NoReg

If you grew-up since running shoes were made of nylon and foam, you could be forgiven for thinking "that way lies comfort". My all leather Dack's workshoes are among the most comfortable footwear I have ever found. Not great for a lot of jumping around, but very comfortable for a day on one's feet, and they last well also. Same with the Brooks saddle. It should end up like a custom pair of shoes.

SteelCommuter

Helen,

I read your first post. I sympathize. No wants to make a mistake with their saddle choice. But there is hope. First of all, I don't know which Brooks model you have, but very likely it is a B. 17, and will be wonderful. You will want to know, though, that there are several models, including women specific and sprung models. My wife has two, and used three. She has a B 17 which is just fine, and used to have a Professional S, a shorter and narrower women's racing saddle. She didn't like that one, and I traded it with a fellow who gave me a B 76. This is a wider, sprung saddle. She tells me that it is PERFECT. She doesn't exactly get excited about bike parts; she normally leaves that to me, the bike geek. Yet she strongly recommends it.

Not to say that your B 17 can't serve you as well, or better. But the beauty of their line-up is that you can select the best width and style for your kind of riding, and that the leather will mold to your butt over time. Unlike others, I've never felt uncomfortable with a new Brooks. I do treat it right away with a little Obenauf's, but that's it. I do know many people who complain of a breaking in period.

If you have a very upright position, then a sprung saddle may be more comfortable. On the other hand, if you have a racing-like position, the cut of Brooks racing saddles are more appropriate.

Good luck. Wallbike.com has many pictures of the different models. Tell us what model you have.

SteelCommuter

Um, a very high possibility

Oops

af895

Lovin' mine.

bjorn

My take:

NoReg

How does the sprung brooks compare to say a saddle on a post with a shock?

af895

I don't have a shock-post but I'll add a few anecdotes.

My bike is a soft-tail - not a full rear swingarm but an elastomer between the seat-stays and seat-tube which softens up the rear-end.

I'm 245lbs. I just installed a Brooks B67 - single rail, two rear springs.
I don't feel like I'm bouncing at all, either when I'm pedaling at high cadence or if I go over a large rut.

Natural tendency is to take weight off the bars and saddle when going over a rut but I've tried to suppress that while testing. No sharp jolt that you might get on an unsprung saddle.

Very subjective this is, of course.

*** *** ***

Heard from a couple who rides tandem. They keep a sprung Brooks on the rear seat because the stoker can't see upcoming ruts and gets the worst of them. Sounded like a great idea to me.

*** *** ***

One more thing: according to the Wallbike website, the B66, B67 & B72 share the same top leather: 210mm by 260mm. The B67 is just the single rail version of the B66. If I were a betting man, I'd say the B66 will eventually be discontinued in favour of the B67.

Brooks doesn't seem to make wide touring saddles without springs. (the unsprung B17 is 170mm x 280mm)

I went with the B67 because I sit upright and wanted something comfy for Audax length rides.
The B33 is even larger still with crazy loop springs & a front spring. Seems to be marketed for "third world, unimproved road" riding.

*** *** ***

THE SHORT OF IT:

Don't have any misgivings about a sprung Brooks. They're awesome.
IF you can get away with a narrower saddle, look at the unsprung models.
IF you'd prefer a wider saddle for more upright touring, you won't regret the B67 or it's sisters (B66, B72, B130 and larger B33 & B90)

timhines

i'm still trying to break in my B17....I wish I would have gotten the sparrow....

fixmeafalafel

Is it causing you pain? I just started riding mine and i'm loving the friction free-ness. I feel like all saddle pain that i've ever had was from rubbin' and such. Maybe something about the way you have it set up on there? Just a suggestion.

timhines

it's not as comfy as my specialized body geometry seat that came with the bike. But i'm giving it time. I like the look of the sparrow a little better, more streamlined.

HoustonB

When I bought my touring bike back in 76 the only thing I had changed was the saddle: to a Brookes Pro B17. It took a few weeks to break in, but it was worth the effort. I've only ever ridden one 24 hour ride, with maybe 90% of the time actually on the bike, and there was zero discomfort in the saddle department.

Don't try to break your new saddle in with a few big rides. Frequent small rides will be much easier - ideally something like a half hour commute twice a day.

Cheers,
Houston.

aroundoz

It hurts me to see these words. I was almost ready to give up riding until I tried a Brooks B.17. On my fourth ride out I did 125 miles and not a bit of pain which I never ever experienced before on a bike ride. I think one of the hardest things to convince a person of is that there is nothing more comfy than a broken in Brooks saddle. I really hope you give it a chance. If you do, you will never go back.

Longhorn

These threads have sure convinced me! My Champion Flyer "S" should arrive by FedEx Wednesday!

Wil Davis

Hear hear! No problem convincing this Brooks fan - I still use the B17 Champion Narrow I bought for my Claud Butler, back in 1970. Moved over here (NE USA) from UK in 1983. Started cycling again in 1984 - smuggled note home to folks in Blighty - B17 retrieved from CB, and dropped by parachute (thanks Biggles & Ginger), and now occupies pride of place on 1984 Schwinn Super Sport (see pic.) - I also have a Brooks Conquest on my Nishiki Cascade MTB. Once you've tamed (or been tamed by) a Brooks, you won't ride anything else… Just give it a chance…

- Wil

NoReg

Ordered mine today. B17, for starters.

Sadaharu

Just did a 6 day, 115km/day tour on a brand new brooks champion flyer. The best saddle in the world. I've ridden fancy gel saddles (including specialized body geometry) and beautiful racing saddles but really, for rides over 50 k, I would never consider using anything but the Brooks.

bhchdh 

I have aprox 150 miles on my B-17N. It seems to be coming along nicely.

chipcom 

The stock seat (it doesn't deserve to be called a saddle) that came on my 2004 OCR was just plain agonizing. I did a lot of research looking for a replacement and ended up with a Specialized Alias. The Alias was nice and it served me well for about 1000 miles of practice, the MS 150, a very hilly STOMP metric century and the Hancock Horizontal Hundred, though it did get uncomfortable on longer rides. Now many of you are probably saying, 'of course your butt is gonna get sore after 100 miles in the saddle', but the thing that occurred to me is that I never remembered such soreness in my younger days when I spent much longer periods riding. Age? Nope, wasn't buying it. In my younger days I had leather saddles...so I figured it couldn't hurt to give a B17 a try. I'd heard all the horror stories about breaking these critters in and when I took this hard stiff sucker out of the box I expected the break in to be less than fun.

I applied proofide as per instuctions, let it soak in the sun and gave it a second application before taking the bike for a spin that afternoon. The darn thing was more comfortable than my Alias right off the bat. I did a metric century again today, all I can say is that I wish I had had this saddle months ago. Now I am not sure the Alias or anything other 'seat' deserves the term 'saddle'. You sit on them high tech plastic/foam/gel seats, you straddle a Brooks leather saddle, and you will notice the difference.

cs1

I love my brooks. I'm only 150 lbs and it has been nothing but a pleasure. You obviously know nothing about quality! LOL Really though, when I first got my Brooks I thought the same thing you did. Then after riding it for a few weeks it just got better. My only complaint was that the first few rides it was slippery. It was not hard at all. Actually, after a brief break-in, it is the most comfortable saddle I've ever owned.

Tim

mbriere

I had my first ride tonight with my new B-17. While this first ride was somewhat interesting to say the least, especially for my behind, I know that I will love this saddle very soon. It is like a wild horse, the first ride may be bumpy but when the ride get used to you and vice versa, everything will be well downthere.

I believe we should not turn our back too much to the old ways of doing things. It may not be hitech, but just looking at this saddle and you can feel the quality and good workmanship.

Have fun riding.

Revtor

so.... not to stir up the hornets nest or anything, what of the modern idea of the saddle with a cutout to relieve presure on parts? seems sound to me. But wait, was there even any real problem with seats before this idea (junk-cuts) came about?

~Steve

tacreamer

I've a Brooks Swift saddle and had no problem with breaking in the leather, it's the metal undercarriage that has been given me a pain. Is there a technique that I've been missing or is that I prefer to slide back and forth on the saddle which voids the legendary comfort of a Brooks saddle?

There is no breaking in of the metal carriage..

halfspeed

The cut-out is necessitated by the gel padding on modern saddles. What happens is the sit-bones sink in to the padding squishing the gel into the perineum (or 'taint' if you want the scientific term. ) so the weight is now born there instead of on the sit-bones. This cuts off circulation to the sensitive parts. Creating a cut-out solves this problem but leaves other problems. No gel, no need for a cutout.

Revtor

aah I see.. I never had a problem with my saddles, but never used a gel or soft one either.

thanks, half
~Steve

buttbybrooks

Helen, I joined this forum and got a new Brooks saddle about the same time. For a time I truly believed my butt was conforming to the saddle. Now, however, my butt and the saddle have reached a truce and I couldn't be happier.

-buttbybrooks