Spent almost a year trying to get comfortable on a Brooks B17, with no luck. I always had too much pressure on my lady bits. Just purchased a Selle Italia Lady Diva Superflow and can finally ride without pain with one exception- my seat bones are as sore as they would be if I had not been riding for months! I am thinking that this is not a bad thing as it means they were probably never positioned correctly on the Brooks, and now my weight is where it should be. Thoughts?

Yup, probably takes getting used to. It takes around 1 month to get used to a new saddle.

Might be just the change of saddle and the way your sit bones and other structures have to adjust to the new saddle.

Sometimes a change from doing all short rides to much longer rides can trigger the same feeling even with the same saddle.

You have to do your own assessment of whether that's the reason for your pain though.

Welcome to BF!

If you were having too much pressure on your lady bits, your seat was most likely too high, too far forward, you had too great of reach, or a combination of the three. Usually with a Brooks, if you experience pain in that area, the seat is too high.

The round top profile of Brooks tends to cause pressure in the center region.

It's a bigger problem for women and lightweight riders in general because there's not enough weight to "break it in". That thing you put on leather to make it softer for breaking in might be the solution for smaller riders that use Brooks.

Ummm, if you get pain in the lady bits, or perineum, the seat is not adjusted correctly for the rider, i.e. too high usually. I am a lightweight rider as well. I too had pain, I then learned how to properly set seat height.My seat was too high, as set by a "fitter". Many thousands of miles later my Brooks B17 still is comfortable. Regardless of how the seat is made, once it is on the bike, it must be adjusted for the rider's comfort, which takes the shape of the saddle into account though default.

Hmmmm. I really loved the way the Brooks looked on my bike, but my seat is at the lowest position. I am 5'2" and riding a 49cm steel gravel/touring bike.

You might try changing the angle of the new saddle. Not every one loves how Brooks ride.

But is the lowest position the proper height for your leg length? You'll sit heavier when pedaling with some normal to a lot of power on a saddle that is too low than as saddle that is at it proper height.

I know a woman who got so bad on a Brooks riding PBP that she took 6 months to heal. Yeah, it's a real thing. Gotta have the cutout. I also rode a Superflow and also got sore sit bones which didn't seem to get better with use. My wife went to a Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow, not the Superflow. It looks just like the men's MAN saddle but very slightly different shape. Works for her and other women with whom I ride, no apparent time limit. The slot is obviously smaller, but good chance it'll work. Everyone's different.

I used to do fine with a leather seat when I was younger (40 years ago), so I ordered a Brooks Imperial 6 years ago with high confidence that it would work for me. I found the cutout of too small. It's not a panacea. If the B17 hurts, I wouldn't buy the B17 Imperial without a return guarantee. I'd look for something with a bigger cutout - Selle SMP? Selle Italia?