I am trying to like my brooks champion flyer. It is my first brooks, so I'm not sure about how I should sit on it exactly. I like how it looks and (usually) feels, and I like the road shock dampening springiness.

I have put Around 400 miles on it.

Occasionally I have some pain from it (I think) on my taint, right in the, erm, middle (?), right under/behind the jewels.
Is it tilted up too high? I have adjusted and re-adjusted it, and as it sits now, is the least tilted back I could get it without feeling like I was sliding forward on it while pedalling.
Should I try and tilt it more forward and just deal with the sliding a bit in the hopes my butt will flatten out the back portion of the saddle in time?
Also, don't know if this is related to the saddle or my pedals, but my right foot foot goes a little numb on long rides. It feels like lack of circulation maybe...(?)

So, should I keep it, ride, and hope that the dreaded 'wear in' will happen, or just return it (wallingford warranty), and seek other saddle options?

A photo.....

I'm breaking a B67, and have a similar problem on occasion.
This all might be related to insufficient break-in as opposed to a problem with the tilt.
"They" say to tilt the saddle so that the middle is the lowest point on the top surface; that way one's butt doesn't slide too far fore or aft.


My plan - if the problem persists beyond the break in period - is to consider sending the saddle off to Selle An-Atomica so they can cut out the center. Before I blow another $50 with it, I want to be sure it is necessary.
Meanwhile.....I might give the thing another oil treatment on its underside.

It looks in the photo that is tilted a little to far back.

The taint is your perineam. Your cheeks and thighs keep it from touching anything unless
you sit on a steel tube railing or a bicycle seat. It's the reason why the industry sells so
many comfort seats and padded shorts. A kevlar MTB seat in particular caused me to
reflect on comic pain stars floating behind in my wake.
Alllways wondered if I could pay some one to break my seat in for me.

The nose is titled up too much. You want the nose tilted up a tiny bit. I keep mine such that the nose is is about level with the back lip. This leaves a little bit of a valley in the middle: Keeps your butt toward the back.

Check the forward/back on the saddle. If it's too far back you might tend to pull yourself up onto the nose. You want to be sitting toward the back. At 400 miles you should start to see where you tend to sit.

Make sure your saddle isn't so high that your hips are rocking.

I don't feel like I'm sliding forward on any of my Brookes. I get a tiny bit of numbness on one after 25-30 miles, I'm still messing with the adjustment.

I agree that the seat is pointed up a bit too much. Is that seat 170 mm wide? I'd guess that width is not an issue unless you have very close upper thigh bones, <120mm?

I have an old Schwinn manual that shows a dude in a white lab, sitting on the ground, holding an 20" bar in both hands as he forces that accross the saddle,(at least this is the way that I remeber it), to "soften" it.

I have all three of my Brooks saddles just about level nose-to-tail like crhilton describes. I'd level it out and mess with fore-aft a bit to put it under where your butt wants to be.

I still haven't put any Proofide on them, either.

I would take it back a little closer to level and be sure you are on your sit bones while riding. It's easy on longer rides to let everything sort of settle and sink which ends up putting weight on the perineum.
I sometimes have to remind myself to rock my pelvis back to keep the weight on my sit bones.

Thanks everyone.
Is there a way to adjust the spring tension at all?

What he said! Mine is almost dead level to stop the fore/aft slide. Once that is correct, adjust the physical location up/down - and fore aft. Make very small adjustments until it is right.

You shouldn't feel the saddle any place except your sit bones, which will, itself, disappear once you are broken in to each other.

Make sure you are sitting on your sit bones. That's what they are for. You don't want to have pressure anywhere else. So make sure you are sitting back far enough on the seat. Looks like you have room to move the seat forward some if you need to. I too would probably bring the nose down just a tad.

I agree with the others, your nose it tilted up too high. This may feel like a good idea since the Brooks' are slippery when new. It takes a few hundred miles at least to get them to stop feeling slippery. Start with a more level seat, make sure you have the height set properly, then tweak the fore and aft as necessary, and then ride it and know that it will get less slippery. Proofhide is a good idea for leather conditioning and to prevent drying of the leather, but It doesn't in my experience make a new saddle less slipppery only time and miles will do that.

Lots of good info here so I just wanted to tell you that is one sharp looking ride!

a contrarian here: that saddle isn't pointed up too high.

saddle nose pointed up to keep you from sliding forward is normal for brooks saddles. no biggie.

as they break in a bit you can often drop the nose a bit.

you generally don't want to feel like you are sliding forward on your saddle (except maybe tri and time trial bikes);
this can put excessive pressure on the ulnar nerve and cause carpal tunnel syndrome, strained neck and shoulders, etc.

My B17 is tilted about the same, and was perfectly comfortable from mile 1. No break-in required.

If it were me (and I knew the height was good) I'd experiment with leaving the tilt alone and changing the fore/aft. You want your sit bones planted solidly on the flexiest part of the saddle. If you're on the metal rim, that'll hurt your butt, and if you're on the nose, that'll hurt your perineum.

Thanks again for all the advice.
I did tilt it down a bit as recommended, and it seems a little better. I'll give it some miles and make another judgment.

Anyone know if the spring tension is adjustable somehow?

I wouldn't mess with the tension. I've heard horror stories of people wrecking their Brooks by tinkering with that bolt.

After 400 miles, it's possible the bolt needs a little turn, but it does seem early if you're not a heavy person.

Do you mean the coil springs in back? You can't adjust those. Regarding adjusting the tension of the leather, I think you only need to do it when it's really sagging, and that's going to take a while (what's the typical interval, 10,000 miles or something?).

Umm... I think I just walked into the wrong thread... I'll just back out sloooowly now while you men talk about "taints" and... ummm... Yeah...

(Gosh, I love men! You guys make me smile.)

Seriously, I think the nose is aimed up a tad too high. Try making it completely horizontal (level) with the ground. If you notice you slide forward to much then maybe raise your handlebars a tad. Also tweak fore/aft position.

Good luck and be kind to your "taint".

Are you sure? It's a perfectly rational discussion about physiology. Here, let me show you...



j/k

That would be interesting.

LOL LOL!

ROFLMAO! Sorry, sorry! I'm meant level, horizontal.

I'm sorry but all this talk about "taints" got me flustered and confused. *blushing*

Taints aside...In my experience (and that of some others), Brooks saddles really do require a different approach to "leveling." I've had the best luck ignoring the nose and leveling the wide part--which means the nose will be angled up somewhat.