George

Which saddle did you end up with?

tony colegrave

[QUOTE=George;7796694]........... I have about 5000 miles on the saddle and never touched the bolt.

I'd guess that this is the reason for your 'problem'. Looking at the picture that you've posted, it seems pretty clear that the tension was extremely slack and it doesn't surprise me at all that the bolt broke.

George

[QUOTE=tony colegrave;7804427]I don't know how you can say that with the saddle laying face down. It did not need any tension at all. You couldn't even see any butt prints on it

Machka 

It was 800 kms for me on my first Brooks ... and then it became the most comfortable saddle I've ever ridden. I've got something in the neighborhood of 35,000 kms on it now ... and it is still the most comfortable saddle I've ever ridden.

I just installed my second Brooks on my trainer and rode it for about 5 minutes to test the setup. It's already more comfy than my first one was at first!!

acantor

It could be that that the sheared off bolt was underengineered to begin with. Is this a component that could be replaced with something beefier?

On the other hand, saddles are exposed to a lot of forces, and during the normal course of things, I would expect even the best designed models to break down. After all, the second law of thermodynamics applies to everything in the universe, and Brooks saddles are definitely of this universe! (I hope that I am not uttering a blasphemous statement...)

To the OP, I am sorry that you are having this problem. If it is any consolation, all of my saddles have lasted anywhere from 2 to 10 years before breaking. My first Brooks saddle is two years old, and showing signs of minor wear, but nothing catastrophic... so far.

George

I'm thinking about trying the Terry Liberator Ti Race Saddle next. Have any of you had any luck with it?

Rowan

So, George, I notice in the picture that the saddle is as far back as it would go on the seatpost clamp.

Now... at no stage did you try to force it even further back in the clamp? You didn't give it a bit of bang on the nose to make it move back? In the hope that the rails might open up a bit and it might be a bit more comfortable? I mean, if I remember rightly, you did post often about comfort issues initially.

You haven't dropped the bike at all? On the saddle? Do you pick the back of your bike up by the seat? I mean, the rear of a Brooks seems to be so well designed for the hand. If anyone tries to pick up my bikes by the seat, they might be lucky to have a hand left when I finish with them.

You see, I am working some of the JRA issues here. I know of only one other Brooks that had a broken adjusting bolt, and it happened in front of me, right after PBP. It was my old Brooks Pro, and the "new" owner was adjusting it with a non-Brooks spanner. The saddle had done around, I suppose, 80,000km.

And I am afraid the thread title just doesn't stack up for me... Brooks really are as good as I think, and that's pretty darned impressive.

George

When I talked to Bill at Wallingford he said that he has seen it happen a few time a year and said it just happens. The same thing happened to the guy from post #23. I take the seat post out of the bike so I can see how far I'm back at the seat rails so the clamp is in the grooves. Then I level it on the bike, after I hit it with the heel of my hand. If I could bend that bolt by hitting it with the heel of my hand, they should have a stronger bolt in there. The bike was layed down at a pretty good speed, but the saddle wasn't hit and when I lift it to put it on my car rack, I use the head tube and just under the back stays, on the seat tube. Now that you mention it, I had a squeaking sound and I pulled the saddle and seatpost together and seen that the bolt was bent, but didn't give it any thought, because they say you don't have to adjust it for quit a while.

When breaking the saddle in it took forever and I could never seem to get it back far enough. I order a setback seatpost from Velo, to get the one with the most setback. I read where some people set it back to far that the bolt breaks or the rails. I also read about a year ago that Brooks knew they had a problem because of the short rails and were going to come out with new ones with longer rails. I think longer rails and a #8 bolt with more tensile strenght would be in order. Anyway it's not and the Brooks owners have to live with it. I've read a lot of stories about people that couldn't get the saddle back far enough. You would think some of these stories would have got back to Brooks. I did write them 2 letters a while ago and never did get a reply. I didn't think I would anyhow.

Anyhow, I did order a Terry Liberator Ti yesterday and I wonder if I shouldn't change it to a Brooks and try it again. Do you see any riders using the Terry saddle and some of your long rides? Thanks for giving me some input and something to consider. Sometimes I ask myself if I made for a Brooks or not.

vik 

There really is no way for us to tell you if you are a good fit for a Brooks. A lot of people find Brooks saddles comfortable, but certainly there are many that do not. Even in the Brooks line up there are some different shapes besides the B-17 that could work for you.

I'd chat with Bill at Wallingford - he's going to have as much experience as anyone fitting you to a Brooks without seeing you. Tell him what you liked and didn't like about the saddle you had and listen to what he has to say.

staehpj1

Depends... How much did you like the last Brooks before it broke? Terry Saddles are well liked by some. They are all just saddles, none of them are magical like some would suggest the Brooks is. Some saddles are just suited better to a particular individual.

Yen

Oh great. I have a new B17 on my LHT. I'm still trying it out under Wallbike's astounding 6-month full-refund (except shipping) return policy.

George

I got a Terry coming, I'll just have to pray that it works. They give you 0 days to see if it does work, if not I guess Ill have to break in another Brooks.

staehpj1

If you were worried you should have bought it from someone that has a decent return policy. JensonUSA, Nashbar, and Performance among others all have a reasonable return policy. JensonUSA had the same saddle for $69 ans a 30 satisfaction guaranteed policy. Not sure if you paid more or less, but that sounds reasonable to me.

George

I ordered it from Jenson and they told me not many are returned. I really hope I don't have to return mine.

andym123

Oh well nice to know I've only got a few hundred miles to go. But I'm afraid when it comes to the most comfortable saddle out there it's got to be a Selle Anatomica made in Wisconsin US of A. (I say this as a Brit BTW). Yes the Brooks are well-made (OK, apart from the OP's one), and they have a certain trad charm but not the most comfortable.

vik 

Well I agree with you my Selle Anatomica is more comfy than my Brooks saddles - although it's the difference between an 8 & 9.5 out of 10 for comfort. I'll happily tour on either saddle without padded bike shorts. I can get two Brooks saddles for the cost of one SA so I'll probably be riding Brooks saddles on most of my bikes and moving the SA around to whichever bike it makes sense on the most.

xilios

Brooks aren't as good as you think.

There better

tony colegrave

[QUOTE=George;7805320] It's precisely because the saddle is 'face down' that it's apparent that the tension was extremely slack. Take a good look at your picture, and use your imagination - if you have any, that is.

George

[QUOTE=tony colegrave;7810120]I knew someone like you would come along.

George

A picture from last week.

Aushiker

[QUOTE=tony colegrave;7810120]I guess I don't have any imagination as I can't see the issue, but then knowing what "imagination" is, maybe that is the issue here

Andrew

Torrilin

I wouldn't worry about it. If the saddle *does* manage to break within 6 months, odds are it was defective and Wallbike will be happy to help. And if it turns out to be uncomfortable, they'll do the same.

Rowan

George, why don't you order the parts from Bill and fix up the saddle? To have ridden it 5,000 miles already and to get it this far break-in wise... well, at least you will have a back-up.

I agree that the saddle definitely is not sagged as evidenced by the second picture. You must be a lightweight, George, and I mean that weight-wise, nothing else. Maybe getting it good and wet once or twice then riding it might get those sitbone divots forming!

Look, I am an advocate of Brooks saddles along with many others. Go to the archives here, and you might find me extolling their virtues when just about everyone else was pooh-poohing them.

That, however, doesn't preclude me from using other saddles -- on my MTB I have a Planet Bike kevlar saddle, on my Merlin a Selle San Marco SKN, and on my commuter the grottiest saddle you're ever likely to see that I got at the local rubbish dump.

The touring bike has a Brooks B17 (which replaced the said Pro I mentioned previously), along with my fixed gear. My new single-speed project will have a recycled GT saddle.

I mix things up a bit... but above all else, each one feels comfortable for me for the purpose they are dedicated to. And most importantly, they are at least 15cm wide.

If you think the Terry Ti will suit you better, you aren't going to offend my sensibilities. Try it! Trying a variety of saddles is the only way to see if you can find your comfort nirvana.

But like Rolls Royce/Cadillac cars, Boeing aircraft, your computer, even your bike, the saddles are all assembled by humans and there will always be something that breaks on at least one out of 1,000 (?).

I don't know how many saddles Brooks makes a year, and how many miles they are ridden each year, but if Bill only gets several notifications of bolt breakages a year, then I'd imagine they are doing exceptionally well.

George

Thanks Rowan, I did get the bolt from Bill and I couldn't get it in. The saddle isn't streched far enough to get it in. Bill sent me a bolt 7mm shorter and for the life of me I could not get it.

I weigh 200#, but for the most part I have to sit pretty far back on the saddle to get my kop. I was wondering if that was the problem that caused the bolt to break. Your right about that 1 in a 1000 and I believe that.
I tried to stop the order on the Terry, but I was to late. I'll just give it a try and if it doesn't work, I'll get another Brooks.I was really think about the Swift, because I can get more setback. Anyway thanks for the help and I'll let you know what happens.

Rowan

You weigh more than I do. Goodness, that saddle must also be one in a thousand in terms of tough! Like I said, ride a bit in the rain with it if and when you can get it fixed, and see if that makes a difference.

How have you tried getting that bolt in? The only way I can see from my Brooks' without taking them apart is to screw the bolt in from the rear of the clamp, and then engage the nut as it passes through the other side and before it engages on the nose. But that's assuming the end of the bolt is a narrower diameter than the threaded portion, and I can't see if that's the case.

The Swift might be an answer. That setback certainly becomes an issue. If you have to sit back on the frame rather than in the saddle itself, it might have caused added tension on the nose, but who really knows. And sitting on the frame certainly doesn't make a Brooks comfortable. There are seatposts with quite large setbacks, but it's a matter of how far you want to go with that.