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Sit bones 90mm apart... which brooks will be better?

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Sit bones 90mm apart... which brooks will be better?

Old 02-10-11, 09:57 PM
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Sit bones 90mm apart... which brooks will be better?

Hi guys,

I'm sorry for another Brooks thread, but been reading a lot lot many threads but still a little confusion which I though I'd rather get it resolved.I've read a lot about how some people like/suit only to specific models of Brooks & how sit bone measuring & getting a one close to your liking can increase the chances of getting one that suits your butt. So my sitbones are 90mm apart, I've tried it with the ruler.

I'm looking for the brooks for my Surly CC which is my LD ride on which I currently ue a San Marco Rolls, while this saddle is also comfy, I do get sore & numb crotch on longer brevets (I wear Santini Gel Intex on most of my brevets), I though let me give Brooks a shot. My bar is level with the saddle, but I also ride in the drops say 30% of the time. I also like my footing closer, my legs almost rub the TT on all my bikes, the confusion is... Should I go for a regular B17 or a Narrow one or should I look at the Swift.


Thanks,
KK

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Old 02-11-11, 10:22 AM
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Dunno how to translate sit-bone spacing into a saddle recommendation, but given your handlebar height, a regular B17 sounds like the place to start. If your LBS doesn't have a saddle trial period policy, wallbike.com does (or at least used to) so you can buy it, try it, and send it back if it doesn't work for you.

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Old 02-11-11, 11:39 AM
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well I'm also a fairly skinny guy, & I like narrow saddles I guess even the B17 narrow is fairly wide atleast than my Selle Italia
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Old 02-11-11, 03:59 PM
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The B17 Standard is always the ideal starting place. It is plenty wide, but that means there is a lot of room for error. And remember, the saddle will conform, after break-in, to the position of your sitbones.

However, Brooks do make a narrow version of the B17 as you mentioned.

I have almost finished breaking in a Ti Swallow, which is quite a bit narrower than the B17 Standard. The steel version, of course, is a fair bit cheaper. But be warned, I and another Australian randonneur both have the Ti Swallow, and it has taken us a long time to get them broken in. Mine has been well over 2000km, and the other one also thousands of kilometres (I am not sure if he was deliberately exaggerating when he said 6,000km!).
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Old 02-12-11, 01:20 AM
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I've heard a few reports of the Swallow taking a ridiculously long time (which for many riders would translate as 'never') to break in. Oh, and the Team Pro too. All those narrow compound curves make for great inherent stiffness.
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Old 02-12-11, 02:52 AM
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Captain - great collection you got there mate.

last couple of weeks all I'm doing on the internet is reading about Brooks & their many saddle lines, this link was extremely helpful - Experience with Brooks Saddles

I've been contemplating a lot between B17 & B17N, I ride a Rolls which is 140ish mm & the sides of the saddle clearly show signs of thighs rubbing, I think there'll be considerable thigh rubs with a regular B17, so I guess my best bet would be the B17N. BTW should I buy the Proofhide also or does it come with Brooks saddles??

KK
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Old 02-12-11, 04:11 PM
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No, generally, the Proofide is a separate purchase, at least for the new saddles. However, you usually get a spanner specific for the saddle -- the one for the Swallow is different from the one for the B17 (but I think the B17 spanner can be used for others such as the Team Pro.

Captain, I too had a Team Pro as my first ever Brooks, and it did take a l-o-n-g time to break in. I think I sold it to a friend before it got to proper break-in point.

The Swallow, while narrower to what I am used to, seems to be settling into a comfortable saddle for me.

kk27, if thigh rub on the skirt is an issue, you might consider the Swallow because it is skirtless. However, another warning -- make sure that your seatpost clamp is also relatively narrow and any projections from it will rub and as on mine, rub through your shorts. Believe me, you don't realise just how darned useful that lycra is until you start rubbing bare skin on leather...

Also kk, and I am not trolling here, but are their issues with using cowhide saddles in a country that reveres the cow as sacred?
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Old 02-13-11, 02:34 AM
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Ordered.... finally after a lot of contemplation I decided on a B17-N since I was skeptical a lot about thigh rub. Then tension was which color...sine my Cross Check is "poo brown" I chose to go with brown color. And the good thing is it's gonna be a valentines' gift from GF . But she's not aware that it's actual leather!!! she's an animal lover, if she comes to know then it won't be a gift anymore . anyway.

Rowan I understand where you are coming from, but then India is not at all an extremist Country - Hail Democracy. There are thousands of Christians & millions of Muslims here, & many eat Beef which is available though not as easily, infact many Indians/Hindus too eat all kindsa meet, me included though beef is only once in a bloom. And I think Indians have a fetish for leather, it's come from the Brits I guess almost all civil & armed forces, school children & most office workers wear leather shoes at work. But I'm not sure if most of it is synthetic or comes from other animals. So who'll be interested in a lowly cyclist .

And here there's absolutely no problem with something like a brooks saddle, cause the Indian made bicycles come with saddles which are remarkably identical to Brooks saddles, the difference is they're made of hard Rexine type material.
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Old 02-13-11, 02:35 AM
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Ok I have another query, will the Brown discolor with time???
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Old 02-13-11, 05:02 PM
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Originally Posted by kk27
Captain - great collection you got there mate.

last couple of weeks all I'm doing on the internet is reading about Brooks & their many saddle lines, this link was extremely helpful - Experience with Brooks Saddles

I've been contemplating a lot between B17 & B17N, I ride a Rolls which is 140ish mm & the sides of the saddle clearly show signs of thighs rubbing, I think there'll be considerable thigh rubs with a regular B17, so I guess my best bet would be the B17N. BTW should I buy the Proofhide also or does it come with Brooks saddles??

KK
Frank Berto wrote about saddles quite a while back and had an idea I think would be useful to you. He compared saddles as a selection aid by measuring their length, width at widest point, and width at 50% of length. The width at widest point corresponds roughly to your sit-bone spacing, and the width at 50% length corresponds a little more roughly to inner-thigh contact. If you measure the widest width of your current saddle, and I think you said your sit bones are well supported, then that's a good spec for width at the wide point. Then you could go to the bike shop with a ruler and find a saddle that is narrower at 50% than yours is. If there's nothing else wrong with it that saddle and you get a return guarantee, why not try it out at home?

Do you have access to a Specialized dealer? You could try a Toupe or Alias in the width corresponding to your 90 mm. I know a narrow one of either of thise is too narrow for me, except in a very deep racing tuck.
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Old 02-14-11, 12:41 AM
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The honey Brooks Pro did discolour, but I can't say for the brown because I've never had one... they've either been black or honey. FWIW, the oldest black one I have has lost its sharp blackness, too.
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Old 02-14-11, 03:35 AM
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Sadly there's no Specialized dealers in India, and no LBS with an ass-o-meter. Actually most cyclists like mine either buy stuff Online or from a few LBS's who are able to get Roadbike stuff. Yes the MTB crownd is much better served.

I've heard that the Honey turns into a Brown, but never heard what a Brown turns into???
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Old 02-15-11, 01:34 PM
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Originally Posted by kk27
Sadly there's no Specialized dealers in India, and no LBS with an ass-o-meter. Actually most cyclists like mine either buy stuff Online or from a few LBS's who are able to get Roadbike stuff. Yes the MTB crownd is much better served.

I've heard that the Honey turns into a Brown, but never heard what a Brown turns into???
Well, the Specialized method is not the olny approach that can help you. I would say send an email to Bill at Wallingford Cycles in New Orleans, Louisiana, and ask him what your best bet is. It might be a standard B17, but I have found some quality full-width saddles can cause chafing on teh inner thigh. But then buy it from him, because if you don't like the saddle after say a month of two, he'll give you an exchange.

Unless there's a shop in Oz or somewhere closer to you with a similar deal and wisdom to share.
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Old 02-16-11, 09:16 PM
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OK...I told about it to my GF well it stays a gift , I received the Saddle yesterday and Wow isn't it a piece of beauty!!! I was simply amazed at the quality of it, workmanship oozing out. I also notices a slight sign of wrinkle, but that's a common thing with leather. I was also happy with the colour, it goes with a nice contrast on the Surly Gravy Brown but I guess even a honey would've looked sweet.

I had also ordered a can of Proofhide, so as per instructions I applied a layer to the bottom with my fingers with gentle rubbing. Then a bit to the top & also applied to the sides & a little on the edges. The saddle drank the whole thing within 20mins. I started to take my faithfully serving Rolls out, soon I realized that the B17 just about manages to slide back enough for my liking, actually it just touches the leather. I've currently set it up just a little tilt above as recommended by many.

To my dismay I then find that my topeak saddle F11 clamp simply wont fit the B17 cause the rails moves out very far. I guess I'll have to make a new metal bracket or work around with some clips or zipties , or I'll need to buy a bag with loops instead. Anybody here who's managed this??
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Old 02-17-11, 08:01 AM
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Not clear - why can't you use your clamp? Isn't the clamp on your old seatpost made for the normal rail, which Brooks has?

A picture would be useful.
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Old 02-18-11, 12:12 AM
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I guess I wasnt clear, the clamp is fine, it's just that I can't set the saddle back enough .

But then this issue is resolved anyway cause after sitting on the saddle on a trainer I discovered that the saddle needs to be moved further. So much so that I had to put a longer stem to compensate the stretch I'm used to. I also had to tilt the saddle down, the Nose-Up position hurts me in the crotch, I now have the nose slightly down. Like I had said earlier, I sit in quite a forward position & also go into the drops.

I know for sure that a Trainer is not particularly ideal place to test worth of a saddle but it's a good testing place to check the saddle fit & adjust it for road use. I did about 30kms on the trainer, offcourse with a lot of adjustments every now & then .

First Impressions.... Bloody Hard.
The saddle is very very hard, I'm sure it would've been a killer on road, I could relate how most people talked about excruciating pain. The good thing is that the saddle fits very snugly under me, I can imagine how a broken-in saddle would feel, and I like that imagination . I'm also glad I went with the Narrow version, cause even in this version I feel a nice big place to rest my ass out on the saddle...more specifically the Sit-Bones. But in any case I have the thigh run on the nose area like I had on the Rolls, but no other parts that I can feel any rub or chafing sensations. Since I ride with cycling Bibs, the stiffness of the saddle is not much of a bother. But it took a long time to get the right adjustment to relieve the hurting on crotch, ultimately the saddle nose now points a bit down. I found that since I sit in quite a forward leap position even a level saddle hurts a bit on the crotch and the B17-N is shaped like a hammock so the nose points up a little, and I also put the saddle forwards, ultimately I changed to a longer stem to get the stretch I'm comfy in. I'll be riding this setup on the road for week to check how it feels.

When the adjustment's were finally done & when I got riding, the saddle initially felt a heated & then a some point I could only feel the saddle at my Sit-bones & on the nose area where my thighs rub it a bit. It was as if the entire saddle was lost somewhere. I'm sure it may feel bit differently on the road since on the trainer there are no jerks or vibrations but I somewhat understood how people talk about it .

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's ride out on the road & I'm ready to go through some pain & offcourse a lot of stopping & readjustments . wish me luck.
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Old 02-18-11, 06:46 AM
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Good luck, but I'm a little concerned that you had to change your bike fit to accommodate a saddle. (presuming that you had your fit dialed in with the old saddle)

FWIW, the Swift has longer rails for more adjustment.

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Old 02-18-11, 07:38 AM
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well I'm also a bit worried... I don't know maybe since this is different kinda saddle. I've put it as of now just to test. I'll mostly fit the old stem back, cause I have an imp 600k coming up.
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Old 02-20-11, 07:11 AM
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Update - So after a the testing on the trainer it was time for the ride on the road. 2 days and 2 long rides on the Saddle.

Well not sure how do I describe it!!! Lucky... yeah maybe I'm one of those lucky ones for whom the saddle worked right out of the box. Like I said before, trainer is not a great place to check a saddles' worth. & on the road everything changed. for a few kms it felt a bit hard but then after some time it just disappeared!!! really!!! I couldn't believe it was such a good fit. Only on bumps I'd feel the hard leather, and it did hurt a bit on the crotch but after sometime even that vanished. and on the ride I just forgot about the saddle, my training partner was also a bit excited about the Brooks & in the conversation I went into the drops & after riding a bit I realized I was on drops & yet no problems whatsoever. I did about 80 odd kms or 50miles and I had a much cooler & comfier ass than before.

Today I did another 120kms/ 75miles and I can feel it getting comfier as by each km passed. I stayed on the saddle for almost the entire distance. I like standing & riding outta the saddle, earlier I used to do it not only to cool my ass a bit but also to give me a different movement. But today I just didn't wanna get out, I usually would getup a bit to get blood flowing, but didn't do that either, Even my partner noticed this since he was doing it quite a few times esp towards the end. I'm simply amazed by this saddle, really I never thought it would be such a difference from Rolls or anyother saddle I'm used. It has far exceeded all my expectations, I'm becoming a fan.

Okay I have a question....it's said that regular application of proodhide in the initial stages helps in the breaking in process; But since the saddle was comfortable out of the box, is there anymore need to apply Proofhide anymore???? I've done it just once Top & Bottom before I put it on the bike
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Old 02-23-11, 08:21 PM
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Hey guys I have a 600km brevet on Saturday, The saddle has been very comfortable so I've not applied prrofhide anymore. I live in Bombay-India which is quite humid, what should be the next interval to apply a little proofhide on the saddle.
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Old 02-24-11, 12:06 AM
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Probably not for a long time. Put the Proofide can away and forget about it.
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Old 03-07-11, 12:46 AM
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I'm wondering how many guys intending to reply to this thread found themselves with their ankles in the air, head between their legs, and a tape measure spanning their crotch to measure their sit bones, then the wife walks in.
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