RJM

I've never treated my brooks saddle to anything....the leather is supposed to be hard.

FixedFiend626

How long exactly (or how many miles) does it take to break in a B17? Is it torture until broken? I have a pretty bony ass so not sure I could more than a few hundred k's.

I had a pretty minimal saddle-to-bar drop when I first installed it (as I like a fairly upright position these days) but when I couldn't seem to get it comfortable I lowered it quite a bit (and then eventually slammed the stem) thinking that I had too much weight on my ass/sit bones. No dice. While the length of the saddle flexes noticeably more than others, the actual surface of it is quite hard.

MattFoley

I seriously considered a Cambium, but kept reminding myself that I hated my B-17...personally, I prefer a nice lightweight road saddle for pretty much every riding situation.

1986raleigh

I used the brooks proofhide from underneith for a month (probably 200 miles as I was a new rider) it was very hard with no signs of breakin.

I gave up and oil soaked it overnight, it started to develop just enough flex to allow my bony sit bones to form divits, it has held the same condition for the last three yrs, it seemed to reach a level of broke in that is just right and stopped.

It is still hard, and not swaybacked, I have not had to adjust the nut for stretch or anything, now I just ride in comfort.

I aint saying it is the best or most comfortable saddle out there, it is the first one I bought to replace the original 1986 raleigh saddle, it worked so I kept it.

My success may not be your success, and I take no responsibilty for anyone but me oil soaking their brooks.

brianmcg123

LOL. Good catch. I thought that post was ridiculous, now even more so.

RaleighSport

Asses are very personal, I was told leather brooks take forever to break in and aren't fun before that point. I got a B-17 and loved it right out of the box... It's all personal man. You don't like cambiums so find a good saddle for you!

pdedes

I'm old enough to write with deliberate ironic intent.

still an accurate and non-ridiculous post.

RJM

I've never had a problem with a b17 being comfortable right out of the box, but I do futz around with set up for the first hundred or so miles. I believe the B17 really shines when your saddle to bar drop is even or bars above an inch or two. I haven't found it to be the best saddle with the bars an inch or so below the saddle.

I do generally futz with the setup of the saddle, and I like it with the nose tilted very slightly upward. Some people do really hate them, but for me they are the best out there.

Dannihilator

It is personal preference in regards to what feels right to you and your sit bones. For me, I like a narrow saddle with a little padding, like the Bontrager Affinity RXL.

Also, brooks saddles don't work for me since I feel that they are in my way.

Sullalto

It took 3-4 months of riding 100-300 miles a week for sit bone divots to start appearing on my b-17 imperial.

It was firm right out of the box, but supportive in the right places. Now it's softer, but I loved it while firm as well.

fa63

I have a Cambium, and like it a lot. That said, comparisons to other Brooks saddles seem a bit pointless because the Cambium is not leather (and requires no break in) and the shape of the saddle doesn't really resemble the other Brooks saddles. To me, the Cambium pretty much feels like a wider version of the Selle San Marco Regal (whose shape I liked as well but found a bit narrow for my tastes). I have also found that it feels the best with the middle third of the saddle level; I tried running it slightly nose up at first and that didn't feel very good.

The other question that needs to be asked is: how confident are you that your fit on the bike is good? I ask this because there was a period where it felt like I couldn't get comfortable on any saddle and it turned out to be that my saddle too far forward. After correcting that, I can now ride pretty much any saddle for 2 hours or less without any major discomfort (though of course some feel better than others, especially on longer rides).

gl98115

Saddles are a highly personal/subjective thing.

mud

Now that's a real Brooks.......third bike I've had it on.....

JohnJ80

Never looked at it in quite that way. I think you may be on to something here.

J.

RoadMike

My mountain bike and gravel bike both have B-17's on them and I must say, They are super comfy for long easy days in the saddle. They worked right out of the box for me, comfy from the get go. My road bike has a fizik Arione on it and that works great for me on that bike, and with 7 inches of saddle to bar drop on it, I highly doubt I could ride it with a B-17, the shape of which the C-17 imitates.

Different bikes under the same butt often require different saddles, not even figuring in the fact that everyone has a different preference in saddle characteristics. If a Brooks saddle is uncomfortable to you, sell it on eBay and try a different saddle. Brooks makes tons of different shaped saddles for different purposes. I would be looking at a Brooks Swallow if I wanted to bolt a leather covered anvil to my Carbon Fiber bike...but I don't want to do that.