Originally Posted by
Campag4life
I have now made the transistion away from Brooks saddles and don't believe I will go back. Three basic reasons...well four actually:
- Rain sensitivity
- Weight
- Leather stretch...retensioning...rarely a problem
- Perineal pressure when riding with forward torso angle
That said, for years, I could never find a saddle I like better than a Brooks. Enter Specialized. I learned that much of my appreciation for Brooks saddles was due to the width of my sit bones. I am wide hipped apparently. I now ride a Specialized Toupe and Romin in size 155. No pain and better overall comfort than either the B.17 or Pro...racier Brooks saddles are too narrow for me.
So I believe we have a new era really in saddle technology. It took over a hundred years but that time has arrived. A plastic saddle that is as if not more comfortable than a Brooks...hard shell like a Brooks but with flex and in particular, light, not sensitive to water and with a cut out for relief when in the drops. Huey, if you like the hard carbon shell saddle which makes sense because in my experience a firm shell aka Brooks is best for comfort...consider a wider variant...like one of the Specialized saddles.
I am sort of in the same camp I guess. Love my Brooks for the first 5000-6000 miles of my cycling but as I got fitter and rode more aggressively the shortcoming came out. I did always worry about the saddles getting wet but that was easy to handle by always having a plastic bag and rubber bands ready to cover the saddle. I had tried a Fizik Aliante about a year and a half ago and found it just ago. Then later I tried again and with a proper fit it was heaven. Now I run this saddle on both my road bikes with the same or better comfort I used to get on a Brooks.