6’3”, 240 lbs., 65 years old, Giant Defy Advanced, 1500 miles/year. I’ve been through a LOT of saddles trying to find the one that disappeared. The closest was the Selle Anatomica, until the sides splayed and the rails bent in less than 500 miles. That seems to be pretty common for riders over 200 pounds. I’ve finally settled on a Brooks Team Pro, which was not uncomfortable from the beginning but after several hundred miles has become more and more comfortable. (My suggestion for accelerating the breaking in: use a rubber mallet, sparingly.). My conversion to Brooks came, other than actually riding one, from two realizations. First, there’s something inherently wrong with a saddle that requires you to wear special clothing to be bearable. Don’t get me wrong: I wear Pearl Izumi bibs when I ride farther than around the neighborhood. But I can ride the Brooks without chamois and be perfectly comfortable: chamois just makes it more so and helps with long rides. Try that with a Fizik or Selle Italia or Specialized saddle (I have). Second, pretty much every other saddle manufacturer keeps tweaking their design every few years, trying to get it right. Brooks saddles have been around for decades, if not lifetimes. They must be doing something right, namely, their saddles conform to you, not the other way around. I know my Team Pro will continue to shape itself to me for many years to come, and will not need to be replaced for a long, long time (unlike plastic/carbon/fiberglass saddles which break down. If you don’t believe that, do some research.).

I tried a Brooks Cambium C17, and didn’t like it at all. I read there are people who love it, and that’s great for them. But if you don’t like the Cambium at first ride, it’s never going to change, unlike a leather Brooks saddle.

Everyone’s anatomy is different, which is why there are so many different saddle designs. Brooks goes at that in a completely different way. It works for me, as it has for many, many cyclists for a very long time.