so far for the saddle i'm looking at the brooks b17, but i am also looking at the sprung versions such as the champion flyer. are spring saddles generally good for fixed bikes? i generally use my bike for commute, but go up and down the manhattan bike path on the west side once or twice a week, so i need a saddle good for both travels.

i was just thinking about getting any carbon fiber seatpost.

any suggestions/criticisms would be helpful. thanks.

oh right i'm also 5'10 and would like to know the recommended seatpost length.

i'm also considering a non-leather saddle, but don't knwo which one.

Seatpost length depends on frame size and how high you have the post out of the frame, not on height.

sprung saddles mean a slight loss of power in the bounce, also a lot of people don't think they're comfortable, seatpost length and what seat is comfortable is too individual for someone to be able to tell you over the internet

I recommend the Salsa Shaft. With a Brooks you may need a little more setback due to the shorter rails, and the cam adjustment makes it very easy to get the correct saddle angle dialed in. The Thomson Elite is also an excellent post -lighter and a little more $$$.

Saddle-wise I don't think springs are really necessary unless you're traveling really rough streets. I think you'd be better off running chubbier tires at lower pressure - also heavier (like a sprung saddle) but you get more traction in addition to cushioning.

yeah, that's what i thought the spring saddles would do. i'll probably go with the b17.

now as for the seatpost, the shaft looks interesting. what about carbon? are they recommended?

Sprung leather saddles are nice on touring bikes, but are weighty and noisy. Carbon posts tend to slip, Salsa Shaft is squeaky

Go for Thomson if you can afford it, but basically almost any two-bolt micro adjustable will do fine. Selle Italia saddles to try are the Flite, SLK, SLR and XO (cheap!). Also, condider WTB saddles if you dont mind the design

thomson is my favorite, kalloy works and I like selle italia slrs

I think Brooks saddles look terrible on most bicycles. They can look sweet as, but it has to be nicely matched with a regal looking steed, in my opinion.

I'd advise against WTB saddles. I rode one for a few months and found myself waking up in the middle of the night with shooting pains in my netherregions. It was not fun. Talked with my doctor, was a bit worried, got a new saddle, stopped waking up with those pains.

But, as we like to say 'round here, saddle preference all depends on your arse design, so maybe you'll love them. I don't know how you tell if you have a narrow grundle area, but I like a narrow saddle. Love Flites, Rolls can be nice, but are a bit wide.

thompson for the post. easy to adjust and forget. with my campy post you have to futz with it to get it to the position you want. two bolt designs just seem to be a little bit easier.

brooks saddles are nice. BUT dont make the mistake i made. I was cheap at the time and i opted for a b17 standard. I went through the neccesary break in period but then something else started to happen. I'm 6'3" and 165 on a good day. I started to notice that the width of the saddle was starting to make my glutes hurt after 10 miles. if you go for a brook i would splurge a little and get something narrower. I switched over to a narrow turbomatic saddle and its been nothing but butter. Brooks+rain=one ugyly ass saddle. it begins to look like a melted piece of plastic. My turbo on the other hand just makes my ass red when it gets wet, the dye bleeds silly.

Thomson's are badass. Light as a feather, and easy to adjust. And they look sick.

The b17 narrow is what I'm riding now and it's a great saddle. It took a few months to become comfy even when I picked up a used one on ebay.

I use a sprung Brooks for my townie, a standard B-17 on my fixie and a narrow B-17 on my cross bike, and a Swallow on the roadb bike. Generally if you are more upright the sprung saddle works great but if are not really sitting on it it's just dead weight. If you ride in the rain a lot you'd better use some leather conditioner on it and carry a plastic grocery bag for when you lock it up.

+1 Thomson seat post. Forget carbon.

+2 Thomson; Fizik Gobi

get a nice comfy San Marco Rolls or a Supercorsa, unless you want to wreck your chances of ever having kids, in which case, get a Brooks!