Understood. From the original post, I had no idea what you were actually asking.

On descents out of the saddle, do you grip the saddle between your legs to help control the bike? If you do, the Brooks is too slippery for that too (not just when you are seated). I wear baggies, and the Brooks is too slick even with those.

If climbing is important, are you seriously going to put a 1+ pound saddle on your bike? And if you don't spend much time in the saddle anyway, why do you want such a fancy saddle? Surely some standard thing with kevlar wings would be sufficiently durable.


On the issue of durability, leather and rain/mud are not a good combination. If your saddle becomes soaked during usage, you can permanently stretch the leather. The commuter solution to this is to put a plastic bag over it during rain- hardly suitable for trail riding.

And if you let mud dry on/under the saddle, the mud will leach the oils out of the leather, causing it to go brittle. Continual cleaning or reapplying Proofride becomes boring.

These are all worst case examples- I've used a Brooks for occasional MTB in dry conditions for a couple of years. But these saddles are just fundamentally not suited to mountain biking. The only good reason I can think of for a Brooks on a mountain bike is to look different.

BTW, Sheldon Brown has a good article on Brooks. Not MTB specific, of course, bit it should give you an idea of the maintenance required to look after one.

Well, on descents I am usually behind the saddle...I don't pinch anything.

I'm not terribly concerned with the extra weight (1/2 pound actually b/c mine now is 300g the Brooks I was looking at was 530g).

The real reason I was looking at a Brooks was the same that I'm researching Rohloff drivetrains. I have read about Brooks saddles lasting 30yrs. Lately I'm replacing my saddle every 1.5 yrs or so.

As I posted before, there are occasions when I skip the trail and hammer out a road ride...or do a smoother trail now and then. I think a comfortable saddle would be nice instead of making my peepee go to sleep.:D

I don't care too much about looking different, though I feel the Brooks are kinda uglish. The more I look at them, the more I don't mind.





I do agree on the rain/mud durability though. I don't get into rain/mud much. Occasionally, I go out when it's sloppy but I can throw my beat up Bontrager or SanMarco on it for that. I will have three posts, four saddles, and only two bikes at that point.

I ride my Brooks Champion flyer in dry conditions and have absolutely no problems with it. It's a sprung saddle so it weighs more than the B-17, but I never notice the weight. On the trails I ride I spend a good amount of time seated and with a sprung saddle it is much, much more comfortable staying in the saddle when I climb and when I go over rougher terrain. My back thanks me. :D

I've got a B17 on my MTB and love it. I haven't had any problems with it being slippery.

I don't believe that a brooks saddle will last anywhere near that on a Mtn Bike if you actually mountain bike. I have a B-17 on my road bike and I really like it, but I've never thought about putting one on a mountain bike. I have seen one person who had a B17 on a mountain bike, I asked the guy about it and he said that was the only saddle he would use and he had one on every bike he owns. The one I saw was dried out and cracked up.

Joke works better with the picture:D

Now I know what your "search for pie" is a euphemism for.

I have Brooks B-17 on everything I ride. And, I have, I think, every version of the B-17 that Brooks makes....Champion Standard, Champion Special and Champion Flyer. The only difference between the Standard and the Special is the copper rivets and rails that the Special has. And, the Flyer is a saddle with springs that I have on a vintage Schwinn Varsity. My MTBs are a '94 Schwinn Sidewinder and a '96-ish Trek 830 Mountain Track. They both sport unsprung B-17s. I think Brooks actually recommends sprung saddles for MTBs. Having said all that, I will say that I don't really mountain bike. My bikes are used on the greenway, streets, rails-to-trails and general use bike trails. Brooks B-17 saddles are the most comfortable saddle I have EVER used! I love the B-17!

If you want to try a Brooks, get on this site

www.wallbike.com

This is Wallingford Bikes in New Orleans, and they have a 6 month return policy. So, you can try it, and if you don't like it, you can return it. Read more about their policy on their site. They are also very good about returning emails that you send to them.

Brooks, like baseball mitts, will last as long and be as comfortable as you make them. In the road or SS forum, there's how-to's on break-in and conditioning procedures, weatherproofing, cleaning, and routine maintenance. If you don't oil them occasionally (like all leather products that are in constant exposure to sweat and the elements), they will dry and crack. Keep it in good shape, and it will stay in good shape.

I use a Team Pro on my roadie, and swap it to my MTB all the time. Never had a problem with slipping...ever. Cleans up with a rag, and looks good, too.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.;)

So far, the only complaints I'm hearing are that the saddles are too wide. That's due to the fact you bought the wrong model. The Professional and Conquest are the models you should have gotten. The Conquest is basically a Professional top on a sprung base. It gives you some suspension but is narrow enough to slide easily back and forth on. Brooks even states that in their literature. It was designed specifically for the MTB rider. Good luck

Tim

For the casual recreational rider, yes. But for someone who is at a higher level of riding, then the wide saddle tends to get in the way.

I have a Brooks B17 on each of my road bikes and I have a Flyer (B17 with springs) that I use whenever I make a Frankenbike multi-purpose bike from an old MTB frame. I wouldn't think of using anything else on long road rides. But I don't use a Brooks on the Rockhopper I use for singletrack. It just doesn't seem like a good application to me. But I don't see anything wrong with it if that's what someone wants to do. It's just not what I choose to do.

What seems out of place to you...specifically? Just saddle width? Leather:elements issue?

So I'm not the only one...:D (I have a Selle Italia)

But I must say....that is one loooooooooooooooooooooooooong saddle you got there.

you know what they say about guys with longs saddles, right??.................................


they have long butts:p

Hard to say. Since I don't sit for hours on the MTB, the reasons I prefer Brooks on my road bikes don't really come into play. Part of it is style, I guess. I'm a bit of a retrogrouch with my road bike preferences, lugged steel frames, friction shifting, etc. On a 27 speed, beer can framed MTB with suspension front fork and a Thudbuster seatpost that I rarely ride for more than 3 hours, it just doesn't cry out for a leather seat.

Yah - I've got a Selle Italia Trans Am on my mtn bike, and it suits me quite well. I'm moving to a more padded seat on my road bike, but it's got a love canal and ti rails too. I have a sprung Brooks sitting on a shelf at home. It came on a CX bike I got a few years back, and it was one of the least comfortable things I've had to sit on in a long time. I might make it into a wheel truing stool or something, but i'm sure as hell not going to put it on a bike.

I'm using Terry Fly saddle on my MTB. It worked fine for a couple of hours on the road bike, but on longer rides it started to get painful. Seems to be fine for offroad work.

One man's trash is another man's treasure. My 3 Brooks saddles are by far the most comfortable bike saddles I've ever used. Nothing else comes close.