Cut-up b17s
 

Does anyone have more pictures of these? They're aesthetics are growing on me but I don't know if I want to take a razorblade to my $70 saddle.

What did y'all do, cut along the side crease lines?

run a search. there was a detailed post with pics on this a while ago. Also google it as well because someone posted a blog with lots of pics on DIY

Will-do. Thanks.

Or you could forgo ruining something that looks great as it is.

I'm casually debating if the stock b17 or modded looks better than the other. Except the logo on those flaps looks wonderful. And I can't wait till it ages in and turns more dark (I have the honey version).

The flaps on the B-17 are engineered as structural components of the saddle. They provide stiffness to the 'hammock' your keester rides on. If you push down on a B-17, you can see the flaps spread apart. As the saddle ages and the leather becomes more supple, the saddle will lose some stiffness; some people add laces to stiffen it up (plus they look cool).

I didn't mean to be rude, but I don't understand the 'cutting' phenomenon. The Swallow-type Brooks' look wicked ugly to me, not to mention uncomfortable. Unless you are racing your bike and absolutely need to shave every ounce from your ride, cutting your saddle will give you little benefit, but will probably reduce its life-span. But it's your $70; do what you want.

Oh, and a few liberal applications of Proofide will darken the Brooks down significantly, and will keep the leather nice and healthy.

nope.

they have been doing this for ages, and it makes no difference.

lacing really depends on your weight, most of us can just tighten the nut and be fine for the life of the saddle.

I've been thinking about making a cut-out in my B-17 like the Selle An-Atomica, but I'm afraid it will sag too much. I've got 300 miles on my Brooks and it's already sagging like crazy. I only weigh 155 pounds, so I'm concerned for the life expectancy of my saddle. I'll probably just lace up the side flaps to make it stiffer.

Whatever you say-- saddle physics must be different in your town. Laced flaps make for a tightened ride, without the longitudinal stretch the bolt adds. Brooks has been making the B-17 the same way for a long time; I'll trust their design.

I only weigh 175 and needed to lace my B17 and my Pro. I wouldn't cut one, personally, but lacing is a terrific, aesthetically pleasing and function-enhancing mod.

If you have to razor a saddle you just paid 70 bucks for to make it look good...well, maybe its just not a good choice for your money.

Here you go.
http://fixedgeargallery.com/articles/brooks.htm

No, the physics are not different here, but my opinion on the matter is.

Lacing will indeed tighten up the ride - however, I don't think that most people will need to. I will admit though that my brooks experiences have been limited to pros, and it's thicker hide might be why I feel that way. As for chopping, it is purely aesthetic, and people have been doing it for the past 125 years. Its definitely not a new thing. If you take your time a do some research on the topic, you will find that many people find little, if any difference between pre and post chop. In fact the one that comes up the most is less chaffing on the inner thighs.

peabody,

Do a search, there are some really good posts about this. If you are at the race next sat, you can check out the one that I recently chopped.

I just penciled a line, and repeatedly chased it with and exacto blade. When one side was off, i flipped it and outlined it on the other side, then cut that. Then you 80 sand paper it, and use some shoe polish on the ends. Really easy.

I've decided against it, but maybe I'll reconsider after seeing yours. I will be at the 11 Summerslam.

I have two Brooks B-17 Standards. Both are black.

I've found that I needed to lace one, but the other I've left alone. The one I laced seemed softer from the day I bought it. In fact, the one that I didn't lace has almost over 5000 miles on it, while the one I laced has around 1200. And yet, the one with the higher mileage is still more firm than the one with less mileage.

Both were purchased a little over a year ago from different shops.

My point is that every Brooks is different.

This is a link to modified saddles at Wallbike............

http://www.wallbike.com/content/butchering.html

Good luck.