I don't know, the B17 is the most comfortable saddle I've ridden and I know some folks hate them. There may be something better; I haven't felt the need to try others. I have a Brooks Pro that is not comfortable for me, and I've read that several others think it's the best. Whatever works.

"We"? Speak for yourself.

As an old road racer I still ride the frames I bought decades ago, in the drops or out of the period saddle as required.
If one never had been able to adapt to a race bike's competition fit, hack the tall gearing or feel comfortable on the racing saddles "back when" oddly enough one most certainly will not now. I find that what worked then works now.

-Bandera

This is certainly not an opinion backed up with scientific data but it strikes me that back in the 70s when saddles were made of hard leather, there weren't the "issues" that Bicycling Magazine brought out for public review about 10 or 20 years ago.
Most of todays saddles are covered with firm padding. I believe that it"s the padding that causes the problems. The sit bones that actually support your weight compress the padding. Unfortunately, the soft tissues don't. They are compressed by the padding instead, leading to the well publicized problems. Get rid of the padding, get rid of the problem.
My favorite saddle is a Sella Italia Flite carbon. It's nothing but a carbon shell, no padding at all. Second place goes to the vintage or reissued Cinelli Unicanitor. I've got both. Plastic shell with no padding.
It seems that my experience runs counter to the OP's extreme claims. I'm not surprised.

I've never actually known anyone who developed medical issues from their saddle. I wonder how much of the issue is just marketing hype.

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Why did I waste my time on this post? Troll, that much is clear.

Once again, by self-description on previous threads, the OP is 6'8" and weighs somewhere between 350 and 400 lbs. And doesn't actually ride very much.

So of course he knows what's best for the average rider. ;)

.
...thanks for this information. I'm surprised my junk still works at all.

:popcorn

If anyone is convinced that hard leather saddles are bad juju and wants to sell their clean and lightly used B-17s, pm me. I need about ten.

+1

i need a really hard leather saddle. i used to sell my brookses after a year. now i buy the gyes gs-17 for its hardness and laced skirts. just wish it were lighter.

The OP is apparently under the misapprehension that "we" are all male. Some of "us" can use whatever saddle we please without the slightest fear of erectile dysfunction, prostate cancer, and the like.

I keep forgetting about the ignore list. Usually I'll start reading a post and think to myself "What on earth is this guy talking about?" and then see that it's mtnbike. I've pretty much gotten in the habit of skipping over his posts. It's not hard because they're usually of the tl;dr variety.

MTN can't have ever ridden a S-A. If anything, they are too flexible, not too hard. And they are totally different from Brooks and Ideale.

I'm just happy to have padded britches.
Most saddles are fine, with me, for 4 hours.
After that, I'm not sure I like any of them.

My only experience with Brooks was the Swallow, and I really liked it, seemed to lift me up a bit.

Saddles have been personal since people decided to spend money swapping them out.
Before that, they rode with whatever came on the bike, because they had to. Same with car and motorcycle seats.

I like -17-degree stems because they look better and I hope they don't fail. I understand the leverage/force issue.

I do like the look of an aggressive fit, and I do ride the drops much more than I ride the hoods.
That is changing as I get older, and when I have to, I'll raise the stem or get a different one, but only then.

Usually, buried in the OP's posts, is some useful information, or at least a genuine opinion after consideration of facts.
I don't think this is much different, so I thank him for his contribution. He definitely has a style all his own.

There are worse things to do to your bottom for fun than riding a vintage bicycle.

Sorry, [MENTION=160550]mtnbke[/MENTION]. I disagree. My most comfortable saddles are all based from 100+ year old designs. My daily commuter has a 35+ year old Fujita Belt on it. And I can ride in the drops as much, and for as long, as I want. It depends a lot on the wind, generally.

I did read Grant Peterson's book and found that I agreed with much of what he said, if that helps...

For what it's worth, I did have some issues this summer relating to my use of my Brook Pros and Fujita Pros. I doubt I did any long term damage but I'm not taking any chances .. I switched offer to the Brooks Cambium .. It's a win/win- Incredibly comfortable and still looks good on a vintage bike. Her's a snap I took of it before being mounted:

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...pskdoxw1tk.jpg

Scott

Yeah, I was hesitant to contribute to one of this guy's threads, but I really did not have a good feeling about the Pro I tried for ~1,000 miles a few years ago. It wanted to occupy territory between my sitbones generally reserved for something else. I know that there are people for whom the Pro works great with no issues, so I bear the saddle itself no ill-will.

That "increased cancer risk" thing is still fallacious hogwash, though. The OP should know better.

+1 - Look at all the passionate replys ;)

I've tried to get along- I've tried to be encouraging when he's not being awful. He actually reached out to me to try to play nice. That horse**** about 531 kind of pissed me off- and I asked this VERY question to myself.

Maybe he's ridden so much on his C&V saddle that the only time he can get a ***** is when he plays internet troll.

There's a way of stating opinion without being a dick, but the concept of tact eludes some people.

Yes! for example... (no offense, Golden Boy)

Dang, I hurt after reading that long OP. :lol:

Anyways, I love C&V and will keep the Avocet Racing 1 on my Colnago and 80's Schwinn Anatomic on the Trek 760. My road warrior has an era saddle as well.

I remember reading one of those articles where a current professional takes a ride on a vintage racing bike then a modern bike and compares the two. One thing he really liked about the vintage bike was that the old saddle was a lot more comfortable than the modern saddles. I'll have to find that article.

Wait - my Brooks Pro is new though, is IT okay mike? It's not vintage after all.

I'm so confused. I've ridden it thousands of comfortable miles so far, and my fertility doctor says that my bikin' isn't affecting anything, but Specialized says that something must be wrong and can be fixed with one of their products sooooooo......


6'8" and 350-400 lbs and doesn't ride much? How can one spend so much time writing his posts, and not realize that his opinion, particularly on things like frame flex and saddle fit, may not apply to those of us who are lighter, smaller and faster?

Even completely leaving aesthetic considerations and attention to period correctness aside, saddle choice is probably the single most individual choice in cycling. Of course no one should privilege looks over health concerns, and I seriously doubt many, if any of the experienced cyclists on this forum would ever do that. Personally, I have Specialized saddles on all three of my bikes (two Phenoms and a Romin), which replaced saddles that were either horribly uncomfortable or caused numbness in my left leg, or both. I even replaced the period correct Avocet on my 90's racer. I've never owned a Brooks, Ideale or Selle Atomica saddle, but the many riders who have chosen them and find them comfortable should keep using them. If you have one and it's uncomfortable or causes numbness, you should swap it out. It's that simple.

+1. Once again mtnbike posts statements based on his experience as if we are all 400-lbs. and 6'7". He is an outlier. That's why he goes on and on about Kleins, because a rider his size may very well need a stiffer frame. He doesn't always mention his size when making blanket statements to the rest of us. To each his/her own, and this is especially true with saddles.