Keep Brooks B17 or switch it out?
 

So I recently finished the project bike I have been working on and have a question on saddle selection. The bike has Albatross bars and a nearly upright position to it. I currently have a B17 on the bike (which has been in a garage for over a year but didn't work on my road bikes so it just sat) but I am wondering if there is another saddle that would be a better choice? The B17 doesn't feel horrible, but it does feel kind of weird...like I am sitting on a wooden plank.

I think the B66 might me more suited to that set-up.

What didn't you like about the B17 on your road bike? I ride a road bike and have a comfortable saddle but someday I'd like to try a Brooks if for no other reason than how much other folks like them.

B17 is good for a bike where the bars are close to seat height. If it is significantly lower the B17 Narrow or go to a swift or swallow.
If you are more upright then the imperial (68) or the 66.
The rule is the lower the bars are to the seat the narrower you want the seat.

You need to profide the snot out of the thing the first couple weeks and yes it will take a little time to break in. The heavier you are the faster it will happen. A lot of people fid you need to start nose a little high to keep you back on the seat a little. once it starts to break in then most people level it up. Thats how both my Champion Flyer (B17 with springs) and my B17 seemed to work out. The Profide will also make the seat a little more tacky so you don't slide forward when you are cranking up the hills.

You should give it away. I can PM you my address...

No, seriously, the B17 is a great saddle. Mine is finally breaking in after about 6000 miles (yes, I'm being serious). It does get more comfortable with time. Give it a few thousand miles and it'll undoubtedly get better. IF you aren't concerned about having a 5 pound seat, get the sprung version... it may be a B66 if memory serves me...

i have two b 17's one fit perfect right from the start the other one never felt quite right until i got caught out in a big rain. it stretched out so much i wasn't sure that it would have enough adjustment to tighten back up but it has been great ever since

I still have a broken in b17 in my closet that never got comfortable in any position of bar-saddle drop. It would have been terrible with a high handlebar position, like a-bars.

I got the b67 and never looked back....that is by far the best saddle I have ever used and the last I'll use ;). The b66 is the same but has the old-school 2 rail design that I didn't want to mess with, so I got the b67.

The biggest problem with Brooks is the break in period, and the thicker the leather the longer it takes. My Swift took only about 800 miles, but the B17 took about 1500 miles. Whatever you do though to break in a Brooks is too follow the Brooks advice for treatment. Following someone else who claims a lot of knowledge about breaking in a Brooks by using oil or water is full of schit, you will ruin the saddle. Brooks has been making leather saddle for over 100 years and they know from all that long experience what to use on their saddles that won't ruin them and their recommendations work; and following their advice should allow the saddle to last at least 20 years, there are Brooks out on the road older then that! If by chance your saddle is still under warranty, applying any other technique for breaking in other then factory recommendation will void the warranty.

I think that my road bike is just too aggressive in stance and puts a little too much pressure on areas that don't take pressure well without making the twig and berries go numb. I have a carbon-fiber-from-the-future saddle on that bike which seems to work well with having the handlebars so low.

If you want a Brooks for that bike you should look at the B15 Swallow, it's a dedicated racing saddle and the TI model makes it relatively light at 370grms...well it is the lightest leather saddle, and it will lighten your pocketbook substantially as well. If that one is too rich for your blood, the Brooks Swift is the next best one for a racing postured bike and is only 20grms more. I have the Swift and love it.

Saddle choice is very personal. Everybody likes something different. The position on the bike makes a difference too.

I have a B17 that used to sit on my hybrid. It was super-comfortable. When the hybrid was parted out, the B17 made it onto my LHT. I never managed to make it comfortable there. It was sagging by then. I have since moved the B17 to my single speed, and laced it to prevent sagging. It's comfortable, but I don't take that bike on long rides.

I put a Brooks Professional on my LHT now, and although it's better, I'm still not terribly comfortable. It might just be a matter of getting tilt and/or fore-aft position right, or I may have to switch to another saddle.

... or I can hop on my recumbent and not worry about saddles. :)

Sagging should not have been in issue if you had adjusted the spanner. Lacing doesn't prevent or reduce sagging, it helps keep the sides from flaring out.

I've liked my B17 from its first ride on my flat-bar commuter. I put another B17 on my MTB and also have a Swift on the road bike.

I've thought of getting the sprung version to replace the first one, but I'll wait until after I change the bike to drops to decide. I may also change from a Swift to a B17 Pro, but may not bother unless someone wants to trade.

Blasphemy, I know but....

Given all of the modern materials available today to make bike saddles out of, why oh why does ANYONE still ride the "wooden plank"? I rode Brooks exclusively from 1975 to 1990. Intermittently from 1990 to 2005. Ditched my last one and never looked back. Almost ANY modern saddle approaching $100 would feel like clouds and butterfly wings compared to any Brooks saddle no matter how broken in you can get them.

Touch the monolith young man. Evolve to the next level. Leave Brooks to the Smithsonian.

Note: My opinion and ten cents will buy you...well...pretty much - nothing.

Finally some criticism about the Brooks B17. Until now it seemed that saddle was the greatest gift you could ever offer to your ass...

We are all different, but if Brooks are so uncomfortable then why do most tourers over the world demand them? Tourers spend more time on a saddle then roadies and they know what saddles are comfortable and which ones are not.

Stubbornness.

I have biked to 35 states and provinces from New Orleans, USA. All four corners of the USA and some of Canada plus countless local touring miles. I spend from 5-7 months touring around with full panniers logging an average of 60 miles per day. I still routinely bike 150 miles in one day at least twice a year. I have not owned a car in 22 years. I spend a lot of time on a bike saddle. Tens of thousands on various Brooks saddles. By far the most comfy and indestructible saddle ever made...up until 1995 or so.

You want to live in the past, I support you. If someone still wants to bomb down a ski slope on a hard tail ATB with a rigid front fork...be my guest. You want to churn you own butter...you have my full support. For me, I will take full advantage of modern materials/technology and store-bought dairy products.

After all...it's YOUR @$$

Sounds like the opposite of my experience. I've tried 4 different "modern" saddles and for me none of them approach the comfort I get with the B17. Even on rides up to 70 miles or so it's really comfy for me. I just picked up a B17 imperial to go on my LeMond and my original B17 will be put on my Trek 5.9 this week.

It wasn't stubbornness for me, it was a simple and expensive matter of trying dozens of saddle that would be relatively comfortable after 100+ mile ride, and the only one that worked was the Swift, my first Brooks. Then when I got my touring bike I got the B17 and love it.

But even in 2010 Brooks still outsells all other saddles in the touring crowd, with the Terry Ti Fly being second.

But as you said it's your @$$

So why then are the best motorcycle saddles in the world made of leather? I like my brooks so far, but no matter the brand, my years experience in motorcycling tell me to stick with leather. Synthetic is great when we are talking motor oil.

My butt is older than 1995... ;) :D

A. I didn't say don't get a saddle with leather on it.

B. My wife's Camry has all leather seats. A far cry from a Brooks saddle tho.

Leather itself is not the issue.

Funny enough, the other saddle I want to try on the road bike besides my Swift would be an all-carbon saddle like what was being talked about in the Road forum recently. One of the guys bought a Taiwanese carbon saddle off of eBay under the Merek brand name, and he liked it quite a bit. Said that its shell flexed to fit, so I dug up some Youtube vids to see for myself. Yup, some of them flex in the same way the Swift and B17 do.

Will I change from riveted leather to molded carbon fiber? Not sure, but it's tempting when the carbon saddles are cheaper than what I paid for the Swift off of CL.

I think there's definitely some pro-Brooks saddle hype simply because they cost $ and people want to sometimes justify it as a wise purchase.

I love my b67 -- and I've ridden tons of regular saddles, none of which was as comfortable as the b67. However, I hated the b17 and would have tried to find a "regular saddle replacement" for it if it were not for the b67.

Ride what you like --

I'm with you there brother!!!