Brooks =
too heavy
too expensive
too uncomfortable

Where would we go to gauge the "real" cycling world? We can't very well go by the 30 people that show up on our regular rides. A large sample size is needed.

The bike corral at an Ohio State game has several hundred bicycles. Are people who ride bikes to get places to do something else not "serious"?

The bike corral at Pelotonia has thousands of bikes but many of them are ridden by charity riders. Are they serious? What if serious money is involved?

The Tour of the Scioto River Valley, TOSRV, has an elevated ratio of Brooks seats but that may be because the demographics skew to the right. Does the arbiter of Serious Cyclists stand at the finish line and yank the cards of any old fart who was not in a paceline for most of the 210 miles?

I have multiple Brooks saddles. Three Brooks "Professional" saddles mounted and in use, another spare I picked up at a good price. One Brooks B-66 mounted and in use, another spare (NOS) that was given to me when Trek was clearing out manufacturer samples they had accumulated over the years. One vintage B-17 found in a box.

Also, several Idéale leather saddles: one mod. 90 mounted and in use, two mod. 92 "Diagonale" mounted and in use.

I used to be a big fan of Selle Italia "Turbo" saddles, but over the years my butt has informed me that it prefers Brooks and Idéale saddles, especially for long rides.

Or cycling perfection.

Certainly for some. But not all.

I used to have one back when I was a serious cyclist.

That is a .75 vote.

I think they taste best as kimchi...

Brooks first, Body Geometry 2nd (though I tend to get uncomfortable on them around 60 miles). At some point I'll give fabric saddles a try.

I answered yes, even though I do not have a brooks on my road bike. I do have one on my single speed hipster wannabe commuter.

I know, they're just for the serious cyclist like stated earlier.

Totally kidding, of course.

For "serious", confine the poll to riders who are either 1) Cat 3 or better or 2) ride 10K miles or more a year for multiple years. Of course, the selection bias will still be there, as I suspect there are more 10K riders on BF than there are Cat 3 or better riders. And the Brooks crowd will show up in the 10K+ portion.

Well dang it. I had 3 cats but one died. Does that disqualify me.

I'm a 1 cat at my house and would love to be a 0 cat. Would that make me a pro?

At the risk of reviving a 10 month dead thread....
Are you still on the C13, and if so, what width, and did you ever ride a C15?

I'm looking to move my C15 Carved off of my Allez Sprint and onto my backup/"follow kids around the park" bike and was looking at getting a C13 for the "fast" bike. I've been perfectly happy with the 140mm C15, but just can't sort out which way to go on if I should get a 132mm or 145mm on the C13. I've comfortably ridden a Fizik Arione CX for a bit, which is I believe also 132, as have I comfortably ridden a few Specialized saddles at 143.

Without starting Yet Another Brooks Thread, I'm looking for comments from those that have ridden both, or general heckling from the peanut gallery.

I am still on the C13. I ride the wide version. I've never ridden a C15, but I have a C17 on another bike. For a fleeting moment, I thought about going to a narrower version of the C13 but then realized that, if I'm comfortable on a C17, there's no real reason to go narrower with the C13.


Before the Cambium series came out, I was a Fizik Arione rider. I still have the TT version of the Arione on my TT bike. But I don't think there's much of a correlation between plastic saddle saddle widths and Brooks saddle widths. The construction differences are too significant (IMLTHO). A wider Brooks saddle ensures that your sit bones sit in the "hammock" rather than on the rail.

Yea, that's kinda the quandary I'm faced with. The 158 C13 is closer to the C17 than either of the others are to the C15, but when we're talking 5-8mm, how much of a difference could there be? None of the shops in the area stock the C13s as they don't sell as well as the C15/17, so I can't get a demo without doing a special order.

I suppose I could do another C15, but as comfortable as it is, it always felt a little bit like sacrilege to have the heavy Cambium on the Allez Sprint. Figured a C13 would somewhat lessen the shame and I could maybe showing my face on the WW boards

I have a 40+ year old Brooks team Professional, Son.

I have two bikes with Champion Flyers mounted. One of them was free, but it was over-treated by the original owner so I'm not sure how long it will last. I also have two nearly new Team Pro's on the shelf waiting for bikes.

Does that make me a Brooks hoarder?

For those who are curious I am 53 and ride touring bikes (one an MTB-convert), and I no longer really give a rip about what others think about my bike and saddle choices, I have nothing to prove. I also have no problem with folks preferring other saddles over Brooks, nothing is perfect for everyone.

I put a Brooks B17 on a recent steel build. I liked it enough to buy another one to put on my carbon bike. I have to admit it's comfortable but not enough to go Gaga over. My old pro logo was comfy too. I don't understand the hate or the die hard loyalty for them. If you like them great. If not, that's fine too.

I have a b67 and a b17 both lovely saddles!!

Yes and no - my only Brooks is on my DL-1, I don't like it but it's original so I leave it there.

I tried a B17 that I really wanted to like. Half way through a tour down the California coast, I was about to throw it in the ocean.

3 Brooks. C15 cambium, B17N and Swallow.

Trying a long ride before adequate break-in is not recommended. A B17 takes a good 300-400 to break in. By then it is well molded to your butt.