Brooks, the most popular touring saddle?
 

I really enjoyed looking at the photo's of the loaded touring rigs.
I couldn't help but notice that Brooks saddles seemed to be the most popular among you touring folk.
It would seem that a more modern saddle with all the ergonomic features science and computer aided design can provide
would be more comfortable, but yet the classic leather that's been around forever seems to be far more widely chosen.
No 'comfort' saddles for this lot eh?

Brooks are the most comfortable saddles I've ever tried. So yes ... all my bicycles have "comfort" saddles on them. They've all got Brooks saddles. :)

There is a reason riders who spend big miles in the saddle every day choose a suspended leather saddle....it is for pure comfort. I understand that they are not for everybody, but most people I know who try a Brooks never look back.

I don't care for leather but I like my Cambium (rubber and cotton canvas). Sometimes computers and technology aren't always the way to go. Sometimes they can end up with great stuff and sometimes it is nothing special.

A comfort saddle should be one that is comfortable to the rider while giving good support and relieving pressure on your perineum. Those big heavy wide as a semi truck padded saddles don't give you support or pressure relief. You just sink in like a lazy boy and it weakens your sits bones which can cause that pain on down the line.

"You'll notice that I do call them "saddles," not "seats." There is a reason for this. A "seat" is something you sit on, and is designed to bear essentially your entire weight. Recumbent bicycles have "seats," but conventional upright bicycles have saddles. A saddle is intended to carry some, but not all of your weight. The rest of your weight is mainly carried by your legs, and some by your hands and arms." Sheldon Brown A Comfortable Bicycle Saddle

Brooks can be great for long-distance but the fans often forget the numerous problems.

1. Break-in. Sometimes fine from the beginning or sometimes fine after some break-in. But then if it's still not comfy that's a lot of time & often some $$ for the experiment.

2. Sway--even Brooks Pro can sway & I've seen scary pictures of swayed B-17's. People love 'em but they hardly resemble as when new. Other B-17 riders show saddles that remain fairly flat on the top. Supposedly sway is controlled by tension nut but many riders report re-tensioning doesn't work very well.

3. Shape/dimensions: Brooks' website is not clear about much of this, buyers have to rely on web postings. B-17 has the flared skirt which many riders don't like so they're forced to lace. Some Brooks saddles pre-drilled for lacing, others not (?). Brooks' triangular style (from above) can be an impediment to proper fit vs many plastic saddles that have a smoother transition from rear-nose.

4. Cost: fairly high & rather exorbitant for special models.

5. Using light colored shorts/pants might pick up dye &/or ProofHide.

I have a lot of friends and family, including myself, who routinely ride 20,000 miles per year and have over 500,000 miles in the saddle who would never use a Brooks saddle. Some of us used them 'way back in the day, before quality saddles were available, but we tossed them as soon as a better option became available.

I do see a lot of low-mileage folks and very sedate riders who enjoy their Brooks saddles. I suspect this is because they do spread the load across the entire contact region which can feel comfortable for shortish rides. This is also the reason us high-mileage folks don't use them; they put too much pressure in the perineum for our likiing. (We've got other uses for those nerves and blood vessels.:innocent:)

Low-mileage folks ... like ... randonneurs doing 1200K randonnees. Mmm-hmm. :rolleyes:

Really, people should use Gilles Berthoud saddlea as those are superior in every way to the brooks. I'd use one if they had a model wide enough.

But now I use a Terry Figura which could maybe be considered a comfort saddle but also disappears from under you.

I just swapped out the stock saddle on my 2014 LHT for a B17. The final straw came when I did my first test run. I biked about 120 miles over three days and barely was able to finish. By the end I would pedal for 10 seconds, stand up on my pedals to relieve the pressure for another 10, and then start over. You can imagine the momentum I lost. So far with the B17 I'm happy. The first 20 mile ride was pretty rough, however, it seems to be getting better with each ride including a 30 mile today with almost zero discomfort. In hind sight I should have gone with an Imperial, but other than that only time will tell if I made the right investment.

Leather is simply comfortable! Unlike gel, which gets worse after you ride a few miles, leather remains supportive throughout your ride.

Its hard but it keeps sensitive tissue from sinking where it shouldn't and causing discomfort.

The leather saddle has been around for a long time for good reason.

A leather saddle conforms to the shape of your butt. Its like wearing good leather shoes. After you break them in, it feels good. Give it time and you'll know you made the right decision.

I have a B-17, broke it in with about 1,000 miles. Then put it on my 520 for a cross-country last year. I loved it until after about the 5th 100-plus day, then it was just part of the bike. Eventually, I went with a Selle SMP TRK saddle - and that seems to fit me better for long trips. Both great saddles but I like the shape and channel on the Selle better. The Brooks now sits proudly on my wife's vintage Mixte. YMMV.

I use Brooks, and have one in reserve from when Nashbar had them at 67 bucks. They might be the most popular among people who post pictures of their bikes online, but they are not liked by everyone, and they cost a lot, so I doubt they meet everyone's needs enough to be most popular among tourists.

Basically break in is just a mater of ignorance. I work leather and have posted here many times what is required. If people want to ignore the correct way to deal with leather, so be it. It should take about 5 minutes.

Probably mostly abuse or ignorance. They won't last for ever, but they certainly last longer than almost any other type of saddle. 1/4 of leather will last a lot longer than foam covered in paper thin vinyl. Tension will deal with stretching out. Sway is covered by loss of structural integrity, or shape holding. Leather in hard form is a bit like a starched shirt; there are various factors contributing to the shape holding, you beat those out, it is limp for ever, though unlike starch, you can't re-stiffen leather. To get the sit bones imprinted you need to upset the leather very locally. But anything else you let cause damage to the saddle will eventually cause it to fail. Mechanical abuse; lounging on it in weird ways; banging it around in shipping or storage; modifying it with potions; too much water; Riding it when wet. Modern materials are often no-care. Leather is old school, it is rugged, but it requires care. You have to know what to do and what not to do, and it can be ruined altogether.

I don't know what you are talking about here. What is lacing? Not a problem for me, but always interesting to learn.

I have to agree with you there. Even expensive at the discounters.


Simple solution is use the russet, and don't overcoat, wear black, like a cyclist should. Basically a non-issue.

Fair points though. The main problem is wet weather. Non-issue to handle it, but with some other saddles it's a no-issue.

Gyes of Taiwan is good... their North American distributor moved to my home town.

Whether one likes or dislikes Brooks saddles, it's all about comfort for the touring rider. Personally I don't stray too far from the shape of a Selle Italia Flite.

Brad

I ride for 500 miles and end up with a custom made saddle, specific to my anatomy. Maybe some day you'll be able to 3D print a custom saddle, but for last 150 years Brooks has worked for many.

Two points...

1. Brooks saddles may seem the most common for touring riders based on reading the forums, but on the road the percentage I see is a lot lower.
2. Not everyone finds them more comfortable. I know that for me mine was just OK when new and as it broke in got worse instead of better.

Personally I like more modern saddles better and opt for one like I would use for road racing or other go fast riding.

Oh and someone mentioned gel... I avoid gel saddles like the plague.

I think I'm one of the odd ones with Brooks, I'm neutral. I have a B17 and I can say its the best saddle I've ever had, but then again I haven't had a lot of saddles. I've got over 3K miles on it so it ought to be broken in, but after about 35-40 miles I can start to feel the saddle and on mult-day tours I feel it everyday after day one. I've never had to tighten the tension nut, the leather is still pretty stiff, even after using proofride twice a year for several years, maybe I've got one with extra thick hide.

+1.

Also, there are a seemingly infinite variety of saddles out there. Even if 2 out of 10 bikes out there are fitted with Brooks saddles and other 8 are
fitted with 8 other makes, Brooks would be considered the most popular but not choice of the majority.

I have a Trek 520 touring bike with a Brooks saddle that has worked well for me. I also have a Trek 4500 mountain bike that I put on a Brooks saddle and it worked less well. I'm still figuring out the right angle for nose, but still hasn't been quite as comfortable as my touring bike. My commuting bike has a non-Brooks saddle it came with and seems to work ok.

Popular On this forum Section Or Planet wide.. ?


Selle Royale Italy Bought Brooks and spent More on Advertising an began cranking up the Volume..

Use the search function, here, and count.

I really like my Brooks Cambium C-17 for my commuting/touring bike. Great for wet weather and zero break in time. Very comfortable right out of the box. I use a Specialized Toupe on my road bike and WTB Rocket V on my MTB, which are also very comfortable. I think riding position calls for different saddles. More upright, more padding, less upright, less padding. The Brooks works best in between.

I would not say I am a big Brooks fan, but I am a leather saddle fan. My errand bike has a plastic saddle because I store that outside in the rain and snow, but all my other bikes that get used for high mileage all have leather saddles.

I am old enough that I remember Ideale saddles, they were also a good saddle and one friend still uses one. And I have a Wright leather saddle that came new on one of my bikes in the 1970s. But, Brooks appears to have survived while a number of other quality saddle makers did not. There are a few others out there, like Berthoud or Selle Anatomica, but they just do not seem to get much market share.

The leather saddles I am using are Brooks. The Conquest on my touring bikes and my foldup bike. Have a B-17 on my trainer (for indoors exercise), a Pro on a vintage Italian racing bike and a Flyer that I occasionally use for mountain biking.

But I would not insist that a new saddle be a Brooks if I bought another, I would consider the other leather saddles too.

Everybody is different. I have a friend that bought a C-17 and tried it, did not like it. He loaned it to me, I think he was hoping I would buy it off of him. I put it on my bike with the intent to give it a 20 mile test. But after a quarter mile, I went back home and put on a leather saddle.

I think the Cambium saddle will work well for those that like a Brooks right out of the box, but I prefer a Brooks that has had some serious riding and breaking in.

And it is not the shape of the C-17 that put me off, the C-17 is not the same shape as the B-17, the C-17 shape is closer to the Conquest or Pro and I prefer those models.

I rode a Brooks Pro saddle for about 25 years. I'd replace it in the winter with a more weather resistant saddle to better handle our wet riding conditions. I thought it was reasonably comfortable. I used to tell my wife that if they need to identify my body, dental records would not be necessary; they could just use my Brooks for the match. However, I got a new "winter" saddle about 15 years ago, and it was so comfortable that I started using it for long rides and touring. The brooks never went back on any of my bikes. I'm still using the same model "winter" saddle today.

There are other good options besides Brooks saddles. If you found something that work for you, keep using it. However, I found out, almost by accident, that what seemed to be working for me could really be be improved.

+1


"On the road" around town, club rides, supported centuries, yeah, they're pretty rare.

"On the road" on tours and longer rides, somewhere around half to three quarters of the riders I see are on Brooks.