I used to have an Ideale saddle. They were another quality leather saddle maker but went out of business. While it was fine and all after it was broken in, it was really nothing to write home about it terms of comfort. It felt like a rock at first but got better over time, or my butt just got used to it. I'm not sure if it was me that got broken in or the saddle. ;)

A Brooks might be better but personally I don't want to spend the money and a few hundred miles breaking it in to find out. Then there's the upkeep issue. I do triathlons and ride in all kinds of weather. I don't want to have worry about it getting wet. I've got no complaints about my current saddle, maintenance is a non-issue, and it won't stain my pants.

I had this same issue at first. I had a pro bike fit done a month later, and the numbness went away over the next week, and has yet to reappear, 3 weeks later.

They still use chrome rails on some of their line. The B-17 imperal come to mind!

Yes, true. And that is one of their more expensive ones.

I have a b-17 imperial on my road bike and the first day I put it on for a 40 mile group ride and no complaints. Have about 2000 miles on it now and still love.

I've got a B-15 on mine, and love it to death. I previously was using a bontrager inform (which is an entirely different style) and found my Brooks to be more to my liking. I'm 'car-lite' and the saddle has yet to give me problems.

I have a Brooks b15 on my road bike. I have had it for 4 years now. I love it. I bought it off of ebay (new saddle without packaging but had the paperwork). I didn't pay a ton for it and had always liked the look. While I didn't love it at first, I had paid for it and decided to ride it for a while. I have changed the saddle from bike to bike and decided that I like it as my road saddle. I have raced crits with the Brooks on my road bike (at 250+ I could eat less and save the extra weight from the saddle.

All I know is that I really like mine. Would I pay new retail price for one? Probably not at this point in my life. If I find another one on ebay, I will probably get another one for my commuter.

It's both comfortable, as well as a status symbol.

Brooks is to Saddle, as Cadillac is to Car....

- Slim :)

PS.

On the rare occasion, I've seen the Brooks saddle, as the perfect complement to a beautiful bike!

Look at the Selle Anatomica. It has the Brooks "look", but it's comfortable (and waterproof) from day 1.

I got a different saddle and it went away.

Okay, that's a scary looking saddle. I wouldn't want anything slipping into that crack and getting pinched.

I love old bikes and I'm a bike commuter. The Brooks saddles look really great on an old bike, but my B-17 just didn't feel right. Had lots of issues with numbness in the nether bits. A much cheaper WTB saddle felt much better. Your results may vary....

Well, some think a Brooks saddle is a cliche; beside being clunky and heavy. But, they are comfortable and only get more so over time. They are decidedly not deposible, which is in contrast to the CF craze.

Unless you ride naked, you'll never know it's there.

We depose tyrants and witnesses, not saddles. :p

I have not been through the thread but here's my experience.

I asked and said the same things as you. I have been through a ton of saddles; just like everyone else. From the "grandpa" saddles like the Terry Liberator, to the Specialized Toupe (180 bucks) - I started cycling a little more and got 2 B17's for some of my fleet. I really like it. They don't look out of place on new style bikes. A lot of people in our local club have race bikes and brooks saddles. They look great.

They come in many colors (I have black, candy apple, and honey) - they have matching bar wraps; and they're under 100 bucks. Get one. If you don't like it, sell it on ebay. You're only out 20 bucks or so.

tjspiel, Sure it was the saddle staining your shorts? I have a B17 Imperial and riding it all day is like sitting on the couch. Has been comfortable right out of the box.

It's like a ****in' Porsche for your ass, man. Like when you stop flying Delta and go with Korean Air, and you suddenly realize you're surrounded by sexy Asian women, and the hostess sees you looking but she just smiles--sure you're not getting anywhere, but she didn't wear that sheer skirt to keep men from checking out her perfect, toned-out legs. And then they bring you out some Gogi-Gui and 7-Up, and the in flight movie isn't even a rerun of Biodome, and you look around and you're like, wow man, life is perfect. But then you get off the plane in Europe, and you take a tour all over the god damn continent, and you find out that it's far superior to drive there than in the US, and at the same time far superior for cycling, and even for walking! And you look back, and you wonder what your life was like, and you immediately move your entire family to Europe--somewhere near East Europe, so you can bike a century and get a peek at some of those Asian girls once in a while--and swear you're never coming back.

That's what it's like.

My B17 has a frame that was made off-center. Took me a while to realize I had to point the nose off to the right, so that the 'sit' part in back was centered. It went from painful to ok. Not bad enough to make me seek something else, not good enough that I'd buy another without considering the alternatives.

ummm ok, if you say so...

It's that kind of talk that always made me so skeptical of Brooks in the first place. Sounds too much like those get rich quick things on late night TV. Just get one. If you don't like it I'll buy it from you.

Damn! Them Asian girls are really somethin' else, Boy! I'll tell ya!

Let's see...Asian girls...Brooks saddles....Asian girls...Brooks saddles...

Nah...I can't really see Brooks saddles on that level. There's no parallels there! Asian girls are by far much superior to freaking Brooks saddles!

...."Go back to your room and return with a much better parallel!" - *Say's master from the Shaolin Temple*

I didn't see the benefit to the B17 until I started riding ultradistance. Spending 18 - 24 hours on the bike will give you a different perspective on what is and is not comfortable for you.

I can do my 32mi r/t commute on my rigid 29er/CX race bike with 37mm knobbies and a Selle Italia Diva gel flow saddle that's on there because flying remounts hurt my butt on a Brooks. But I definitely felt sore all over after riding it on a 50 mile charity ride because that not what I built it for.
Meanwhile I can spend 250 miles on my B17 and not come away any worse for wear because I set my brevet bike up for all-day comfort, not for 45 minutes of pain cave mud sprints.

If you want to try a Brooks to decide for yourself, I suggest (like others) to order from Wallingford Bicycle because of their generous return policy regarding Brooks saddles.

I rode on a Brook for one summer back in th '80s, then gave it away because it was just no superior to other options but it weighed twice as much. Funny though, now all of my saddles are the smallest, narrowest ones I can find. Over the years I found that my weight is actually supported by a small 1x2" area of bone right in the center of my pelvis which has little or not nerves. Adding width to the saddle simply moves my weight to an area on either side that has lots of nerves. I can ride 100+ miles on my "postage stamp" seats without getting uncomfortable at all.

I wouldn't want to ride long without my B17.