The Weak Link

Do Brooks saddles come equipped with death panels?








sorry, can't help myself sometimes.

sknhgy 

When nearly new, I rode my Brooks honey B-17 in the rain for about 50 miles. It got all wet but has fit my butt like a glove ever since then. Also since then I have purchased two more Brook's for my other two bikes.

I sweat more than anyone else in the world and I'm kind of heavy. My butt is like a steam press that makes my saddles fit me to a T. Maybe a hot, sweaty butt makes one a Brooks person.

zoste

No, I did the lacing myself (which explains a lot ). I have a Brooks Imperial which actually has more holes, smaller and closer together. I'm kind of ham-fisted when it comes to this type of project and I had some trouble lacing the Imperial, so I made the holes larger. I used one of these leather punches and set it to a medium size. It made running the laces easier. I used a 90 inch nylon woven boot lace, primarily 'cause that's what they had in the store.

Here's what the Imperial looks like direct from the factory:



Note that they only lace the middle few holes...I didn't like the way that looked.

As long as I had the camera out, I took a shot of the shape of the slot that Brooks cuts; again, box stock:



Sorry about the quality of the pix...I'm kinda ham-fisted when it comes to photography, too

SaiKaiTai

For you? Maybe.











Sorry. Can't help myself, either...

ddez

Just my .02.I bought a B17N cause every one said get a brooks etc.Never did "break in"The problem was sit bones,black and blue,couldnt even sit anymore after weeks of use.
Sold it.Cant believe i was crazy enough to try again but---i did it. Bought a B17 flyer.Comfortable from day one and gets better all the time.
Guess thats why Brooks makes different saddles and sizes to suit ride style re:sit up or lean forward.Depending on bar to seat height.
Wouldnt part with it for triple the money.Not suggesting O.P. should do this,im just saying is all.

chinarider

When I laced my SA, I used a drill to make the holes ( I think a 1/4" bit) and I only put 2 holes on each side. There are some pics & discussion of lacing in the latter stages of the Selle An-Atomica Journal thread.

Dan

The Weak Link

Embrace the hate, let it flow, and blame someone else for it.

billydonn

Again appears the great exaggeration. People seem to somehow want to keep exaggerating this pain thing, as if unbearable suffering for 100s of miles was required to break in a Brooks. I do not believe many people are reporting that. My experience was that the saddle was just okay (but showing promise) for a long time and slowly came around to become very good indeed. The process did not involve endless agony, I assure you.

And a putting a spritz or two of Neatsfoot oil (or whatever) on the bottom of a saddle isn't all that hard to do. I kind of enjoyed it. It's processes like this that make the hobby fun for me!

Robert Foster

Mind of I ask you to refresh our minds on how long your Brooks took to break in? You did do a whole series on it didn’t you?

SaiKaiTai

You just don't seem to be having fun anymore.
Go out and ride your bike more. Psychobabble doesn't suit you.

Back on topic... I put a B-17N on my Lemond.
At first, yeah, it was a little hard and the first ride -a short one- was a bit worrisome.
The second ride, it a ll started to make more sense and with each ride, as the slickness wore off and the leather began to relax, I liked it better and better. It wasn't long before I took it out on a 40 mile ride where my stock Bontrager made me doubt I would ever ride any kind of "real" distance and i knew that would not be an issue anymore. When I sold the Lemond and bought my Giant, I kept the B-17 and put it on.
Now, I can feel my butt settle in... like a well-worn pair of jeans.
Then -sacrilege- I put a B-67 on my Jamis.
Maybe it's the springs but the saddle is taking a little longer to mold itself.
It's still plenty comfortable, though... but it is heavy.

zoste

Billy - I agree...not many people are reporting real pain. Unfortunately, I am one. While I can't speak for anyone else, I couldn't ride the stock B-17 without pain and numb-nuts.

The Weak Link

Psychobabble no. I was thinking more along the lines of Yoda and "Fear becomes hate, and hate turns you over to the dark side it does".

Jongen, lighten up.

gettingold

Nose-up did the trick! 35 miles last night and it felt great. And it was glovoleum, not glovinator.

Road Fan

We'll have to get the Bike Forums Government Affairs officer to investigate that.

Road Fan

I trimmed them off with a Dremel tool and an Xacto knife - not a problem!

Road Fan

Nobody here is interested in inflicting pain or experiencing pain, but for some it's tolerable for a time if there is a promise of something better. For some others, not. I just think we're seeing the variations inherent in human nature.

I started in the Brooks Imperial test with a B17N Imperial. In my first 5 rides I felt pinching and pressure in the perineal area, with no sign of abatement, after running through all the adjustments I could think of. I read about USAZorro relieving this situation by removing all the lacing. I did this and it became flexy and compliant, so I took a few more rides in reasonable comfort. I added my Ideale 92 to a different bike and found the ride to be improved over the last times I rode it, so I concluded my butt is improving. Not long after I added lacing to the 17N to stiffen teh sit bone area and not the horn, and that is actually a pretty decent arrangement. I only have about one ride on it, since I'm also experimenting with a used Selle AnAtomica. All of these saddles have caused some pain, too much for me to accept for longer than 40 miles. The most promising options for longer distance are teh S/A and the 17N, but I just need to keep developing the fit.

BTW, I also like the Alias and the Toupe, and I do just about as much tweaking on them, too.

The Weak Link

I've been considering buying a Brooks because after two year of riding on a Terry Fly Ti I'm having to admit that it just is not comfortable. I'm wondering if a gallon of Lexol might fascillitate the break-in process.

Hermes

Hey do not give up on the Terry. I have heard that if you rub fresh bees wax on the saddle it will fix it right up. Keep in mind that you need fresh wax from honey bees. The only problem is that the wax may attract bees to your saddle and your @ss. Good luck with this one.

The Weak Link

Hermes, why don't you mind your own bees wax.

I'm here all week. Try the roast beef.

FloridaBoy

This stuff is really good...no petroleum.



https://www.obenaufs.com/product_info...e9c36f4790d7fc

stringbreaker

I was oneof the Brooks Imperial testers also. They sent me the narrow model. I never did like it. I traded it to another forum member and as far as I know she loves it. My regular B-17's are fine and as I stated in another posting the one I ride the most is the most comfortable but they are all pretty good and I have never ridden any saddle that didn't give me some discomfort after about 50 miles, some more some less.

billydonn

Yes I did the long B-17 diary starting in March, I think it was. The series is at https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ighlight=diary if you want to refresh your memory.

And it was maybe 4-500 miles to get real change in the saddle... something like that. But that doesn't mean there was big pain and suffering involved during the break-in process. There were a lot of relatively short rides in cold/cool weather during the months involved and I was very conservative about adding conditioning products. So I probably took the long road to break-in. Although some folks find the Brooks great right out of the box, I think that most people who are not prepared for and/or do not have the patience for a break-in process should probably avoid the Brooks.

Of course, if you are in great pain and are really suffering from riding a Brooks or anything else, you should try something else. But I would not describe my experience as suffering or particularly painful.

Key Point Once Again: The Break-In Process Did Not In My Case Involve Terrible Pain And Suffering. (In fact... I enjoyed it and found it interesting.)

For what it is worth: my experience is that the Imperial Narrow is a better fit for me than the B-17. And it was quicker to break-in too. I have two nearly identical road bikes and use the Imperial N on one and a Specialized Avatar 143 on the other. I still can't decide which saddle I like best and have used them both on longish rides. I now use the B-17 Standard on my Schwinn flatbar bike and it is great for that.

Metric Man

Just to update. I've not given up hope on the B-17 based on this thread. I'm trying some Neats oil that I had around here for some baseball gloves and we'll see how it does in a day or two. I'll report my findings then.

When I was a kid I rode the old Schwinn 10 speed with a leather saddle and remember how nice it was, so I think I might give it some more time.

billydonn

Good idea... go easy with the oil at first... you can always add more. My B-17 actually drank the stuff like a drunken sailor and it was a big temptation to keep pouring it on.

Yen

I bought one for my Surly. Sadly, it caused the only saddle sore I've ever had. Every time I rode on that saddle, the sore flared up. I replaced it with a Terry Butterfly which I love. I have no doubt that the B17 is a great saddle for many people; I wish I was one of them.