I mostly agree with a few quibbles.
Originally Posted by
Machka
1) Talk to Wallingford Bicycles. For one thing, they've got a 6-month guarantee on the Brooks saddles, so if for some reason it's just not working, you can return it. For another thing, they were happy to talk to me via email when I first went Brooks saddle hunting, and answered some of my questions.
Brooks | wallbike.com
2) This is the company:
BROOKS ENGLAND LTD. | Leather Saddles, Cycle Bags, Etc. ... there you can browse the full range of saddles and other Brooks products.
3) Yes, they can last a long time. They may require a little bit of extra care, but it's certainly not onerous.
All good stuff. The only thing that I do special with my saddles are to cover them during rain. If I'm touring, I always put on a cover since my bike is going to be sitting outside. If I don't have the actual Brooks cover, I use a simple plastic grocery sack. I put Proofhide on the top and underneath about yearly...if I remember.
Originally Posted by
Machka
4) Yes, you can ride them without padded shorts ... but it may take a few months before you get to that point. I had about 4000 km on mine before I started riding around in a bathing suit and beach shorts up in Queensland.
This is one of my quibbles. Other than a trip to the grocery store (less than a mile round trip), I simple don't ride without padded shorts. I don't see padded shorts as being that onerous and they beat the alternative...saddle sores! Long, long ago, I rode without padded shorts and suffered the consequences. Saddle sores aren't any fun.
Originally Posted by
Machka
5) When you get the saddle, it will be hard. Rock hard. You'll have feelings of misgiving. Maybe you made a mistake. You can rub it down with proofide if you want, but do not go crazy with the various "softening" techniques you may encounter and whatever you do, do not adjust the tensioning bolt in the nose of the saddle.
Your saddle should never become soft. That is not the goal. It will always remain a hard saddle. But it should conform to your sitbones over the weeks and months.
Almost absolutely. I have 4 Brooks and everyone of them is as hard as the day I bought it. That said, the B-17Ns I have were softer out of the box and remain softer than the Pros I have. I have one Pro that has over 14,000 miles on it and I've never adjusted the tension bolt at all.
Originally Posted by
Machka
Install the saddle and be sure to tip the nose up. How much up will depend on you and may take a few rides to sort out.
This is where I will quibble more. I install my Brooks saddles dead level flat just as I do all of my saddles. I even use a level on them. I experimented a little with the tilt but never found anything but dead flat to be beneficial.
I would also add that almost all of the Brooks saddles are taller than most plastic saddles. After installation, the saddle will probably need to be lowered to get the proper height.
Originally Posted by
Machka
The first time you ride the saddle, it will be slippery. You'll feel like you're going to slide off the thing. That's normal, but should go away in a week or two.
After a few weeks, you should start to notice slight scuff marks where your sitbones go. A few weeks later, those scuff marks will start to appear sort of like very small divots. And then you're well on your way to breaking the saddle in.
Well, I'll agree that Brooks saddles are slippery. But they remain that way nearly forever in my experience. I just got used to the feeling...much in the same way that I got used to hardness of the saddle.
I also disagree about the "divots". Even on the saddle that has 14,000 miles on it, I can see no discernible changes in the saddle. I have several other Brooks with varying mileages on them and none show any kind of divots.
Finally, I believe that you don't "break in" a Brooks saddle. The saddle remains as unyielding as ever. The saddle "breaks in" the rider. In fact the saddles that most people would call broken in are mostly broken in my experience because they have done a bunch of goofy treatments that damage the leather.