Pennman 

Thanks Saddle arrived yesterday and have it mounted. I'm impressed with the quality. We'll see what the butt thinks of it before long.

Road Fan

So your carved B17 is a B17 Inperial? With a cutout through the middle?

I like most of the saddles we've been talking about: B17 Imperial, recent Brooks Professional, B17 Standard and Select, Ideale 92, Selle Anatomica (H, X, T, and the old nameless ones. I'm experimenting with a Brooks Select B15 Swallow, along with the recent Professional.

Pennman 

Yes, the B17 Imperial. Doesn't say anything about "Imperial" but that's the only B17 with a cutout from what I saw. I went for that for the reasons I mentioned but the Selle Anatomica ads/descriptions seemed to stress the protection factor a lot more. Whether it's just hype, who knows. I'll soon find out after a reasonable amount of time on the Brooks. I've had the Selle type in the past and survived but if I recall correctly all that cushioning and material was hot. I'm inclined to believe there is no saddle that a rider gets off of and says "boy that feels good".. My thought is leather may be cooler then some synthetic and will gradually be more form fitting. Just saying.

Road Fan

I have had that feeling of feeling better on my S-As and Professional.

Calsun

I have the Brooks B17 but a friend in college removed the rivets and then soaked the saddle in neatsfoot oil and then re-riveted it to the frame. The stronger my butt muscles the more comfortable the saddle in my own experience.

I have added a Ergon mountain sport gel saddle to give a try on one of my road bikes. I found it interesting that included with the saddle is an adapter for clipping on the Topeak saddle bags. I like this approach as I can remove the saddle bag quickly and no need to leave it on the bike.

Pennman 

Wow, soaked it in neatsfoot oil. I bet that softened it up. Good luck with the new saddle.

Calsun

The Ergon SMC Sport Gel Saddle is sold by REI as a mountain bike saddle but is is great on my road bike. The gel is thick enough to make the saddle much more comfortable where my bones hit it but it is otherwise like a non gel saddle and it is out of the box the most comfortable saddle I have owned.

My Brooks B17 needed special treatment and one forgets how long it can take to break in a leather saddle. The new plastic ones I have found to be much less comfortable regardless of price and there is no hope of "breaking in" them in over time.

I tried a couple of Fizik and a Specialized saddle but they were not at all comfortable for use on a road bike. The Ergon gel saddle is just right for my ass.

Wildwood

I have been experimenting with cut-outs on traditional leather saddles - a lot.

Without going into a bunch of details, I find the quality of the pad in my cycling shorts to be a greater factor. When riding unpadded, the cutout is an improvement for rides over 20miles. I'm a fan of Selle Anatomica - and Gyes (with cut-out) over Brooks.



Ideale - modified

Brooks Swallow - modified

Brooks Pro - modified

RHM saddle - modified

Pennman 

Nice additions to the thread. After reading the section on saddles in "Bike for Life" I'm getting a bit skeptical about my B17 purchase but will give it a try. Next up would be the Selle. I have my saddle height a bit on the low side right now and difference in bar height and seat height is 2-3in, seat level. Weather has turned again here so haven't ridden. Wow, nice collection of bikes!

Calsun

The B17 is a lot more pliant that the average all plastic saddle but it does need a break-in period. It cushions more than most road saddles.

The seat angle makes a good deal of difference after I have dialed in the seat to handlebar distance and the seat height. I use a downward slope of 4-6 degrees depending on the bike. But it is a balancing act between seat to bars distance and the angle of the seat.

chaadster

Have you run across Infinity saddles yet?

https://infinitybikeseat.com

jimjim58

I use a Selle Anatomica X-Series which is very comfortable right out of the box but I find this Infinity saddle interesting and may have to give it a try.

Pennman 

No, I haven't but did see it in the book "Bike for Life". Pricey.

chaadster

I use a variety of saddles, but my favorite in the current lineup is the San Marco Shortfit Racing saddle, which is a snub nose, cutout style. I do most of my mileage on two Fizik Aliante R3 equipped saddles, which are conventional, so go figure…I never know what’s going to work until it does. In not too distant 3rd place is the SQ Lab 612 Active, which has a recess up the middle and a broad, flat nose. I’ve not done long, hard rides on it, but it’s nice for around town and moderate effort cruises in the 20 mile range, so I think it would be a fine distance saddle.

Anyway, I haven’t used one, but the Infinity is interesting to me as well. They’re just a little too ugly for me to get down with, mostly for the prominently exposed, tall chrome rails at the front. I also ride a Selle SMP Dynamic, which itself could be described as ugly and has long chrome rails, so I’m pretty generous with my style range, but the Infinity saddles are just a little outside it. I’ve seen some cool color combos with anodized rails from them in the past, but they don’t seem to offer those anymore.

Carbonfiberboy 

SI also makes a Green series. You might want to try this one: https://www.performancebike.com/sell...ec003/p1373687
I have that Superflow you mentioned and I think this saddle is actually more comfortable and way cheaper.

Pennman 

Thanks. This thread is now offering some great ideas and experiences. Some of them from members with thousands of posts - amazing. For them to take the time to help so many and share their knowledge I find truly commendable. I'm not a biking expert by any means but I think the thread so far has covered the most desirable bike saddles to try.

roadsnakes

'

My Prostate is so big, ......it has it`s Own Prostate!

Pennman 

Does that require no saddle or seatpost, just standing?

Rdmonster69

I put a Selle Italia Boost Superflow Endurance on a recent build and its awesome. Large cutout and more padding than the regular boost saddles they sell. It's a shorter nose saddle but for you that probably doesn't matter. The increased padding along with the super flow cutout may be just the ticket for you. FWIW I am younger without the issues you mention but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like the saddle. I got the model with the titanium rails as well. The Brooks saddles are really nice but not having owned one I can't speak to them.

Pennman 

Glad you found a good match. Thanks for sharing.

Road Fan

I have two ideas. One is to get an older Selle Anatomica and widen the slot near the widest part of the saddle, to reduce it pressing on the prostate. Another is to reduce the saddle height maybe 5 mm to increase your ability to lift your body above the saddle and reduce direct pressure. I'm not in this end of the mens' health swimming pool yet, beyond taking a very light dose of daily Flowmax. But I don't understand the idea to raise the saddle: if one has an enlarged prostate, why does one need a saddle height which is 20 mm higher than where it was before the enlargement occured? My assumption would be that if adjusting saddle height can reduce pain due to this issue, the goal would be to reduce the height to reduce the pressure on the prostate, or whatever is hurting in your pelvic basin. If you reduce the saddle height by maybe 2/10 of an inch, you have more knee bend and be able to lift your body above the saddle surface as you ride. I know that if my saddle is too high, I can get a lot of pain due to abrasion as my hips rock.

A used Brooks Imperial or Selle AnAtomica (an X model, a T model, or one with no "letter grade" would be softest and most compliant, even after you tension up the nose screw) could be the best canvas on which to experiment. "Used" because they can be softer, and if you want to trim the slot edges to widen it, you don't have to worry about making an expensive new one worthless. If you trim the slot edges to widen it that might physically reduce the contact against the prostate area. It could also result in accelerated stretching of the leather skin as it ages.

I throw this out as an attempt to be helpful. I'm not a doctor or even an experienced patient in this matter. Even though I thought of it, I don't think I would try it without talking to my doctor first. It's just that raising the saddle seems to be going in the wrong direction. I have widened the slot on one of mine and it does improve comfort a little. It makes the sides of the saddle act more like a pair of hammocks that support you along your sit bones, rather than pressing on the bits between them.

Pennman 

Thank you!

Road Fan

Your welcome! Please let us know how this works out.

Monkitoucher

+1 for Ergon saddles. I have one on my mountain bike. It was good from day one. I do have a Brooks Professional on my trainer/gravel bike. It's never really softened up for me. Maybe it's due to living in a dry climate and not having a scheduled moisturizing schedule for my saddle.

400E

After many happy years with Brooks saddles, I started having numbness issues. I switched to a "Spongy Wonder" noseless saddle a number of years ago and never looked back.