Originally Posted by
pastorbobnlnh
When you like them, you like them--- and they need no breaking in, just small tweaks to the initial installation. I'm sorry your B-17 did not work out for you. Go over to C&V and post it for sale and you should be able to recoup your investment rather quickly.
The "something else" is most likely the weight of a Brooks. Even the titanium framed Swift (maybe the lightest Brooks), tips the scales too much for weight weenies. Any of the steel frame and copper riveted models weigh in at 50-75% more then the Swift. When you don't really care about weight, the difference is no big deal. For me style and comfort trump weight.
I understand what you are saying and I have nothing against Brooks or any other saddle. If it works for you it works for you. The comment about the Madone was because of the weight.
But that being said there never seems to be a forum asking about comfort when someone doesn’t come up with “get a Brooks and you will feel nirvana”. It was on a forum on finding unpadded shorts of all things. We even had a Brooks journal talking about the break in period and going on for 1000 miles. In today’s cycling environment once you are broken in to riding there is no reason to break in a saddle and it seems like some Brooks owners are evangelists. Not all, I agree, but how many have posted here on using oil and a hair dryer to “fix” a problem or help break a saddle in? There are simply too many quality saddles out there to have to spend time fixing something that should come from the factory ready to use. For those that can ride a brooks right out of the box, good for them and they have a legitimate excuse for suggesting them to someone else. I just don’t see why anyone should have to break in a saddle when they should be designing a saddle that is good from day one. That may just be me.