Originally Posted by
Chrisp72
tspoon...I haven't tried a Brooks C17 yet but would like to at some point. I think I'll give my B17 a good run and then look into a replacement down the road. There's less care required on the C17 so it would be ideal for longer, wetter rides. I know I'll encounter some rain at some point but I'll see how the leather holds up on my current saddle. It's good to know there's no break in period with you saddle though.
I prefer the B17 over the C17. The leather just feels better to me. As for care? I really never understood they concern over the amount of care necessary for a B17. I treat it with proofide occasionally when I think of it, maybe once a year, and other than that, when parked at night on tour, I throw a shower cap on it. While riding if it rains a little, I don't worry about it unless it rains hard, then I stop and put the shower cap on it, or the Brooks rain cover. The show cap takes all of a second or two to put on.
My brother has a leather Brooks on his bike. The saddle came with the bike when my other brother bought it, used, in the early 70s. The brother who owns the bike now used it on Ragbrai numerous times, as well as riding it from Iowa to Oklahoma, then across Oklahoma. He has never treated the leather, and I never knew of him worrying about rain. That saddle is still on the bike to this day.