Originally Posted by
Skipper
Breaking-in a Brooks saddle takes the exact same amount of time/mileage as it takes to tweak it into the correct (for you) position. There should be very little physical change in the saddle itself. There will be the sitbone dimples after a while but the saddle should remain as hard as it was the day it first came from the factory. If you mount a Brooks saddle, make a couple of coarse adjustments and then wait for it to conform to your rump, it'll never Break-In.
If you can't adjust your Brooks saddle to a truly comfortable position, you just may not have a Brooks Butt. Lotions and potions, for the saddle at least, are not going to do it. I think it is only reasonable to expect that not everyone has a Brooks Butt. Unfortunately, it can be somewhat expensive determining what kind of butt you have.
Just my three cents.
I relented last year after 3000+ miles on my B-17CS and gave it the ol'
Sheldon Brown neatsfoot oil immersion bath for an hour. Finally FINALLY after 2+ years it is starting to get more comfy/pliable. I'm still not a Brooks believer but my tightwadness is causing me to stick with it.