adult, owned at least 15 bikes, some of them extensively personalized, and I can honestly say I've never given 10 seconds of thought to what something might look like on my bike or what anyone else thinks of it. If it works, if it suits me, I'm good.
03-01-13, 06:57 PM
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I have a B-17 Narrow on my Specialized Roubaix. I must admit that the retro look of a Brooks saddle on a carbon fiber bike took some getting used to.
