No, not this kind of B17:



This kind of B17:



This goes on my Surly Long Haul Trucker. I got home from a business trip this afternoon, and promptly unpacked it and gave it a good proofide treatment, top and bottom. I then set it out on the front porch to warm up a little in the sun.

I measured my old saddle (a Wilderness Trail Speed V), and found that, from rails to top of saddle, the Brooks is about 1/2" shorter. I also measured the fore/aft position of the WTB so that I could duplicate it with the Brooks. I was pleased to see that the seatrails on the Brooks will interface with my seat post to give me exactly the same fore/aft position, so all I have to do is raise the seatpost about 1/2" to duplicate the position.

After the Brooks "cooked" for few hours in the afternoon sun, I took it to the garage and did the switch. I didn't have the opportunity to ride it yet, but I did give it a "test sit". Wow! That puppy's hard!

In browsing through the "Loaded Tourers" pics on this site, I notice that some Brooks Saddle riders seem to have the front of the saddle tilted up at an extreme angle. What's the deal with this? Right now I have mine set pretty much dead-level, but I'll take my allen-wrench set along on the first few rides just in case I have to make any adjustments.

Tomorrow AM I'll go for my usual loop and see how it feels.

I have seen a few pics where people have the saddle tilted up quite a bit. I do not see how that can be comfortable. Some say they do it until the saddle breaks in as it can be slick when it is brand new.

But I keep mine perfectly level.

I think if you let it sag a lot you can have it tilted up. Mine was up a little but I have adjusted it level due to numbness issues.

Slightly up is where mine is at. I have about 900 miles on mine. Flat level didn't work for me as I tended to slide forward. The slight nose up keeps me on the sweet spot of the saddle.

Brooks recommends a slight up-tilt. Brooks saddles are like no other, and you may set the thing as close to your old settings as you can, and still have a completely different feel when you get on it for the first time.

Some 17's come from the factory with a dead flat spine, while others come with a slight concave, or even a convex spine. It doesn't matter. Even though you have your's set level right now, it will flex concave immediately as you begin riding. After 200 to 700 miles, it will stay that way for a very long time. If you ride it level, the flex will dump you forward onto your perineum, with the seat portion high. This might work for you, but I doubt it.

Set up the saddle so just the seat portion is level with the ground. The peak will end up where it will. It's purpose is to keep you back where you belong - on your ischials, not your perineum. But, the setup needs to be done in conjunction with the handlebars, which, with a 17, should be level with, or above the peak. It's not a racing saddle. If you feel pressure on the perineum, scoot the saddle forward a little, maybe 2 or 3 mm at a time, keeping an eye on Knee Over Pedal (not a huge factor as long as you stay in the ball park).

Take a good look at the saddles you see that are raised in front. I think you'll notice that the seat portion is about level on most of them. With proper bar height, and good for and aft placement, you won't even feel the peak at all. Counter-intuitive, but true.

The tilt-up also comes from improperly treating the saddle leather. When ill-informed riders soak the saddle in oil or anything of that sort, it stretches much more than it normally would. This makes it more comfortable at first, but it quickly goes out of tension. This makes it sag and acquire the incredibly concave shape you see on a lot of poorly-used Brooks saddles. One more reason to use only proofide.

Like jcm says, the saddle will become concave over time. But a properly-tensioned B17 should require only slight deviations from level to keep the sweet spot.

My girlfriend just got her B68. I have put it level, but after some riding, she said that she is sliding forward.
I then tilted the saddle one click, very little, and now she don't slide anymore. She do looks like she seats better now.

Great Picture of the B-17 WWII bomber....O yeh the saddle is magnificient also.

I went for a 14 mile ride this morning - boy, was it hot. The saddle felt pretty good. Very slippery, which I kind of like. It did seem like I was putting more pressure than normal on my hands, though. I stopped and adjusted the saddle twice - the first time I moved it forward about 1/2 inch, and the second time I moved it back about 1/4 inch.

Maybe I'm missing something, but the seatpost I have didn't seem to allow for any tilt. There is one metric allen-head bolt that goes vertically up through the bottom of the set-back portion into a kind of nut. The seat rails clamp between a grooved plate on top and a correspondingly-grooved casting on the top of the seatpost.

Do they make non-tilting seatposts?

Well, this is the tilt mechanism Just loose the bolt until you can move the upper plate one click forward, the tighten the bolt. Its like the upper plate swings on the down plate (if they didn't have grooves).

Kipi, you were right! What I thought was a monolithic machined piece is actually two pieces, and allows for some tilt. I cranked in a little up angle, and it seems a bit better - not so much weight on my hands, but could probably stand even more tilt.

I rode only about 10 miles today - I didn't get to start until early afternoon and it was VERY HOT! I cut my ride short because I was feeling the effects of the heat and was running out of water.

Anyway, the Brooks is feeling better and better. I'll ride it some more in about 10 days (leaving on a 1 - 1/2 week business trip tomorrow).

Here's a pic I just took:

Man, youre making me jealous with you talk of your new b-17. I ordered a B-17 special(the green one), back on the 25th of september, off of the E-bay. After suffering through the vagaries of two postal systems and Canada customs, I STILL don't have my damn saddle. I'm dieing to try it out as I've heard so many good things about Brooks saddles in general. I've got my little tub of proofide waiting to go and my bike is ready too. Just wish they would hurry up and deliver the damn thing already.

I never soaked mine in oil or anything and the middle of my saddle touches the black bars underneath now when Im sitting on it.

That started at about 5k and now I am at about 8k on it.

I have not tensioned it because I have read that once you start doing that its a short down hill from there to the trash can.

I expected the saddle to last decades from what I read. What gives? Should I just tension it and go on with my life or what?

Yeah, go ahead and tension it. Give it one full turn to start with. Less than that won't be enough, by the sound of it. You may need more but I wouldn't do it all at once. Give the hide a few days to relax, then another turn if need be. Laying off the leather treatments is good. It sounds like this one doesn't need any potions, and you don't want to soften the rivet holes.

Most of them can last decades, while some don't. It doesn't sound like yours is dying, it just gets used alot.

tpelle:
A tad more tilt.