used brooks: worth it?
 

so i'm looking to get a brooks saddle pretty soon as my current one has been killing my ass lately. i'm wondering if it's worth it to get a brooks used and pre-broken in or just get a new one and do the breaking in myself. i'm going for a B17 by the way, nothing super fancy.

If it is a well used brooks then it will probably be molded to someone else's butt... But who knows, maybe you'll get lucky and have the same size butt as the previous owner.:) Brooks saddles are the best thing. Go for it.

I'd go buy a new one. Nothing like having your own a*s's indentations on your own Brooks.

yeah, on second thought it's probably best to go for the new one, in case the person was obscenely skinny or fat in which case there'd be a terrible fit issue... though the used one looked pretty softened up, but was probably well broken in by now.

If the saddle was well taken care of (proofhide, kept dry, not over or under tensioned) theres no reason not to get one used if it is in good condition and you can find it cheap. Considering you can find new ones for around $60, i wouldn't pay more than $30-35 for a used one.

if you current saddle is hurting your @ss, i'd suggest getting a new, pre-softened one because a new new brooks will take you quite a long time to break in.

Yep. When you're talking about a more expensive Brooks you're going to save more by letting someone else drive it off the lot, but with a basic B-17 it had better be cheap.

Not so, at least not for everyone. Most B17 owners will tell you that they break in surprisingly fast. Mine gave no pain or numbness on 50+km rides after a week of commuting (14 kms/day) and was nice for 100+ kms about a week after that. This was a huge improvement over my previous gelled, center cutout anus puncher. Keep in mind, these numbers are not supposed to represent the upper limits of mander's ass tolerance vs. Brooks: they are just how far I happened to bike after getting the B17. No lie, over many 1000s of kms the Brooks has not once caused me ass bruises (though it did start to numb as it stretched out, before I tensioned it a bit).

Oddly, used Brooks seem to cost as much or more than a
new ones on eBay. I have a used B17 that I pulled off an
old Crescent bike that I bought at a thrift store and it did
not take long to accomodate the shape of my ass, even
though the thing had not been particuarly well cared for.

CRACK RAIDER RAZOR! sharp.

If you buy a used one, be sure to check the underbelly where it's riveted and look for cracks and wear.

And make sure that it is less than nine years old, like this thread.

Hilarious.

You can find a good used Brooks saddle on eBay or elsewhere that's not TOO formed to someone else's buttocks, for a lot less than new. I've bought a few used Brooks and I've never regretted it.

How much will he offer you to take it off his hands?

Hahaha huh? When is the last time you saw a saddle that had butt indentations in it???

That is exactly what Brooks saddles are famous (and desired) for. They get indentations where your sit bones rest and conform to where other pressures are. They truly shape themselves to the user, like leather shoes over time.

I found one on a thrift store junker a few years ago, and rode it for awhile and never noticed that. Maybe whoever had it before me was my butt doppelganger.

i have the imperial (cuttout) and it broke in nicely but was pretty good from day one. now it is excellent.

Anybody got a link to these "$60 new" Brooks saddles? I'm in the market for a new one. I got mine for free slightly used and the last couple winters were kind of harsh on it. Plus I'd like to mold it to my own arse. Though the super skinny fellow I got mine from said it hurt him, no wonder seemed to fit me like it was made for me.

Been eyeing those cambiums, but just can't seem to drop over a bill on a hunk of rubber stretched across some metal.

saddle is a very personal choice. ive learned the harder the surface the more tolerable it is past 5 miles. thats when cushy seats start to become painful.

Mmmm blistery chaffing.

That post is from 2006, probably pre-hipflation.