Originally Posted by
JoeyBike
Long story short...modern saddles are weightless and comfy from box to landfill. Most last me three or four years. They cost about the same as a Brooks, don't last as long, but man are they heaven to ride. I can spend a day on any bike up to 150 miles and never think about my saddle even once. When your saddle simply "disappears" under you, you know that's a winner. No matter how comfy my Brooks were, I always knew there was a saddle present.
Different strokes. In my own case, it's the Brooks that disappear. Some modern saddles do almost as good a job - have a Fizik Aliante that is a decent saddle - but none of them are as ideal as the B17 on my touring bike, or the Swift with Ti rails on my favourite road bike. In my case I suspect it's because I'm not quite symmetrical - the impressions made by my sit-bones on the Brooks are of different depths - so that on a saddle that doesn't conform to my shape the pressure is never evenly distributed between right and left.
However, people like what they like. What is remarkable is the level of emotion generated. Who cares what saddles other people like? And why? Choosing a saddle isn't a matter of religious orthodoxy, or whatever...