Ok, I know saddle questions are many, but I hope this has a twist.

Reading through the forum it seems Brooks is the hands down winner in comfort saddle selection. Now to this newbie those saddles look like expensive torture devices. The forum posts have convinced me that soft/squishy actually causes problems so I am willing to give the brooks a shot. So why the post?

Any fat out of shape guys or gals using these saddles? (I will understand if you say....I know someone that...)

What about a supension seat post with these saddles?

And finally, being a gadget guy I must ask..

Has anyone that has been on a Brooks saddle used a Spiderflex saddle?

Thanks
Dave

If you have a suspension seat post already then I'd go with a B17. I have one and am still breaking it in, but I can feel it getting more comfortable with every ride. I'm not fat, but am certainly out of shape. If you don't have a suspension seatpost, there's a model that is basically a B17 with springs (suspension). I can't remember the model #, but I've heard it's good.

I know a lot of people like Brooks saddles, but to me they are kind of an old school type of thing. It really depends at lot on what type of bike you have though. If you have flat bars and/or an upright riding position, Brooks saddles are a good option because some of their models have springs which are really great if a suspension seatpost is not an option.

For a bike with drop bars and a more aero position, I think it's best to have a skinny saddle with a good design that fits your arse and neither regions. For that type of bike, much of your weight goes to your arms and legs so your arse doesn't have to support as much. You want a saddle that fits perfectly and doesn't get in the way and cause chaffing. I ride between 100 and 150 miles per week on just such a saddle and my bum is the least of my worries.

Actually a narrow Brooks on a drop bar bike is highly comfortable. My touring bike has one as does my commuter and mountain bike. After riding one for 3 weeks across Idaho, Washington and Oregon this summer, I came home and rode to work on a bike with a plastic saddle and found the plastic to be very uncomfortable. It just doesn't bend like the leather saddles.

I've got

-A Flyer on my XO-3
-A B17 on my fixed Cross-Check
-A B17 on my 73 Raleigh Competion
-A B17 on my GTB track bike
-A B17 Narrow on my Lemond Alpe

Brooks saddles can be had and adapted to just about any bike and style. The only reason the hard-core roadies shun them is the weight.

As to the original posters questions, I clock in around 220 lbs, I ain't no Lance (but thanks to riding I ain't gonna drop from a heart attack either). I find the saddle extremely comfortable with or without riding shorts. I'd forego the suspension post.

The Brooks Conquest is a very comfy sprung model. A buddy of mine sent me one that he found half off in an LBS. My wife quicky snatched it (her first saddle on her first "real bike") and has never looked back. We have terrible roads here as well as butt busting cobblestone streets.

If you're looking for something with a little cushion I would suggest to ditch the supension seat post and get a conquest.

BTW, I ride with a B-17 on my commuter.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/s...-conquest.html

I'm glad this thread popped up. I've been considering a Brooks for years. My commuter bike is a Trek 520 (touring bike) and I have a Koobi Si on it. I commute a minimum of 120 miles/week. I've had three Koobi saddles and really like them, but I've always wanted a Brooks. Questions:

1. Would you say that a Brooks is more comfortable than the "anatomical" saddles out there (like my Koobi)?

2. Where's the comfort come from? I was just looking at the Brooks online, and they just don't *look* comfortable. Is it b/c they form-fit to your bottom? I guess I'm just partial to the anatomicals, but I'd love try the Brooks.

Thanks for your help!!

I'm currently clocking in around 280 after a 30 plus pound weight gain after quitting smoking. I commute 10 miles round trip most days on either a Schwinn Voyager touring bike with a sprung Brooks Conquest, Bridgestone RB-2 with a B-17 or a Trek Antelope with another B-17. I really like the conquest, but would one day like to try the B-67 or maybe it's the B-66 - which (and I think I'm right on this) is sprung like the Conquest but is wider than the Conquest. The Conquest, as I understand, is essentially a sprung B-17. My single complaint and it probably has a lot to do with my current girth, is a slight squeaking from the springs -- and hey, who can really blame them.
But to answer your question, I like them fine. I tried a lot of different saddles, not the one you mention, but the Brooks is, once set up properly, the most comfortable I have found.

I have Brooks on most of my bikes but I have a couple without them. I don't usually notice any difference because I don't ride one particular bike all the time but as I noted before, I just came back from a long touring using a Brooks B17N and hopped onto a bike with a plastic saddle and immediately noticed the difference. The plastic saddle is a Selle Italia Turbomatic which has elastomer bumpers to give it a little suspension and is about the same width as the B17N. The issue is that the plastic saddle doesn't "bend" like the Brooks. The leather may seem stiff and unforgiving but when you put your weight on it, it flexes both side to side and front to back. It's more like a hammock than a seat. Even without padding it carries you better than the best padded plastic saddles.

As for the anatomicals, I have yet to find one that doesn't do exactly what it is supposed to not to do. The ones I've tried (and it's been a while) cut off blood flow to the dangly bits more than a flat saddle do for me. I've found that the hole in the middle actually lets the padding of the saddle press into my groin. I find them highly uncomfortable. I have had numbing occur with a Brooks but that is usually because I'm tired and forget to stand up on a regular basis.

Hope this helps.

Yes. After the break in period, the saddle is like a mold of your butt. That is the beauty of leather. I commute and do long distance rides on a B-17 and I love it. Some people say that the break in period is too long, but I found my B-17 to be comfortable right out of the box. I ride it in all kinds of nasty weather and it gets wet. But then it dries out and is as good as ever. Just put proofide on it every once in a while so that it doesn't dry out and crack and you should be good to go. I commuted in on a different bike today that has a S.I. Flite on it. While I like performance of that saddle, it doesn't even compare to the comfort of my brooks.

.

I'm about due for a saddle change...I currently have around 6,000 miles on that Koobi. I think you guys have convinced me to try a Brooks. Now, what do you recommend for a larger rider? I'm 6'2" and pushing about 225. I see a lot of you are using the B17, but one "larger" rider just said he'd like something bigger. Oh, and as stated before, my commuter is a Trek 520, so the frame geometry is touring...Let me know your thoughts.


You're dead-on right that most anatomicals don't do what they are supposed to do. I think it's because the manufacturers start out with a racing/narrow design and then decide to make an anatomical version (doing nothing more than making a cut-out in the middle)...those are disasters! I tried several anatomicals before coming across Koobi about 4 years ago. It's wider and heavier than most prefer (again, I'm a big guy), but I ended up putting them on all my bikes (from commuter, to designated road bike, to my mtn bike). I'm anxious to try the Brooks though.

Thanks again to everyone!!

Call Wall bike. They have a website.
I use a B67 these days.

I'd suggest looking at the Brooks measurements and getting one that is close to the same width as what you use now. I'm shorter than you by a little and near the same weight but I like a very narrow saddle. I use the B17 narrow and find it far more comfortable than the B17 or the Pro. YMMV

I got a B17, at first it was nice and supportive, felt great. Now after 500mi or so its 'broken in' and sags in the middle a bit and not so supportive any more. Its gotten more uncomfortable the more I ride it as the metal frame at the end and the nose under the leather don't move, but the leather between the frame support points does, making it lumpy.

Al

Ah yallo friends,

What's the lightest spring model of the Brooks Saddles??

I remember once that i rode one of my friend's bicycles that had this really spring seat that would be so boucny when ever I went on bumps. It was really really comfortable and fun. Ever since then i have been trying to find such a saddle.

After reading here on bikeforums, it seems Brooks has those saddles. So i really need the lightest yet most springiest saddle. Any suggestions???

BTW, I don't have a suspension seat post.


lastly, are there any other competitive Brands that are very *springy* and not as expensive as Brooks. I'm on a tight budget here as a college student.

Mucho thanx guys!

Just FYI, Wall bike is closed due to hurricane Katrina, website has a lot of good info and is still up though!

Maybe someone with more miles than me can confirm or deny, but it seems to me a large rider with sprung saddle is easier on wheels than a large rider with unsprung saddle -- comments?

*BUMP*

I converted the Brooks B 73 Triple Spring Saddle weight wich is 1,084 grams into pounds and that is only 2.39 pounds. i don't think that is very weighty enough to slow down speed drastically. however, I am new to all thsi biking knowledge and maximizing speed.

Am i correct that 2.39 pounds for the Brooks B 73 Triple Spring Saddle will not reduce speed so much???

Have you tried adjusting it? The bolt underneath the nose of the saddle is there to tighten it up if the saddle starts sagging.

The 1089 gram Brooks B73 is about a kg heavier (1000 grams/2.2 pounds) than one of those light weight titanum and plastic racing saddles. But I know which one would be more comfortable.
2 pounds is not likely to make a noticable difference to most riders but it would be too much to lug for a racer trying to take a few seconds off his time. It also represents better than 10% the weight of a high end road bike but less than 1% of the weight of a large rider and bike.
Craig

Yeah, I gave it a few quarter turns, but the shape it is taking seems to be permanent. I can post photos later this week. For example I can see the rear curved shape metal support pushing up, with the leather dropping down just after it becomes unsupported, so my rear now pushes up agains this hard edge, same thing on the front nose support. In other words its like the skin on a skeleton where you can see the bone structure poking thru.

al