staehpj1 is the voice of Alterative Reason.

Brooks makes a fine product and they are all I ever use anymore, but the advice is sound nonetheless. Brooks saddles are very much in the minority, but have almost universal and well founded praise from the owners. Just about any saddle will suffice for a short ride, say, under 30 miles. It's over 50 that tests many saddles, and that's when alot of very well built synthetics begin to loose their lightweight appeal.

When our riding club advertises a ride under 40 miles, you will see most of the good saddle models show up. As the rides get longer towards the spring and summer, and are around 65 miles, you will see more Brooks riders and fewer synthetics, but not dramatically so.

There's so much here about care and feeding a Brooks that it can drive you nuts. Consider that to be an indicator of how durable they are. I would rather tell you about the ride characteristics of leather over any other material.