Dellphinus

Had a thought whilst reading this thread and another on Adv Cycling-I want a wingtip patterned B17. Bad.

Not so much the raised wingtip itself, but the skirt edge with the holes pattern, and the shoe tip pattern on the nose and wings.
Any leather crafters out there?

redbike72

I've never found a Brooks saddle that was comfortable enough to keep. I'm thinking you need a genetic predisposition in order to use them.

eja_ bottecchia

I have one in my mtb. I love it. Wouldn't use it on my road bikes though.

phughes

I'm loving the comments regarding "lots of care." I guess if you count sitting on it and riding it "lots of care," I will agree.

fietsbob

My Friend Jim , here, used to make Wagons and full Tack In NV City Cal , He is up here , now..
let me know & I can put you in touch.

Yo Spiff

Rode 51 miles today with the B17 on my road bike. It felt a little odd at first. I think it was due to just being shaped a little different than the Team Pro that I have had on this bike for 13 years. That, and this B17 is not really broken in yet. By the time I was a few miles into the ride, it felt perfectly right.

It sits just a touch higher than the Pro does. I have a rack and trunk bag on it and previously the butt of the saddle was resting on the trunk bag. Now there is about 3mm clearance. I didn't need to lower the post, however.

It worked just fine for me and was a little more comfortable than the Pro, especially when I got toward the latter parts of the ride. I mostly ride on the hoods, and my bars appear be 2 to 2 1/2" below the saddle level. The honey brown saddle looks great against the Celeste frame and with the brown Salsa bar tape. It already pulled in a positive comment from someone else on the group ride. This bike has a definite faux-retro look going on.

The B17 will be staying on this bike.

TheSergeant

Interesting idea. You could drill small holes on the skirts with a drill and then take a toothpick or kabob stick with some poofhide and smooth the holes out. Then use a nail with a filed/rounded tip or a dull pick and use a hammer to make the indentions on the nose. Maybe I'll give it a shot on my Brooks. I already carved my initials into it, so what the hell, why not?

acantor

I rub it with boot waterproofing once or twice a season, top and bottom. The next day, I wipe off any excess with a paper towel.

Annual time investment: 5 minutes.

Dellphinus

BTW, to the OP- I have a B67 on my first bike, an Expedition Sport, and a B17 on my LHT. I won't ride anything else.

JoeMan

Yep. I love my Brooks. I have it on my MTB and if I am touring switch it to my tour bike

ttquattro

i have 2 bike , a tourer and an mtb, both of them with brooks b17, its so confy that for short rides i don t even wear a padded shorts...i recommended it deffinetly

tmac100

I have 3 different B-17s: one for each bicycle. I have a tourer and two folgers. The B-17 saddles are all great and were all purchased used. The only HPV without a Brooks is my Greenspeed GTO recumbent.

Rowan

Except, you forget the Ti versions -- the B17 Ti is, in my estimation, on par weight-wise with ordinary saddles. The Swallow Ti is even lighter.

djb

as is ones wallet, here in Canada they are pretty darn expensive...the B17 Ti is a good 2 1/2 times more expensive than the regular one, so probably at least 150$ more to save 100 grams....
a Swallow Ti is retailed at around 350$ US, and at 370grams, which again compared to a regular B17 at 520g ends up being up to you if 150grams is worth the amount spent and or is affordable.

in the end, if the fellow asking the question gets one through that Walbike place in New Orleans and doesnt like it, they take them back no questions asked. Or, he sells it after a while and if its in great shape, wont lose much money.

Or get a diff bike seat, whatever works for your tookus.

staehpj1

I do not think that is true when you compare Ti Brooks saddles to other Ti saddles in the same price range. Some of them that are a similar price to the Ti Swallow weigh in at 130-140 grams (less than half of the Swallows weight).

That said, for me it is a moot point because:

1. I am not planning to spend that kind of money on a saddle
2. I don't find Brooks saddles very comfortable

I am quite comfortable on inexpensive road racing saddles or what ever happened to come with my bikes. I may be kind of weird, but the B17 was the one saddle that I have owned that I really didn't like. Note that I am not saying that Brooks saddles aren't great for some riders, just that they really don't work well for me (at least the one B17 that I owned didn't).

Rowan

We weren't talking about cost, we were talking about weight.

And for the two Ti ones I have, it's been worth the cost for weight and additional ride comfort.

djb

suffice to say, if all the various factors of cost, weight and comfort work for you, thats great (especially as you do those super long rando rides where you are in the saddle for umpteen gazillion hours)

each tookus is different, just as what each of us decide where to spend our money on.

staehpj1

I can see where it might be worth it for you and probably quite a few others. Saddles are a very personal choice. The thing is that for me the Brooks models don't provide additional comfort, cost more, and weigh more than the models that I would consider the logical alternate choices. For example the Selle Italia SLR XP Flow Saddle (regularly $189 on sale for $99) is more comfortable to me and weighs 180 grams.

I am lucky in that I seem to be able to adapt to most saddles pretty easily and have happily done multi week and multi month tours on the original saddles that came with my bikes even the one that came with a $599 Windsor Touring.

pdlamb

B17: better than sliced bread.

Not better than sex.

Your Ass May Vary (YAMV).

Wil Davis

…only if it's white!

…I think you might need to further qualify that statement!
…but of course!

- Wil

DropBarFan

My experience also; disappointed since my Brooks B17 Select is so pretty!. I will try lacing it to eliminate thigh-rubbing problem but I doubt it will work.

JS1965

I and playing w/ fore and aft 1st....
I wont buy another saddle until I dial in my cheap fuji saddle which I did and then forgot to write down the settings

capejohn

I have a B-17 on my touring bike and it works out very well for me. From the first ride it felt like I was suspended on air. However on my road bike, the B-17 didn't work out at all. I got very uncomfortable quickly. Different geometry of the bikes and type of riding I suppose.

DropBarFan

Interesting how many folks report similarly, esp that handlebar height is often key to nice fit. I usually keep touring bike handlebars lowish but never found the handlebar height to be a major cause of comfort/discomfort with various saddles. Heh, wish I had spare $$, I'd order a B17N, Swallow, Swift, Colt & Pro to compare.