Brooks! You have got to be kidding me?
 

Well, I've been asking questions, pouring over threads, PMing all over the place, printing and filling answers,
I have enough info to order my bike and FINALLY my Cannondale T2000 arrives yesterday!!! Yipeee. Then I look at the goddamn saddle. It's a piece of CONCRETE, with BRASS SCREWS.
THIS is what you are all talking about. O MY GOD. Give me a break!! Too old school for this fat ass! I'm going with modern technology, with holes, pads, gaps, bells and whistles.
Sorry Guys!
And it's English-made, to add insult to injury!!!!
HH

Rubbish. Any bloke over 14 stone can break that Brooks in. :p haha, yeah, it REALLY, REALLY hurts. I put the Brooks proofide on a hour before I ride and it still hurts me. My butt even hurts a day or two afterwards when I'm on my motorcycle! So I lowered the angle 1 notch and it feels much better, although I feel myself sliding a bit forward sometimes.

I think the same chap that designed the suspension on the Morgan Plus 4 designed the Brooks. You have air in the tires, why do you need more?

More Brooks for the rest of us then! :D
I gotta say, my Brooks was great directly from wallingford, sure it got better with time, but it was still better then my "fancy, space age, ergonomic" piece of crap right out of the box.

OK .... Ummmm ... you can't tell me in all honesty that you didn't know that's what a Brooks looks like, and that you didn't know that Brooks saddles are English!!!

But that's the great part about them ... they have been made by a company that's been around forever, in a country where half the population cycles, and where a fairly large portion of the population cycles long, long distances. They are tried and true.

And from my own personal experience, I tried a bunch of the "modern technology" saddles and was horribly uncomfortable on them. I tried a Brooks, and with about 3 weeks (800 kms), the saddle was broken in, and has been the most comfortable saddle I've ever owned. In total I've put over 12,000 kms on that saddle in the year I've owned it, and it just keeps getting more comfortable. :)

BTW - I'm a 130 lb girl ... so it isn't like I had to put a lot of weight on the saddle to break it in.

I'd say it's more like wood than concrete.

And you can play drums on it.

[QUOTE=Machka]OK .... Ummmm ... you can't tell me in all honesty that you didn't know that's what a Brooks looks like, and that you didn't know that Brooks saddles are English!!!

Shame/guilt/newbieness....I'm sooo new to cycling. I swear, I nearly dropped dead when I saw the bastard, and it was as I was picking myself off the floor that I noticed the English Emblem!!!! I know us British are hard on ourselves, but ye gods............

Looks like wood, feels like concrete.

Ummmmmm, DON'T SHUT ME DOWN, YOU SENSOR PEOPLE, but what about my s** life, if I decide to go with this thing they call a saddle?

I gotta say, my Brooks was great directly from wallingford, sure it got better with time, but it was still better then my "fancy, space age, ergonomic" piece of crap right out of the box.[/QUOTE]

Damn, now I'm doubting myself, cos you've described the seat I'm looking at swapping the Brooks out with. Argghhhh, I'm so confused.

Wait, the British have sex? :D Be patient, break it in, you'll end up loving it.

Gee, that's the same advice I got about my sex life. :D

Seriously, I think that you'll find the Brooks is a great saddle, yea might be a bit heavy and old school looking, but it works like a champ for a LOT of folks. There are some that never do get it to work, but they tend to be the minority.

If you do a search, you will find a TON of threads around here on saddles, breaking them in, Do's and Don'ts. My advice, follow the directions with it, give it some time, and if it doesn't seem to be breaking in, then look for some of the threads on breaking them in. I DON'T recommend soaking it in oil, neatsfoot or otherwise, that tends to really soften the leather too much.

actually, they are rivets, not screws, and for what it's worth, if you want a saddle like a piece of concrete, then check out this one. He-Man Saddle

Enjoy,

Steve W.

The Real Man is granite, the Big Boy is concrete.

I stand corrected. :D

Steve W.
Who with one of those saddles would be standing ALL the time.

(In an Australian accent) That's not a saddle, this is a saddle:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/images/stonesaddle.jpeg
It's a REAL MAN Saddle. :D

I gave one to my wife. She's been using it for six months. Enough said. :D

You gave one what******************************????

I'm appalled that Cannondale could do such a terrible thing to you. Tell you what, I'll do you a favour and take it off your hands. In return, I'll send you a nice, new, high-tech saddle complete with gel padding and anatomical holes
:D

Yep...looks exactly wot is on me Cannondale

Whatever....you are trying to get the better of me. And here I am, a poor foreigner, is a strange country, just trying to find her (comfortable) way in a plethora of saddles, MOST that don't look or feel like
The Bloody Brooks

Are you female (guessing from the name)? If so, then the Brooks is perfect for you. With it, you should be sitting on your sitbones which will more or less prop you up. That part of your anatomy should barely come in contact with the saddle.

However, if you use something that is soft and squishy, like a gel saddle, your sitbones will sink into it, and that part of your anatomy will definitely come into contact with the saddle and will chafe and feel very uncomfortable.


Yes, the saddle is hard, and it will remain so, but it will conform to your shape like no other saddle and it will become customized to you. You just need a bit of patience and perseverence.

Um, a Brooks saddle. That's what we're talking about, no?

Thanks for the advice.....yes I am seriously rethinking this, after all these posts, arghhhhhhhhhhh!
PS. Did you ever get my PM about Hill Climbing?

Hey, I'm a poor foreigner in a strange country meeself! I'm an Aussie, originally, so I'm used to those stone saddles. I figure a Brooks leather has got to be better than one of those. Not as good as a nice anatomical gel saddle though, but my friends would call me a bloody poofter if I ever bought one :D

Seriously, the way to introduce yourself to your new Brit friend is gradually. Take it out on a 10-20min ride every day. If you do longer rides you probably will feel a bit sore.
After a week, the saddle should develope two "HelenHeart" shaped dimples and will be a lot more comfortable. The saddle will continue to adapt and soften over the next few weeks.
A Brooks saddle is lighter than a plastic saddle+ a suspension seatpost.
If it has the bag loops for Carradice saddlebags, it is lighter than a plastic saddle + a seat-post mounted rack + rack-top bag.

Yeah, it doesn't make sense, a hard saddle feels better.

But on my 248lbs a-s-s, it does! Right out of the box. And feels great now, after a few months of riding.