Brooks switch from Narrow to Standard
 

I've been struggling off and on with some discomfort on my Brooks B17 narrow and thought a Standard might let my sit bones rest more comfortably and give my perineum some more clearance...bogus assumption? I'm riding a touring bike with the handlebars at about saddle height.

One good way to find out is to try it. If your sit bones are farther apart than those ideal for the narrow model, the standard will probably work better.

I use both the B17 standard, a Brooks Professional and a modern Forte saddle that is not as wide as the B17.

The B17 is most comfortable. It works best then the handlebars are almost as high as the saddle. It is less comfortable if you have a drop from your saddle to the handlebar of a few inches or more.

The Professional and the Forte saddle work well if the handlebar drop is more than a few inches.

How much drop do you have from the saddle to the handlebar?

Im just not using my Brooks much , due to being a old guy with a short utility-commute in a wet climate.
and the plastic ones are practical .. Have Fizik Vitesse from a batch ordered by Brompton (better rail setback)

Brooks Professionals* , on the C&V roadie & Cyclo-camping Tour bike. lots of tour miles .
they* are 20 & 30 years old

Actual Brompton got a WTB from the LBS take-offs..

My handlebar is about even with the saddle. I bought a higher stem about a year ago.

You should like the wider B17

I used to best like the Selle Italia Turbo before I bought my B17 Imperial regular width and am of relatively narrow build for my height. I didn't know that Brooks made the narrow before ordering my Imperial but I found myself liking the regular width Brooks almost immediately out of the box after 11 years off the bike ! The first short comeback ride was a break-in period for me but I hardly feel the thing after then until I pass about 50 miles on a ride.

I think the Brooks feels better than other saddles that are wide even for a narrow boned rider.

Have you been measured?
Specialized has a pretty acurate system.
There are ways to do it at home, if you look for the method.
See if you can demo what you're interested in.

S

After 3 rides--30 miles, 20, and 26 miles--I think the Standard is the one for me. Overall comfort, no sit bone or other discomfort. A month will tell, then 6 for the long run, but I think this is the right choice for me. I'll be selling one of my B17 narrows on e Bay, but I may hold back on the other for a while.

I hope that doesn't involve dropping shorts and sitting on a photocopier :twitchy:

Something like that, but close your eyes and it will be over in a second.
Everyone's done it. ;)

http://www.specialized.com/specs/spe...eometrysaddles

S

I believe Brooks recommends that with the handle bars level or above seat level, that a saddle like the B67 would be the better choice.

After three weeks with the Standard, I'm noticing a huge improvement. I rode for more than four years with a narrow road bike style saddle, including the B17 narrow, and noticed some issues in the last ten months or so. Since I switched to the wider saddle, the discomfort I was feeling is gone. I was afraid the wider saddle with restrict thigh movement, but it doesn't. As to the pain I was having: Is it possible that at 57 I was just having a prostate issue? Perhaps it's enlarged?

It may simply be your riding posture has changed, or you've developed hot spot where the N hits your sitz bones. I ride both B17s and B17Ns on different bikes. But the B17 invites me to sit back and up a tad more than the narrow. The N is sort of an odd saddle in that you rotate a little more but the nose is so prominent that it gets in the way if you ride in the drops or you've got any significant drop to the bars. It's sort of a strange "'tweener" fit for me, not one I would like to ride every day.

73 degree seat tube and zero set back seat post and the B17 wouldn't go back far enough on it's rails.

Selle Anatomica has a much longer rail adjustment range.