I have a Brooks Pro I've been riding for about 25 years and it is extremely comfortable. The Unicanitor is an ass-hatchet and will never break in; if you don't like it now you never will. Replace it with a Selle Italia "Turbo" and you won't regret it. You can sell the Unicanitor on eBay and likely get enough for it to cover the Turbo, and then some.

N.B. Avocet mod II (steel rail) and mod III (aluminum rail) are identical to the Turbo and often substantially less expensive.

I stopped by at the bike shop yesterday, and fortunately enough, the lbs sell Brook saddle. I was very thrill with their quality and the shape. I agree with a lot of people that the break-in period is long, but I think it's worth it. I saw one of the sales there own a Brook, and the seat are very nice and soft after it has broken in. I think I will get a Brook for sure.

I have tested my 2 "butt" bone distance, and they said i am a yellow for bontrager. So my width is somewhere in between 146mm. I wondered with that size, which saddle should I look into. Since I have a road bike, and the pressure point of my butt would be in the front. So I wondered if I should buy a narrow seat? Please let me know what you think. Thanks

Steel Man makes a good point about the short rails - I had a Team Pro for a while, and though I found it very comfortable, even with a Thomson setback post I still couldn't get the saddle far enough back. Tried a Swift and that didn't work, I found I was sitting on the rivets. I now ride a Fizik Aliante and have finally found a saddle that works position and shape wise.

siulonbow...the break in period isn't generally long on a Brooks if the right saddle and positioned properly.

The short rail issue with Brooks is a widely known sticking point to long legged riders and Thomson setback posts only offer 16mm of setback. Good news it there are some great 2 bolt setback posts out there now that will get a Brooks back where some need them on frames with more upright sta's.

I am almost there. I've used B17 and Team Pro for the past few years and am finally giving up. Both broke (rivets popped out on B17 and one rail just snapped on the TP) and its just too much of an annoyance to deal with the leather stretching and shrinking wiht changes in humidity (will be just right at 5% RH, then at 90% sags bad) Add in the short rails and me often sitting on rear rivets and I just can't justify getting another one.

The non leather saddle I've been most interested in is the Aliante. So close to getting one, but the LBS sells the Gamma (the basic version) for $150 which is over SRP. (normally the LBS sells competitively with online prices. I can't figure out why they are over SRP unless they don't know the gamma is not the same price as the Ti or C rail versions.)

Anyway, what is a reasonable (not best) price for the basic Aliante?

I'd have to say that having been around Brooks saddles all my life (I'm 57) and having sold them in stores for years, that noisebeams's experience is not common.

Yes, the short rails make Brooks unsuitable for a few who can't solve the issue w/ seatpost, but constuction equals or betters most other saddles.

Of course, I weigh 130lbs, so I don't tend to break any saddles, but I'd bet there are way less instances of broken rails on Brooks saddles, compared to the flyweight saddles now found on most bikes.

Not having sold any Brooks saddles at all, and yet to actually buy one, but definitely having stayed at Holiday Inn Express last night, I would have to agree with Randochap. I noticed on the Brooks website that the difference between the various steel and Ti- railed saddles is about 150 to 250 grams give r take. I think the heaviest saddles ran about 560 grams, or 1.2 pounds. The lightest saddles I've heard of run what - 150 to 200 grams?

So, put another way.....let's say you have a decent road bike that runs 16 to 18 pounds. With a B17 it now weighs 17 to 19 pounds. Probably not that big a deal, all else being equal. I'm kinda curious as to what Project Blue (C-dale CAAD9 frame, SRAM Rival gruppo, Open Pro/Ultegra wheelsets, other components TBD) would weigh with a Brooks, but I'll more than likely get a B17 for the Trek hybrid (which has a very heavy Bontrager Boulevard seat) and see how much I like it. Only time (and money.....dammit!) will tell

BTW that description of racers weighing as much as women and having asses of granite is just a little bit more of a visual than I needed, lol

Tom

I'd say it's more like comparing a Ferrari to a bicycle. Agree with the rest of your post, though.