spinner

Hi
Was wondering if anyone has experience with using a Brooks saddle for tri's. The folks in the long distance and touring forums rave about them. I know they are not the lightest things in the world, but at the Ironman distance I think comfort is King.Also, the Honey colour looks really sharp, IMHO. Am interested in how the numbness issue plays out with them. Any thoughts would be much appreiciated
Cheers

NealH

Brooks saddles, the B17 in particular, work better with a more upright posture. This is because the sit bones mold very well to the leather cover, providing a good deal of comfort. The mid ridge area of the Brooks saddles are rather stiff and, put more pressure on the perennial area than other saddles (though none are perfect).

I have not ridden the Brooks Swallow or Swift but, I think these might better suit a Tri rider from what I can gather. YMMV.

I find the Selle An-Atomica works pretty darn well for an aggressive riding position, molding to the sit bones while still providing plenty of perennial area relief when you down in the drops with the hammer down. Brooks is coming out with a new saddle similar to the Selle called the "Imperial". There is a discussion thread on it over at the Vintage forum.

Rahzel

The almost universal recommendation for saddle choice for the Ironman distance is a tri-specific saddle, and I happen to agree. I ride a B17 on my commuter/beater bike, and I can't imagine it being comfortable for 15 minutes of flat-back aggressive riding, much less 5.5-7 hours of riding on the tip of the nose.

johnopower

yeah, i've used a b-17 in a half ironman and while it wasnt a disaster, there are surely many, many options that offer more comfort in the aero position. brooks arent made for riding anyway but butt way back in the wide part of the saddle, the nose is fairly hard and although you could position the saddle so the nose is horizontal, that would be countering the comfort that the saddle is intended to offer. i rode it purely for retro points.
here's a pic of my set up and old school race outfit complete with hardman beard.
https://www.undershorts.org/images/power/023_hillman.jpg

chipcom 

I'm a huge Brooks fan, have one on 4 of my 5 bikes...but I wouldn't recommend them for a triathlon unless you are changing out of your wet rig and into something else after getting out of the water. You won't ruin the saddle, but you will definitely notice a little more sag where your sitbones are after riding it for 80 miles in wet britches.