Ekdog

Hello. I use a mountain bike for touring. I had a Brooks B-17 on it for a while, but I couldn't manage to adjust it properly, and the front was always tilted slightly upwards, which meant a painful ride because of pressure on my... gonads. I finally had to take it off and put it on my folding bike, which has higher handlebars. It works fine there.

I'd really like to go back to a Brooks saddle on the MTB, and I'm wondering if one of their other models might work out better for me. Any suggestions?

Regards,

Ekdog

martianone

Started out with a Terry liberator on my converted to commuter Trek 6500 with 60 mm Big Apples.
Then went to a Brooks B-68, which after about 150 km was getting pretty comfortable, this was
mostly winter and spring riding.
Late last spring my teenager out grew his bike and started riding the Trek. He put the Liberator seat back on. One day, after about an hrs ride, we stopped for water; had looked uneasy on the ride. So I asked what was wrong, well dad he said- he had numb gonads (or something like that). So we fiddled with seat position, angle and handle bar position. Then we got him a Serfas men's RX, because it was suppose to offer "guaranteed comfort"; for some perhaps but not him.
Then I asked him to humor me; put the Brooks B-68 back on the bike, tweaked it a little during a couple of rides. He's put on more than a thousand km including a 600+ km week long sagged tour,
no seat or gonad problems.
ps. seat and handlebars are same height, seat is tipped up about "one notch" with
the seat quite a bit forward in the mounting rails.

countrydirt

I started my Brooks experience with a B-17 on my road bike. After about 200 miles, it broke in, but I was enamoured with the looks of the Team Pro. So, I put the B-17 on my MTB. New break-in period for that position. I have recently swapped the Team Pro onto the MTB. It is a bit narrower at the rear end and has a slightly longer nose. It has been a dream to ride. The B-17 gives me a bit of chafing on my thighs.

My saddle is now fairly level - only slightly nose up (maybe 1 click) and I find it to be perfect for my setup. My long loaded ride (on the B-17) was 75 miles (about 20 on gravel road, 10 on dirt singletrack and the remainder on pavement) My handlebars are slightly lower than my saddle. You can see the basic setup on the loaded rigs sticky.

jcm

Among Brooks models, the 17 series are probably the best suited for touring. If you are having pressure anywhere, then there is an issue with the setup, most likely. You say the bars are higher on your folder. So, are the MTB bars lower than the saddle? If so, that's most likely the problem. The 17 works better with the bars level with, or, slightly higher than the saddle peak. Tilting it up a little is exactly right, as long as the bars are higher. Brooks says so, too. Lowering the bars causes you to lay over the saddle like a racer. That's why you are crushing the grapes.

If you like the MTB bars lower, get a Brooks Pro. They are designed for a more aggressive position. The other post about the B68 does not surprise me. I have two B67's, which are the sprung version, and I love them. They can can be used interchangeably with the 17's keeping in mind the bar height.

Ekdog

Thanks to you and the others for the help. I'm finding that raising the bars on a MTB is no easy matter. I switched over to some slightly raised bars (they are shaped like this--more or less--don't know the correct term for them: ---\__/---) some time ago because the straight mountain bike bars were so low that I was experiencing some back pain after long rides. They are a little higher, but I want to come up a little more, as per your advice, to see if that will help with the B-17. I went to a bike shop this morning and they sold me a gooseneck with a more pronounced angle. This, they claim, will give me a couple extra centimeters of height.

If that's still not enough, I'll look around for some bars that come up higher, if I can find any, although that would probably involve switching over to longer brake cables.

As a last result, I'll get a Brooks Pro.

fks

Brooks Conquest is what you want, similar dimensions to the Team Pro but it is sprung, it definitly takes the sting out of the rear end of your hardtail MTB.

Ekdog

Really? I'd never considered a sprung saddle. What are the cons (if any)?

brunop

i rock a conquest on my karate monkey. i love it like a son. get one and yer but'll be happy.

Sebach

Well, there's the weight: sprung saddles generally weigh more. Not a whole lot but for some people the B17 is comfy enough with its natural 'hammock action.' Another issue for some is sometimes the concern about energy loss and bouncing. Personally, I never really encountered a bouncing problem on my Brooks Champion Flyer (sprung) unless I was pushing up a hill in a very low gear at RPMs over 90 or so - and even then, the bouncing was minor.

I find that a sprung saddle's effect is more pronounced when your riding position is more upright. You'll still get an effect from a more forward-leaning riding position but it's just not quite as dramatic in my experience. Your problem sounds more like a fit issue to me. Once you get your fit a bit more upright (sounds like you're headed that way already) a sprung or unsprung Brooks will probably be a winner either way.

For myself, I had (one was stolen recently, bah) both sprung and upsprung Brooks saddles which I switched depending on what I was planning.

Portis

I have a B17 on 3 of my mountain bikes. I know not what you are talking about.

Ekdog

Lucky you! Maybe you have longer arms or something...

Ekdog

As Lance said in Pulp Fiction, whoever did that "should be *****in' killed. No trial, no jury, straight to execution."

Did they steal your bike along with the saddle or were they just after the Brooks?

brunop

i think it was vincent.

Ekdog

You could be right, but this site says it was Lance. You've given me a good excuse to go back and watch that flick for the umpteenth time.

brunop

the site's right. i was wrong. man i love that movie!

Sebach

They jacked my Champion Flyer (along with the clamp) right off my LHT when I was getting groceries for about 15 minutes. Nobody else's seat on the bike rack was missing, not even the few with Quick Release. Mine was not QR. That means that someone was walking around with an Allen key and spotted my leather. So I went home and took my B17 off my hardtail MTB tourer and threw it onto the LHT where it looked and felt just fine. Now I'm rolling with my B17.

This kind of theft stuff happens from time to time I suppose... but yeah, straight to execution.

Ekdog

Update: I've gone over to the longest handlebar stem I could find, which has raised my bars slightly higher than my saddle and I've gone over to a Brooks Pro, but I'm still "crushing my grapes" as one of you so eloquently put it. The problem is that the rails on the Brooks won't let me adjust the tilt enough and the saddle is angled upward. I need to level things out and get the nose down.

What about my seat post? Would an adjustable one do the trick? I'm determined to sort this out.

Ek

P.S.--Finally sorted the problem out. I took the seat post apart and greased it inside. This freed the mechanism up and allowed me to level the saddle out. Thanks to all for the help.

jcm

Yes, typically, a Pro does not feel very good with the nose up. A 17 series does. However, I'm surprised you got a Pro with the bars set higher. I hope it works out for you. It's the opposite of my earlier advice. You may find that the thicker Pro is pretty tough to break-in. Usually, a 17 is prefered for a more upright position, but wait and see, as you say.

jcm

Here are some pics of an old school MTB set up for the road. The bars are Wald #8095. They call them touring bars but are known the world over as North Road bars. The saddle is a Brooks B67. Note the height relationship of the saddle to the bars. The length of this MTB gives a bit of a forward lean to the rider that isn't much different than my touring bike with the usual drop bar set up. Conversely, if this were a 3-speed, it would set me straight up due to the very short top tubes on those bikes. This one is just right.


https://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=154c7jq&s=2
https://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=4sgu9d&s=2
https://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2qnmvif&s=2

Ekdog

I thought I'd give the Pro a try. It feels fine now that I've got it levelled off, although it is hard as a rock, as you say. I still have the B-17 on my folder, so I can switch them around if I want.

Ekdog

Nice lookin' bike. I'll have to try a sprung Brooks one of these days.

jcm

Thanks. It's a bit whimsical with the rear rack mounted up front, but I was just trying it out til I get a smaller one that's designed to be up there.

The thing about that Pro is that it will most likely stay hard as a rock because it has a higher cross-sectional arch that maintains a perch-like control surface for racers. They don't typically put as much weight on the saddle as a tourer (17 type). Consequently, the Pro is not as amenable to comfort in the sense of being less absorptive of road shock. 17's and Flyers, and also the 66/67/68/72/73 are very much more weight distributing designs - especially for the rider who has the bars set higher than the peak.

I'd almost wager that if you ride the Pro for a week, then switch to the 17, you'll not go back.