I know :D

I have a wall of the stuff. My goal is to have consumed 100 half-kilo jars before I die. Sure, all that marmite may well be the cause of my death, but it's good to have goals in life.

Nothing else. That's a little harsh isn't it? You haven't even met my mum.

- umm... you forgot some really good lager, eh?

Helen,

I hated, and I mean HATED, my Brooks through the first [x] miles of riding, but I was educated about the process of working it in, so I just grinned and bore it until it worked for me. I paid a lot of attention to fine-tuning the position, like phinney said (that really was an excellent and perfectly written post), and I googled all the processes of oiling and went to work with that. Over time, it has become an extension of my body. It does take a considerable amount of riding for it to get to a point of really intimate comfort; I was okay with the thing after two weeks even, but in the case of my anatomy it took thousands of miles and several months of riding to really work its magic. But during that time, it got progressively better and better until it was perfect, and it remains so to this day.

The REAL bottom line is that no saddle is going to be good for everybody's tastes. You might still have to find something that works better for you. Don't take these opinions in this thread as if they're the law of the cycling world. They're just various fractions of the wide opinion spectrum on this and every other bike-related subject. The very opinionated but mostly respected cyclist-engineer Jobst Brandt even has called Brooks saddles "ass hatchets" because he hates them so much, and he's most certainly talking about broken-in saddles when he uses that term. Even in this case, who is he? His engineering understanding is great, but when you're talking about subjective comfort, someone could have an IQ of 90 and no understanding of bicycle science and have no less valid of an opinion on this type of subject. Obviously, this isn't to say that he's wrong, but that he's just voicing his opinion, just like everyone else.

Give the Brooks more of a chance though, definitely. It won't permanently harm you if you try it for a few months.

-Matt.

EDIT: more good Brit things:

-Withnail & I
-Hetchins, Mercian, Ron Cooper, HR Morris, Ephgrave (oh jeez, etcetera...go to Classic Rendezvous or something)
-David Lean movies
-Pusser's Rum
-The FA Cup
-Shakespeare
-Theatre in general
-Gilbert & Sullivan
-the Beatles
-Samuel Johnson
etcetera...

Don't forget The Widget! If it weren't for the British, I would not be able to enjoy canned/bottled beer that tasted like it came straight from the tap.

Guiness is Irish...

You forgot cucumber sandwhiches.

so's yer Avatar!!

and also the Internal combustion engine :D :eek: :crash:

Okay I add Helen's mum to the list.

nothing else

ummm well, Brit lager is okay (I'd tip my hat to the Germans and Czechs for lager)
The Brits have the Ale thing down, just read up on CAMRA
Ay! A tall pint of IPA or Brown ale... now that's a refresher!

9. Land Rover
10. Rolls Royce
11. Bubbles & Squeak
12. Oat Cakes
13. Triumph Motorcycles
14. H & H Firearms

belfast.. 215lbs here, and I loved both of my brooks' right out the box.

Nothing like staying on the subject, eh boys??
At least you are all still staying somewhat entertaining.
For the record, I'm going for the Brooks. Remember the original post**********??

That's just something I've thought of. I haven't even tried it yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I could be a diehard convert this time tomorrow. (Been swamped at work, haven't been fitted for me bike yet)

Yeah, I vaguely remember something Brooks saddles. I love watching threads take on a life of their own.

Wow, that Rido looks pretty cool.
Is that what you use? If so, what's the cover material like?

YES to Fawlty Towers and Monty Python, Brooks saddles, rolling green hills, Rolls-Royce aircraft engines.
Gotta disagree on Marmite. I know peeps who love it but it looks and smells like dried dog turd to me. ;p

Really good, sharp cheddar is made in Canada though... ;)

Hell is a place in which
the police are German,
the cooks are British,
the mechanics are French,
the lovers are Swiss,
and everything is organized by the Italians.

Given the above statement, I think we can exclude anything food related from the list of good things the British have given us.

This is obviously spoken by a gentleman who has not tasted my food.

OK.. what's your specialty?

If you say blood sausage, I'm running for the hills!

Well, you haven't invited me, have you?

Here's what you do, HelenHeart: Place the saddle and a stone in a vat of boiling oil. Allow the oil to work it's magic. When the stone is soft, boil the saddle for another two days, and voila. It will be ready for the breaking in process.

Seriously, I have two Brooks saddles, and I love them both.

AND I LOVE THE UNITED KINGDOM. I've visited six times and done four cycling trips. I'd go back in a minute.

Had the full version of that on my office wall years ago.

"Heaven is where:
the police are British,
the cooks are French,
the mechanics are German,
the lovers are Italian,
and everything is organized by the Swiss.
Hell is where...
the police are German,
the cooks are British,
the mechanics are French,
the lovers are Swiss,
and everything is organized by the Italians."

;)

Unless, of course, you're mistaken for a "tube" bomber.