Brooks breaking-in question
 

My everyday rider/commuter has a Brooks Pro on it, comfy out of the box, though I don't think I've ever done more than 15 miles at once on it.

My work-out ride has a Brooks Pro too, but it's 30 years old, never broken in. I've only put 100-150 miles on it. After an hour on it, with chamois shorts, my taint/perineum/grundle/what-have-you is pretty sore. Should I lay blame on the stiff Brooks, or is it most likely a problem in my saddle and bar positioning?

I suppose the most logical first step would be to trade saddles and see how the comfy Brooks on the uncomfy work-out ride goes?

I also thought that moving the saddle forward a bit might pivot my pelvis more onto the sit bones, but I'm hesitant to start messing with the wealth of variables.

Any 1,2,3 checklists for soreness down there?

(I realize this could more-aptly go in the Road forum, but I'm comfortable talking about my soft-parts with you guys, and you alone)

This may be a stupid question, are both saddles mounted at the same angle? I know the brooks pros changed a little here and there, like the leather around the nose, maybe they are slightly different?

I have an 80's pro that was hard as a rock, I added a liberal amount of proofide and it's starting to soften up... and it's only been about 400 miles, yeesh!

My B17 is comfy right-out-of-box. Just need to adjust the angle up a bit. Lots of Proofide first under. One glob and buffing on top. Same for the B66 on my 3-spd.

I'm thinking of buying stock in the Proofide Slaughterhouse...

I use Obenaufs boot oil on my leather saddle; three treatments (bag it then place in the sun for an hour after each one) did the trick.
After reinstalling the saddle, Be sure to level it so that you aren't sliding onto the forward section while you're riding.

IMO, when it comes to a leather saddle, the top angle makes all the difference. Even just a few degrees too high, and the saddle causes numbness. Tilt the nose down, the numbness goes away. To me it doesn't matter about the hardness as much as it does the angle. Best of luck.

^ That's true the opposite direction too, just a little to far down and I feel like I am sliding onto my hands.

No two the same???
 

I have owned and used quite a few leather saddles, including used and new Brooks Professionals, B17, B17 Narrow, B17 Special and a B66 or two. Only one has proved to be uncomfortable - a new Brooks Pro that needed to get to know my butt better.

It takes about 500 miles or so to break a Brooks into your shape. The saddle should not be really horribly uncomfortable but it will not be at its best until it is reshaped to accommodate your butt.

I did run across one saddle, a Brooks B15, that was a nightmare to sit. I tried it several times and finally put it away, never to be used by me again.

So, it is possible that the saddle you have will never be just right for you but it is worth ensuring that it is at least set up properly and then given a chance to break in. My opinion, of course.

+1. It took about 150 miles of seatpost adjustment (mostly angle but a little back and forth) to get my B-17N just right. Today I did 101.6 miles on it (in regular shorts gym-style shorts) and my rear feels great (and mine still isn't entirely broken in).

I tend to agree with what's been said above, but I am also coming round to the opinion that one of the following is true:

1. There's some truth in the old wives' tale that the Pro is made of thicker and tougher leather than the B17, and it will not (ever) get as soft.

2. The older (80's) Brooks production was tougher, lasted longer, and took longer to break in; the new stuff is pretty soft and doesn't hold up as well, but has the benefit of being comfortable from day one.

In general, being an optimist, I tend toward the former.

By the way, my experience is more or less the same as yours, but I think I've put more miles on mine. In the period October 2007 - August 2008 I put about 2500 miles on a beautiful new B17 after which it had got so soft that I retired it (well, gave it to my son, who rarely rides). I replaced it with my 1983 (?) Brooks Pro, which I've had since 1989 and ridden off and on over the years; since August 2008 I've put about 3000 miles on that saddle and it has begun to break in... maybe. Very comfortable, though!

I gave up on mine after about 700 miles and sold it off. Saddle/butt relationships are unique things, and maybe Brooks isn'r for you.

I strongly suggest the Sheldon Brown Neats Foot Oil method. I have used it on four Brooks -- 2 B-17's and 2 pros. It just takes a little edge off, does not harm the saddle in any way and is probably good for the leather.

I got back from a trip and only had time for 12 miles or so before dinner. I dropped the nose of the Brooks a notch and raised the seatpost about a half inch and things seemed better. It was though, only 12 miles, so I'll have to give it another go. I did find that I was sliding down the saddle a bit however - that's no good.

I keep the nose up a bit (I would say about 2 notches from horizontal), I found it easy to slide forward on mine, causing hand numbness on longer rides.

A half-inch saddle raise is a BIG raise. I might suggest lowering it by about 4/10 of an inch.

^ I agree, one time I actually used a level to get the nose and the back 100% level. Even with that I felt like I was putting a lot of pressure on my hands so I tilted the nose up and started to get numbness issues. I set it somewhere in between and have been happy with it but it took a lot of fiddling. I have a vetta saddle that is shaped very similar to a turbo and my butt seems to like it, I haven't had to move it once. So like BBM says, it's a person to person thing.

I also found that setting the B17 completely level put far too much pressure on my hands. It makes sense that you want a level seating surface, so I placed the tip of a small framing level on the first hole in the top of the saddle and the edge of the level on the back lip of the saddle.

Setting the saddle angle this way provided a nicely 'cupped' level seat area with the nose of the saddle slightly up. The raised nose requires careful fore and aft adjust so you don't have too much pressure on the front bits, but this seemed an easier adjustment after the tilt was set correctly.

The saddle has broken in nicely and simply disappears below me.

Best of luck :).

I really don't know, but maybe this is an idea:

I've broken in many baseball gloves using a lot of very localized oil in the same spots every day, and beating them with one of these wooden ball-mallets. But don't pay $30--you can build one on a fat dowel for probably just a couple bucks (right now, $6 plus screw/washers at Home Depot). The top-mount style would be easier to build.

You'll have to figure out your saddle's exact sit bone spots to experiment properly.




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Is your saddle-to-bar-height distance the same on both bikes? Sounds like, on the problem bike, you've got too much of a drop.

I cut a slot in mine from behind the nose to about the middle of the widest area, and I have NEVER risen on a more comfortable saddle.