Comparing and choosing a new saddle?
 

given that saddle preference is such an individual thing, seems that the only way to pick one is to try several and see what feels best.

i guess i can order a few from performance and nashbar and try to return the losers.

any other options i should know about?

thanks!

My LBS lets me borrow saddles for test rides.

I always wrap electrician's tape around the saddle rails before I clamp them in, so I can return the saddle with no marks on the rails...

good idea about the electrical tape.

beverly i don't want to drive to ohio to try saddles, but thanks.

Do you think certain saddles work according to height and weight?The mention of your size with the saddle style might help some of us.

I have made some comfortable seats by removing that cheap vinyl and recovering the seat with 1/8" leather.Still have not been able to get my hands on any ostrich.

Well,the weather sucks again in Ohio but yesterday was better than nothing.

I've thought about doing this myself...what source do you use for the leather?

I agree! A bike ride to Ohio would be lot more fun! :)

Hi Paul,
You can try a black powder gun shop or Tandy Leather.I use contact cement under both members,and a few furniture tacks along the back of the seat similar to Brooks.On the underside of the seat,front and back,there are blocks of plastic you can use small nails to help roll the leather under.If the leather is raw,I use several coats of mink oil which darkens the leather to a nice tan.

I dont know about that.Its almost spring and Beverly is in tornado alley in Ohio.:0

in case size/weight makes a difference, i'm 6 feet tall and 180 pounds. back when i was riding a lot i was under 160 -- i'd like to get to 165 at least.

i'm really curious about the brooks saddles and might try one, as well as a couple of the newer "cutout" type saddles.

That's the truth. My hometown of Xenia has been blown off the maps a few times:(

Try www.wallbike.com

they have a terrific return policy, I think it's 60 days. Call Bill and he'll set you up. :)

No connection, just a happy customer.

thanks for the wallbike.com link. that is an amazing return policy!

I would STRONGLY recommend trying a Brooks saddle. I tried several different "anatomically correct" saddles (including a high-end Selle Italia w/ titanium rails, etc.) before I ordered a Brooks from Wallingford Bicycle. Never looked back (sorry). I ride at least 20 miles a day & have ridden a couple of back-to-back centuries on my Brooks & never even think about the saddle. Quite a change, even from the best of the anatomically engineered saddles I've tried. Amazing how the leather conforms to your (ahem, well you'll get it, once you try it...)

+1 on a Brooks. I've never regretted it in 5 years

Hi,
one of the best saddles made is the Selle Anatomica

http://www.mcmwin.com/saddle%20shop%20new.htm

Until you get here. :eek:

Regular readers know I have happily put nearly 50k mi / 80k km on a Brooks Pro, which by now is probably as anatomically correct for me as it will ever get. I have been equally delighted with my Brooks Team Pro and my Brooks Competition, both of which were purchased used. If the thought of breaking in a tensioned leather saddle scares you, strongly consider the pre-softened Brooks Team Pro, the one with the oversized rivets.

Brooks saddles are heavy, relatively high-maintenance, and water-sensitive, but they are supremely comfortable and durable.

tm3,

The last time I checked, the return policy at www.wallbike.com, was six months and not 60 days. This is what their site says...............

"Warranty
We honor all manufacturers warranties for the products we sell. In addition, we offer an UNCONDITIONAL SATISFACTION GUARANTEE on most of our products.

* 6 Month UNCONDITIONAL SATISFACTION GUARANTEE - new BROOKS saddles. Return your new saddle at any time within six-months of the ship date for a full refund of the price of the saddle. Shipping will not be refunded unless there is a manufacturing defect that would make the return a factory warranty issue."


The prop. is Bill Laine and he was very patient and helpful with me.

And yes, I have a Brooks B-17 Champion, and just finished my first ride of the year that was over twenty miles (28.0), and my butt is the only thing that doesn't hurt.

I just put a Brooks B-17 on my commuter bike. It is not yet broken in and at this point is about as comfortable as the cheapo saddle it replaced (not very). I gave it a good baptism in neatsfoot oil, so hopefully I will start seeing the benefit of a leather saddle in a few hundred miles.

The B17 weighed in at 1.2 lbs after being soaked in oil. The plastic saddle it replaced was 0.8 lbs. Not that big a deal.

I'm a lone voice crying in the wilderness of Brooks fanboys ;) . Apparently my butt was unworthy of Brooks because my year spent with it was not so pleasant: Grade C-.

I am very happy on Max Flite Gel (153mm), happy enough on Flite Gel (142mm), and plainly happy on a Regal.

Guess not all butts make the Brooks grade...here's hoping yours does, tm3.

George is there with you.

Congratulations on possibly ruining your saddle. If you succeed in making it soft you will have destroyed it.

Hah! One person is a disregarded, scorned prophet....two of us are an insurgency. George, let's hang tough......once your behind is feeling better, that is.

I wish you 'experts' would get your stories straight. I took the neatsfoot oil advice from Sheldon Brown's website with agreement from my bikeshop.