Originally Posted by
mstateglfr
How is it that this argument claiming brooks are for old people longing for a simpler time completely ignores the cambium line of saddles?
The brand makes a ton of different saddle styles.
the brooks c13 is 132mm wide, has carbon rails and a rubber top, and weighs 259g.
its modern in shape, uses modern tech and design, and is not some boat anchor.
the elitism and snobbery in this thread is thick.
You mean reverse snobbery from Brooks owners? Actually Brooks owners are thick bodied. Note I didn't say thick headed
Plastic is the new leather. Get with the times.
Heck, I have a vegan rider girlfriend that won't own leather anything. Thank god for faux leather.
Brooks is to be credited with their saddle design without question. Technology has simply moved on. Brooks figured out that a material stretched between two hard points constituting in effect a hammock is a great way to design saddles. Modern saddles have taken a page from this design in fact. Difference is, modern saddles can be created with a flex analogous to leather with the same level of force deflection in the perineum but with much greater resiliency to stretch and slumping in the middle. Further saddle cover material can be engineered and is...to negate slippage common on Brooks saddle as the leather ages.
A modern saddle can be molded with shape and cutout that is engineered to support a rider more precisely at much lower weight. Saddles in the last 15 years in particular have taken a big leap forward in design. Specialized in fact has led the charge by offering wider racing saddles akin to width not unlike the B17..only without the protrusive nose of the B17 or even flatter and narrower Pro...and with a cutout. A cutout on a Brooks is kind of a bad joke as it turns out. Leather is weakened dramatically with a hole in it and it challenged from an elongation issue over time anyway even without a hole.
Modern technology trumps older technology. Modern technology is 'spawned from lessons learned from earlier inventions like the Brooks saddle'.
PS: here is a wonderful article from cycling guru Lennard Zinn. His quest to solve his health issue associated with sit bone tenderness while riding. Keep in mind, few know as much about cycling and fit on the bike as 6' 6" Lennard Zinn, our modern day Sheldon Brown.
Perhaps one of the most insightful reads on saddles I have seen in a long time and the future of saddles for serious cyclists with further march of tech and 3D printing:
https://www.velonews.com/2018/10/bik...-saddle_479999