Hey all, I'm having an issue with my Brooks B17 Imperial (the one with the taint cutout). The sides are flaring out and I think it is causing some chafing issues, kind of along my butt cheek creases, for lack of a better description.

Some background info:

I have to have the cutout. Tried a regular B17 and had to sell it.

I didn't measure my sit bones before purchase. Just had them measured and they are at 130, with 155 recommended by the Specialized tool. The B17 Imperial width is 170.

I don't think it's my bibs because I get the chafing with other types of shorts as well.

I'm wondering if I had the strings tied too tight from the start to try and keep the sides straight, and it couldn't flex right...

Is there any way to recondition the seat to get rid of the flare?

Man, that thing looks mighty easy to depress. Have you experimented with increasing tension?

The skirt of your saddle is already perforated for laces. Have you tried lacing it to reduce flaring? E.g.: How to Lace a Brooks Saddle.: 4 Steps (with Pictures)

I agree with both of the previous posts. Try tightening it up, then lace it up, that should draw it in.

Both my B17's are cut out, though not by the factory. One is laced, one is not....the laced one does seem more narrow than the skirted one

But go easy on the tightening, no more than one turn at most. Too much will lead to the leather tearing at the rivets. And don't over-treat the leather; a light application of Proofide once or twice a year is plenty.

I'm confused. You say 155 mm is recommended. Brooks says the B17 Imperial is 175 mm: https://www.brooksengland.com/en_us/s...mperial-3.html

Brooks B17 Narrow Imperial is 151 mm: https://www.brooksengland.com/en_us/s...mperial-3.html
Which one do you have? Maybe your saddle is just too wide? Am I missing something? Lacing can't make the cantle narrower, just keeps the skirt from flaring out.

I'm aware that it's perforated for laces. See my comment - "I'm wondering if I had the strings tied too tight from the start to try and keep the sides straight, and it couldn't flex right..."

The issue is that the bottom is not moving at all, and the middle part is flaring out.

I bought this saddle years ago. It's the normal width B17 Imperial (I typed 170 originally, but you are correct it is 175).

I just found out what sit bones were about a month ago when I was researching saddles. I got measured and I am 130mm with a recommendation of 155. So yes, maybe it's too wide.

The issue is that the part just above the lace holes is flaring out, I'm guessing from the laces being too tight.

I got a suggestion from another forum to loosen them, apply Proofide to soften them up and then ride it for a while. Hopefully they will relax and become less flared.

Got it. Seems like sound advice. Even slightly tightening the tension if you never have before. Any chance you might be riding a little too forward on the saddle to compensate for the width? Might be something to look at also. Good luck.

It's not flaring, it's bulging. Flaring is when it happens at the bottom, hence the location of the lacing holes. Your suspicion is correct. It is from over tightening the laces and being under tensioned. Try adding some tension to see if that helps.

I've tightened it slightly a couple times. I've never really been too sure of how much tension was supposed to be on the saddle. It was comfy otherwise and I wasn't touching the rails, so I left it alone.

Maybe on riding too far forward? I've jacked around with my saddle adjustments so many times I lost count. I have a weird build. Six feet tall but with a 30 inch inseam, so I ride a 54cm frame. On my Disc Trucker I actually have a zero setback Thompson seatpost because any setback was too much. I think I'm ok now, though. It's really comfortable except for the flaring/rubbing.

If the laces/tension don't work I would suggest going to the b17 narrow imperial. I measure the same and went with the non-imperial because it measures 151mm and I read that you only want to add 20mm to your sit-bone width.

The laces are far too tight, and there is no longer any vertical integrity on the sides of the saddle.The laces are used simply to keep the bottom edges from being pushed apart, not to pull them in. The pressure relief hole in the center of the saddle greatly reduces it's ability to maintain tension, both front-to-rear, and side-to-side, which is why the laces are added. You might find the Imperial more comfortable, but for myself, I find the standard B17 to be the more comfortable.

I would first try to reestablish correct form. Thoroughly wet the sides, after removing the laces, and reform the sides correctly, and let dry. Then reinsert the laces, only tightening them enough to keep the sides straight. Too much tension caused that bulging.

You may have to get very creative to get that saddle blocked into correct form again.

Here's the fix I came up with for the bulging issue: Brooks B17 Imperial Saddle Reshaping ? Opus And Ingrid Take A Slow Ride

loosen the ties on the bottom

seems a B17 issue, not so on the Team Pro versions, I have owned for decades..