First ride on a Brooks B17
 

I finally tried one. I like it! It was only a short 21 mile ride, but my normal pain right at my right ischial tuberosity was completely absent. The saddle is one I got used in the sales thread here, and looked to be fairly well broken in, but I'm still surprised by how comfortable it was.

I could feel the width where it kind of shoved the flesh of my inner thighs apart, and now I'm thinking of trying a slightly narrower leather saddle at some point. The Team Pros doesn't sound too temping to me, given how long they apparently take to break in. Maybe a B17 narrow, though I adore the looks of the Swallow.

I've come to realize I have something a little funky about my pelvic bones. My right ischial tuberosity is apparently a little more prominent. I starting having extra pain there when I was riding a very thin, light racing saddle that turned out to have slightly bent rails. This corresponded to my dramatically increasing my mileage, so at first I thought I just needed to toughen my butt up. But even when I switched saddles, and began trying a variety of saddles, I continue to have a hot spot right there at that one tuberosity. I finally gave up on the vintage 135gm Selle Italia Carbonario I recently recovered (the worst offending saddle still in rotation), and put the old Brooks on the Panasonic. Actually felt cushy! Weighs a ton, but I ride in flatlandia anyway.

I still like the stock Prologo on my Cannondale, and the Selle Italia SL Flow on my Tommasini. I still get a little discomfort there on that right side, but nothing compared to the almost unpadded Carbonario. I'm also curious to try something leather hat is Swallow-like but with a slit or cutout. I know they won't last as long, but I'm 150# and spreading my riding over several bikes. If anyone has any suggestions of leather saddles that are similar to the Swallow, I'm interested.

I have Brooks saddles also. I have read in these forums that some people turn the nose of their saddle very slightly to one side to make up for any imbalance. You might try that also.

I've only had what I consider "normal" numbness on saddles- I got a B17 for my birthday a few years ago. That was amazing. So much more comfortable and supportive than the Avocet and San Marco saddles I was using. Since then I've become a huge fan of the Brooks Cambium; I've picked up two of those and put them on my favorite riders.

I also have a more prominent right-side ischial tuberosity. All my leather saddles develop a deeper recess on the right side:

https://photos.smugmug.com/Bicycles/...10132864-L.jpg

All the plastic-based saddles I've used in the last 25 years have caused soreness after about 30 miles, but no problem with leather saddles, including a 230-mile weekend a few years ago.

Regarding narrower saddles and feeling the leather skirt pushing against your thigh: narrow across the back may not fit the width of your sit bones (you probably know that already), but a saddle that stays narrow farther back from the nose might suit you well. I love my Gilles Berthoud Aravis, which I consider an improvement in many ways over a Brooks Team Pro, and I'm really liking the Rivet Independence that's still breaking in on the other bike, similar to a Swallow but with slightly longer rails allowing greater setback. Both are available slotted or not. I found that I preferred a slot on my last B-17 Champion Special (Pro thick leather), but don't feel that need on the GB or Rivet, which need less nose-up tilt. I'm not aware of any uncomfortable thigh rub with either of these.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Bicycles/...20090155-L.jpg

Both of these saddles use much thicker leather than a B-17, so they take longer to break in (300-500 miles for the GB, 600 miles and counting with the Rivet), but they also hold up extremely well. My GB has about 8000 miles so far with very little adjustment. BTW, GB saddles are completely user serviceable (i.e., parts including top easily replaceable) with common tools. Someone is sure to point out that both brands are expensive. They are worth the expense to me.

Rene Herse Cycles offers a 6-month saddle satisfaction guarantee on Brooks and GB saddles.

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Rivet Cycle Works has 1-year satisfaction guarantee. My black one seems to be less sensitive to moisture, which may also be why it's taking longer to break in.

Rivet Cycle Works - Hand Crafted Leather Bicycle Saddles

Try as I might...and I have, because I love the look of them, I've never gotten completely comfortable on Brooks. I've tried the B17, and Team Pro. I like the team pro better, as I have the thigh issue on the B17...but I still don't like the sliding around issue, and relatively small sit area. Too far back, I'm on the rails, too far forward, I'm on the rock hard nose and my bits are not happy. I've got like 1" of usable space.

Always been nice and comfy firmer stock cheapo plastic saddles.

I'm in the minority, I think, of riders who've used a B17 but didn't care for the fit. For whatever reason, my parts and that particular model saddle just don't seem to mesh well. I've got Cambium C17 saddles on three bikes and am very happy with those. I've got Brooks Pros on the others, and again, those fit me very well. Guess it's just how I'm put together!

My Team Pro S took no time to break in. It was fine from the start.
Older (aluminum frame) version of the Swallow was the B57

I have a Brooks. I don't even notice it when I ride.

I rode the Imperial. Nice saddle, but there is a weight price to pay at 530g.

The narrow B17 is just right for me.

Interesting idea. I have the feeling it would drive me crazy seeing a crooked saddle, plus I tend to slide forward and backwards on the saddle as I change riding position, and it seems like this would be troublesome. Anyway, based on this one ride, I may not need to do anything like that.

I’m curious to try a Cambium, as well as a Cambium with a cutout. Oh, and a C17 vs a C15. The slightly lower weight, and the shorter break-in, are both attractive, though they aren't as good looking. I wish there was an easy way to demo all this variants!

From those photos, I suspect your asymmetry may be worse than mine! Great suggestions in there, thank you!. I guess if I’m willing to deal with returns, buying from Rene Herse or Rivet would give me the option of sending saddles back to try others. It appears Rivet has a demo program. Boy, those Gilies Berthoud saddles are pricey!

Thanks to everyone who responded. I have some more experimenting to do. I've also read a few guides to turning a B17 into a Swallow ("butcher and tie"), which looks right up my alley.

The only way is to take the plunge. I'm loathe to spend that kind of money without a really good reason. It's a why I went so long without getting a B-17, and my wife had to buy it for me.

In all honesty, it was the combination of my wife getting me the B-17 and [MENTION=201510]AZORCH[/MENTION] 's blog about the C-17 that gave me the "really good reason" to fork out the bank for the C-17.

You may actually like a Team Pro. They are significantly narrower in the middle. The break in time isn't that bad. Probably not much different than a B17 really, they are just a harder saddle mostly due to the different shape. The wideness of a B17 in the middle sort of reduces with break in. Also, I grew up with more or less triangular saddles with a slow taper from front to back, so perhaps I'm used to it.

Don't buy for looks - really. The Brookses are all different. Find one that fits you best. Cut away saddles tend to reduce pressure in the middle, but like many modern saddles, puts all the pressure on your sit bones and nuts instead. (sorry to be blunt) If you fit well on saddles with a significant S curve, It may be that you fit well on a cut away leather saddle like the Swallow. I have a Swift, which didn't work that well for me, primarily because I need a flat top saddle.

Nuts! I thought that I was the only one that knew about that little comfort trick:-)

I hear you. I just wish I could go in a local bike shop and put a C17 and a C15 on a bench and sit on both for a minute, as well as try out the version with cutout. I know it's not a perfect test, but I think it would help speed the process.

I keep reading how hard the Team Pro leather is, and it puts me off. I'm splitting time between several bikes, and if it's going to take 500+ miles for me to get comfortable, it might take me a solid year to get there, depending on which bike I put it on. As for the B17 I have just tried, it's pretty well broken in. In fact, if it hadn't been comfortable on that first ride, I was considering soaking it in warm water, trying it up, and letting it dry to reblock it. At the same time, the width wasn't that bothersome, at least on the short ride. This week I'll try it on a 40 mile ride and see what my bum says then.

It's hard for me to let go of looks, even harder than letting go of worrying about the extra weight. That said, if I can find a saddle that allows me to ride for hours without feeling like I'm sitting on a pebble on my right side, I'll find a way to love it. And I know what you mean about modern saddles with cutouts not necessarily being an improvement. For example, I had high hopes for the Selle SMP, and that was painful from the first day I used it till the last.

I've picked up some cosmetically challenged saddles over the last year to try different ones, with the idea that I can put them back on eBay for about what I paid if they don't work out. I might keep doing that, but with various leather saddles. It's a shame it's so much easier to buy things on eBay than to sell them, though.

When looking at a Brooks Cambium at a LBS and mentioning my assymetry, the salesman said "You won't like the Cambium because it won't conform to your sit bones."

Hmm, so they don't 'break in' the same way the leather ones do? I guess that makes sense. I'll continue to focus on the leather versions for now, unless I see a great deal on a Cambium.

And I like your new word, 'assymetry'!

I ride without the spandex bike shorts with the foam padding. Do you guys? Would a Brooks let me keep wearing normal clothing? DonInnot know what I'm missing till I try bike specific shorts?

I use compression boxers with synthetic shorts so I'm not adverse to athletic gear, but foam seems like it would hold a lot of heat, and I already run warm.

Since the Cambium is made from rubber and is intended to be stable, whatever you have on day one is what you get for the life of the saddle. Leather will absorb oils and sweat and will stretch and conform as it gets used.

There are some shops that have demo programs for Brooks and other saddles. You might pay a bit more for the saddle than from the lowest cost online seller, but very few on-line sellers allow you to try and return saddles.

You must be in the medical field. Most people people would say sit bones.

Glad to hear you like it. And with any quality genuine leather product it will only get better with age.

Brooks are fine with normal clothing. I usually wear synthetic hiking briefs and hiking shorts if I'm going spandex-free. Just got back from a mini tour and I wore normal clothes because I didn't want to have to bother changing for camp.

WRT spandex bike shorts - the foam is kind of irrelevant and mostly there for marketing IMO. I'd prefer it wasn't there, frankly. In the good old days it was just a piece of chamois and that was it - no padding. The main thing is you don't wear underwear with them, and they tend to absorb your sweat and prevent saddle sores when you are doing high miles. If you run hot you may actually like them. Of course they are more aero too, which isn't much concern for non racers.

You could try a B-17 narrow.

I do have a C-17 on my Raleigh. If my butt is a little sore from previous rides on my Pros, it gives them a little break for a day to two. This works especially well early in the season when I haven't ridden for a while.

Yes, a touch to the left for me

I haven't worn a set of "bike shorts" in years.

Question for you and others who twist the saddle a bit - I assume you turn the nose towards the side that is more prominent/sore, correct?