First ride on Brooks!
 

I rode today on my new Brooks B-17 Special saddle, and thought I'd share my first impressions. This was my regular commute, but I ride my touring bike to work so I figured I'd post here...

I applied "Proofide" twice to the underside. The saddle felt great. It seems a bit smooth, shiny and slick on the business side as I did a fair amount of fore/aft sliding. I think this will subside as the saddle breaks in and the shiny surface de-glazes a bit. I was expecting a real torture session as that seems to be the rap on Brooks (until they're broken in). I'm pleasantly surprised there was none of that. I think it'll only get better from here.

That's basically how my first ride on a B-17 went. I braced myself for discomfort and never experienced any. The only time I did was 2000 miles later at the 50 mile mark of a day that had been preceded by two straight 110 + mile days. I think you will be pleased with your purchase!

For many of us, this saddle is comfortable from the get-go. Others need the saddle to mold to their sit bones. Fitting also works slightly different than most saddles. I had to raise the nose of the saddle about 5 degrees from horizontal. No more forward slipping.

The saddle stays quite slippery. Which is nice because it helps prevent chafing. Probably as your sit bones make little dents then you won't wander around on the saddle so much. But I have found that it does take a bit of fine fiddling to get the tilt just right, so I am not using my arms to hold myself in the right place.

If you are sliding forward, tilt the nose up. If you are sliding backward, tilt the nose down. If you aren't tending in either direction but just a bit back and forth, probably over a couple hundred miles you'll get enough dents to be more stable.

Tip the nose of the saddle up just a bit ... and yes, the slipperyness will wear off a bit as time goes on.

Thanks guys. I rode it again today and I'm definitely sliding forward and then have to move myself back again. I think I'll explore a few degrees of front tilt.

This is my first Brooks. I like the feel and the width, just a bit wider than the typical "roadie" saddles I've usually ridden. And, again I'm pleasantly surprised that it's so comfy!

I found that I was sliding both directions and after tilting the nose up and down I decided to experiment and moved the saddle forward about 1/4". That did it!!

Glad you liked it; I bought a B-17 Select & it was quite comfy except for the "apron" that angles out which caused some chafing (upper part fine). So I'm thinking about tying the aprons narrower or doing radical trimming surgery (both not unheard of) or else selling the B-17 & plunking down big $$ for a B15 Swallow steel ($200) or the awesome B15 Ti Select ($250)! Wow, they ain't giving these things away. Brooks seems wedded to the aprons for majority of their saddles while almost all the synthetic saddles are the "swallow" style for much cheaper. Currently ride a Fizik white saddle which looks cool & is comfy up to 40 mile mark. For my first racing bike (70's) I replaced the cheapo uncovered plastic saddle with a Brooks Pro--turns out the shop cheated me & the Pro was used & middle part was depressed causing one to sit on the narrow nose part, very uncomfy. Bought a fairly cheap Unicanitor replacement that was far more comfortable.