youth

i have been researching saddles and have settled on the brooks swift as the prime option available to me. i am currently having a very intense argument with myself on the whole subject. i am this close to justifying spending 200 dollars on a bike part... and a leather one, no less. help?

ps: the problem is i'm not so sure i want to be discouraged, so much as i want to be justified. ugh wtf help me

hyperRevue

What led you to settle on a Brooks Swift?
Have you ridden on one before?

youth

no! that's a big part of the problem of justifying buying... i just did a whole bunch of research all over the internets and found that to be the best priced high quality saddle i could get. and the way i see it is, if i'm going to spend $100 i might as well spend $200, so why settle for less...

baxtefer

buy it. it'll make your ass feel good.
and the cow it was made of sure tasted great.


or get a team pro for ~$70 less

hyperRevue

High quality saddles mean nothing to me. To me, in terms of saddles, "high end' only means expensive. Not necessarially comfortable.
With something sooooooo personal and subjective, you'd be a fool to buy something so expensive without trying one out first.
The most comfortable saddle I've ever ridden is my $35 Sella Italia C2.

youth

team pro is $70 less because it's heavier... they make a team pro with ti rails and it's just as expensive as the swift, which i like better. and yeah as far as the cow comment goes... this is one case where bikes are more important

now that i've almost entirely settled on getting it, i've been doing some research. found this site lickbike.com that has it for ~$170 with the shipping included... it's a horribly put together website and i'm wondering if it's scam land? anyone have any word on this?

my final dilemma is deciding between honey and racing green. opinions? i hear the dyed saddles will **** w/ your clothes. and honey is hot anyway. so i'm leaning towards that.

youth

have you ridden a brooks before?

hyperRevue

A B-17.
Didn't like it.

Of all bicycle components, a saddle is far and away the most personal. So personal, in fact, that outside advice is basically pointless.

youth

honey it is. oh god, i'm going to spend so much money.

mattface 

You bastards! I like how you all talked him into that. I'm especially impressed at the way everyone talked him out of green. Very persuasive...

In Absentia

I'm rather happy with my Specialized Avatar that I only spent $70 on and was able to use immediately because they're cheaper at bike shops than they are on the internet. Not nearly the same thing as a Brooks, but damned comfortable. +1 to hyperRevue's comment that choosing a saddle is very personal and subjective, though.

Agent_Embryo

and not only that, but think about how much time you spend in the saddle. i skimped on my first seats and regretted it. i don't think there's anything wrong with spending a lot if it means getting quality where you spend a lot of time.

youth

i did it. $167.88 spent on a honey brooks swift. oh god. oh god.

baxtefer

weight weenies don't buy brooks

brunop

money spent on bicycles isn't real money.

absntr

Lickton's is a local bike shop here. They're awesome. In fact, I bought my Swift from them a little over three weeks ago. Their website's pretty rudimentary but it's sort of like Business Cycles to me: just the facts please.

Their shop is pretty cool in a weird way: you walk in and there's a huge counter and there's a cool huge LCD display built into a wall and the website is displayed. You look up what you want and then ask them for it at the counter at which point they'll bring it out. Sounds odd but they're very happy and willing to get whatever you need out for you to check out.

There's a gorgeous baby blue Schwinn Paramount track bike hanging from the ceiling that's to die for if you ever stop by.

My Swift was worth the coin, now that it's pretty much broken in. It's my 17th saddle in 3 years and so far, the best. I still like my SLR and my Arione but the Brooks does indeed take the cake once it's broken in. I thought I'd end up selling it after the first week but now, no way.