This is truly a dilemma: "a situation requiring a choice between equally undesirable alternatives."

take that with a grain of salt, sit bone discomfort is there at first, but not for long, then you (might) have a wonderfully comfortable saddle for years and years.

Also, it does not matter what saddle you have, the only thing that gets your bottom used to 40+ miles rides over changing terrain types is time in the saddle. I find the first week out on tour is always the worst in regards to bottom side comfort.

Well the Brooks B17 was waiting on the porch for me when I got home last night. So I put it on, made some adjustments to the saddle height (it is quite a bit bigger/heavier than what I had on my commuter) and rode to work with it today. I probably still need a tweak here or there, but I don't see that this will be a problem, especially after it gets broken in. I still have 5 days of commuting with it before the tour.

If anything, I am wondering if I shouldn't have gotten a more narrow saddle. But, I think it is going to work just fine -- certainly better than the stock saddle that came on the LHT.

did you put any proofide on it? If you do a search on this you will find umpteen opinions on it, but if I recall, the documentation that comes with a new one does recommend applying some on all the underside and in all the nooks and crannies (warming it with a hair drier will help it soak in) and a thin layer on top. I think this too helps along with heat and sweat to help along the "breaking in". All the best.

Thanks djb. I forgot to order the proofide when I ordered the saddles, so now I am counting on my LBS to come through before the trip. They think they can get it in a couple of days from when they order it Monday.

dont overdo it though (meaning frequency, there was a fellow who wrote a thread of how he proofided his 5 or 6 times, which is really overdoing it)

and from what is suggested, recommended and my experience, once per season should be ok. Do have a store plastic bag or two with you in case you get caught in a downpour, its not good for them to get soaked (just put the bag over it and tie a knot, it will stay on fine)

as for wideness, I am a slim fellow (5'10.5, 140lbs) and it is not too wide for me.

also, as for your trip, isnt it going to be very cold still in Indiana?

[QUOTE=djb;12279950also, as for your trip, isnt it going to be very cold still in Indiana?[/QUOTE]

I hope so. We are going on the Natchez Trace Parkway, well south of Indiana, where if the temps are average, it will be about ideal.

ahh, I see, I hadnt realized where it was, or what it was, and hadnt cottoned on to the fact that you were not biking in Indiana.....
I just read up on it, and now see where it runs, hope temps are good. Being Canadian, its not something I had ever heard of. Seems like a nice 80-100km per day sort of route, with a 50mph speed limit.

wish you a good trip

Rodar, it didn't work, as you might already know. I (the Raleigh) broke. By the time I got to Carbondale, Il, it was very apparent that I was going to need a new headset and fork. The problem was that no one in town had them...it would have to be ordered. So I elected to order a new bike...Surly LHT! I'd seen and ridden with a lot of tourers who had them and were very happy with them. The Raleigh, while it was working was a very good ride! Equipped as it was with a trailer, it was a bit heavy, but not too bad...and it was very comfortable. Regardless, I opted for the LHT with panniers. In doing so, I popped my trip budget, and reset the trip back to Yorktown, Va, in 2012.

Here's the new ride, sans front panniers. I love it!!

Wow awesome photo, badger. Your bike is so well set up. Love the blue/green color.
What fenders are they ? I want long metal ones like that.

Thanks Gambler. It is really more of a green and was painted that color when I bought the frame. The fenders are actually SKS chromoplastic and not metal. I built the bike up about 16 years ago and have had no issues with them. I added Planet Bike mud flaps a couple years ago.

Badger, what kind of panniers are those and how do you like them?

Not loaded yet, it's 1 day old so I have to post some pics! Next to buy is a Tubus Tara front rack. It'll be painted to match with Steel colored Lone Peak P-100 panniers, P-400s for the rear.

Pretty Raleigh! Do you think the gearing up front is low enough for you?

They are Novara from REI. I got the bigger ones on a closeout a few years ago and I don't think they make that model anymore. The smaller ones are the Transfer model which looks a little different now but is still available. They are big enough and have a nice solid clip setup. I've been happy with them and both sets have internal rain covers and the material is good and sturdy.

I have had some shimmy issues on that bike and that is why I went with the big ones and more weight on the front which resolved it. Part of the issue may have been the stiffness of the backing on the big ones. I think they had a little whip to them when in the rear.

Thanks, I think the gearing will work out fine for me. I'm not hauling a ton of gear (yet!) and I've never been much of a spinner anyways. I rarely shift off of the largest chainring.

Oi, my aching knees!

A pic of the bike I used on my Feb 2011 2 week credit card tour of continental Malaysia. I took the bags and accessories and my favourite seat, then purchased the bike in a Carrefours department store in Kuala Lumpur for 450RM ($148 US). I was surprised how well it went, once I got it set up to suit my preferences (although that took 850k). The only items not to perform acceptably were the no-name chinese tyres. (Don't inflate them to the 65 psi pressure stated on the sidewall, the belts just break. Stay at 35 psi, you'll go a lot further). The best part was, as I did not successfully find a buyer for the bike before returning home, I disassembled it and took it home in a soft case, well within airline dimensions and managing 22.5kg and 6 kg for baggage and carry-on weights.
Now I'm planning to tour Indonesia next time I get some holidays, I'll take this bike again, maybe with one or two component changes for weight and reliability.

tspoon (if you gain weight, you can become tblspoon) very interesting story, neat idea of taking ones bottom familiar Brooks and some bags, and then buying a bike. While I'd be worried somewhat about what sort of bikes would be available (mind you, at this price, its remarkedly cheap) its clear from the shots that you were able to get it to be setup reasonably well.

anyway, neat take on going somewhere and just winging it with your saddle in tow. Hope you, family and friends were not directly affected by the Christchurch event.
cheers

Cheers djb,
yes I found myself planning a bike trip having only decided to go 2 weeks in advance, to use up some downtime between leaving one job and starting another, and to use a nonrefundable ticket to Perth, Australia, I had earlier booked for other purposes. Actually it wasn't as easy as I'd hoped to find a bike in KL, it took most of the day to even find a place that sells bikes. Most sports shops were actually only sport fashion shops (for posers) (just like at home ).

I wasn't affected by the earthquake in Christchurch, I'm located in the other island well away from the epicentre, thanks for your kind thoughts though.

tspoon and dukearcher, here in Montreal our neighbours are Kiwis, and part of the family were back home when it happened, but also were up on the north island. I havent followed the news too much for the last week because of family vacation, but it was being reported about how much of downtown Christchurch was going to have to be rebuilt due to safety concerns.

Duke-where was your photo taken? Just curious.