campingnut

First I will begin by saying that I am a 5'11" 280 lb commuter who rides 12 miles a day, 4 days a week. I ride a mountain bike that has been converted into an urban commuter (handlebars are a bit higher than my saddle).

My friends have all convinced me that it is time for me to purchase a Brooks Saddle. The problem is they are all around 150-170 lbs, so they all love thier Brooks Saddles but clearly have different needs than I. I emailed Brooks and they recommended the B67 Select, but it only comes in one color, natural, which I am not really too excited about (I like the brown).

I am thinking about the B66 or B67 and would like to ask for your advise or personal experiences with Brooks Saddles. Please let me know your thoughts. As always, thank you in advanced for your thoughts.

jeepseahawk

6 ft 225 lbs, using the brooks b17 for couple weeks now, I am hoping it breaks in soon. Have 120 miles on it and still trying to get it dialed in, as of right now it is a toss-up on comfort. The experts are saying it will take a while to conform to you, I need more patience. I found this site after buying my saddle, seems to have great reviews and 6 month return policy if saddle doesn't work for you, wish I had found them prior to purchase just in case. The B17 is recommended for touring, more of an upright riding position, exactly how you describe your bike set-up.

https://www.wallbike.com/brand/brooks

snod911

My experience with the B17 and the B67 is that the B67 is better suited to a bike with an almost entirely upright riding position, while the B17 is a much better match for any sort of forward leaning riding position. I commute on a Breezer Uptown that has had the bars raised somewhat and changed out for albatross style bars. Even with these mods, the riding position on the bike is more forward leaning than on, say, a typical "sit up and beg" Dutch bike. For this setup I found the B17 a much better bet than the B67.

Mithrandir

Yeah they say no more than 200 pounds on a B-17, but at 380-400 I've had no problems on mine for thousands of miles.

FrenchFit 

B17 & B17n: The only saddles I can ride a considerable distance without bike shorts or liners. Once broken in they are uber-comfortable. But, if your bars are low or ride in the drops forgetaboutit.

Sprung saddles on my bike - never.

squirtdad

At 268 (down from 280) I ride a b-17 on my commuter utility bike. I have a pretty upright position. another options would they flyer which is a b-17 with springs.

socalrider

The B17 fits a lot of situations and for many it is what I recommend to most riders.. If you choose the b17 - pay a little more and get the one with the copper rivets..

Reason.. The copper rivets sit very flush to the saddle which the smaller steel rivets can dig into your backside a little if you ride any distance.. Plus the copper just looks nice.

iforgotmename

Agreed I had a b 17 and now ride a vo model 5 and a Selle Anatomica Titanico X, After some stretching the X is perfect, they also make a no slot.
https://www.selleanatomica.com/products/

Nightshade

I don't know who you got your info about weight capacity for Brooks from but they are dead WRONG! Any saddle on this page will do well for you... https://www.brooksengland.com/catalog...+&+heavy+duty/

I weigh in at 350lbs in the buff and this is my saddle.... https://www.brooksengland.com/catalog...eavy+duty/B33/ It carries my weight with ease making for a very smooth ride.

campingnut

It's beginning to sound like the B17 may be a better fit for my use than the B67. Just out of curiosity, what is the disadvantage of having springs in your seat? I would like to work on getting in longer rides ( I would like to do a century in the next year or so).

Nightshade

Disadvantage to a sprung saddle??

Gosh, I can't think of any except being more comfortable.

Doohickie

I ride a combination of B17s, a B66 and a B72. Depending on how upright you are, I would recommend a B17 or a B66. On a more upright bike with more of your weight on your seat, a B66 is going to provide more softening of the bumps you ride over. If your bike has full, or even just front, suspension, a B17 would be fine. If I'm not mistaken, a Brooks Flyer is a B17 version of the B67 (i.e., B17 top with a B67 style frame-single rail with coil springs). I'm 6-2, about 220 (down recently from 235).

I've had one problem with a Brooks saddle breaking. It was on a used B17 I bought on Craigslist, with a 1979 date code on it, with chrome rails. At some point between then and now, Brooks switched from chromed rails to black coated rails because they were having quality issues with their chroming process. Now you only see chrome rails on some of the higher-end seats; the lower-end ones all have black coated rails. I wouldn't expect any problems from the modern rails, and in fact I think even if you get an older one, the quality issue was a hit-or-miss thing (Brooks wasn't paying attention to the process; it was usually okay but once in a while not so much). I know of people much heavier than I that ride Brooks with no problem.

campingnut

The B17 sounds like it will fit the bill, but I would like to hear from some folks why I should not buy a saddle with springs? If they are more comfortable, why doesn't everyone ride a saddle with springs? Is it just how they look, or am I missing something? Thanks for the insight.

Nightshade

Two reason sprung saddle are not on every bike. 1.) The extra weight of the springs and saddle mount 2.) Riding posture. Sprung saddle work better for the upright riding posture.

campingnut

I have an opportunity to get a B68 saddle for a great price. It is a bit wider than the B17, will this difference give me any problems? Does anyone currently ride a B68?

Mark Stone

I don't use a B68 but I use a B17, and one of the reasons it works is that it is wide. A wide leather saddle allows you to sit on your "sit bones" instead of putting much or your weight on your soft parts, like a narrow saddle would. The leather on a brooks softens, or breaks in, where the sit bones make contact and eventually becomes very comfortable. If the B68 is wider than the B17 then it's probably a good thing.

But for every one of us Brooks users, there are probably just as many people that dislike Brooks because they are uncomfortable. A saddle is a personal decision, because we're all shaped differently and we all have different riding styles. I'm extremely comfortable on my Brooks, but you need to make your own decision - Which it looks like you are.

chefisaac

B-17 was the best choice for me on both my commuter and long distance bike. Some people talked about a break in period but I did not experience this.

These saddles have been rock solid.

With my commute to work everyday, the saddles takes a beating. Every once and a while I will need to tighten the screw to tighten up the weather. Have no had to do that on my long distance saddle yet.

campingnut

Well, here it is... My new Brooks B68 with its first coat of Proofide ready for the commute tomorrow. Thanks everyone for the advise. I will let you know how the break in process goes.