Brooks Saddles

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Originally Posted by Kitsune06

Seeing the little tabbies on the back, though, made me want to get one of the little leather seat bags.

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I got this nice waxed canvas bag from Velo-Orange:
http://www.velo-orange.com/saddlebag.html
Fits even better on my Brooks because I have the two rear tab loops right on the saddle to put the straps through. I LOVE this bag. Holds all my tools and tube and my lock-cable and a bit extra room for something else like maybe a sandwich and cell phone (but NOT as much stuff as they imply on the website!) Snugs right up under the saddle, and not wide so that my thighs might rub it. Even better, there was no waiting or back-ordering!

Did you guys wear padded shorts while breaking in your brooks? I'm asking b/c I thought bare sitbones would be quicker to make an impression on the saddle, so to speak, but my little sitbones are crying for mercy and the brooks is still unfazed...

I wear padded shorts for long rides and street clothes for short (under 10 miles) rides.
the further i go, the paddeder i am.

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Originally Posted by Kitsune06

Did you guys wear padded shorts while breaking in your brooks? I'm asking b/c I thought bare sitbones would be quicker to make an impression on the saddle, so to speak, but my little sitbones are crying for mercy and the brooks is still unfazed...

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I'm using padded shorts for breaking in the Brooks.

My road bike has the B17S, and it's feeling pretty darned good! It has 9 rides and 140 miles on it. I haven't tried using non-padded shorts on it, but I have a feeling that I could.

My mountain bike just got a B17 of its very own. It has 3 rides and 40 miles on it, and is getting there. It's not uncomfortable, but it doesn't feel as broken in as the one on my road bike. If it's still not comfy at the 100 mile mark, I'll consider trading it in for a B17S. Nevertheless, at this point I wouldn't want to ride it without my padded shorts.

-- Melissa

*dumb look* oh. I was under the impression you didn't really *need* or *use* padded shorts with Brooks. *smites forehead* well there ya go. BTW, I found out something strange from the 'skirt' issue. It's actually the back of the saddle, and only rubs on the left side, not the right, so I turned the nose of the saddle 1/4" to the left, and though it's still 'noticeable' it's nowhere near what it was. I guess I'm crooked or something... :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Kitsune06

Did you guys wear padded shorts while breaking in your brooks? I'm asking b/c I thought bare sitbones would be quicker to make an impression on the saddle, so to speak, but my little sitbones are crying for mercy and the brooks is still unfazed...

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Yes, I wore padded shorts, but I always do. :)

Kitsune,

You might be crooked. I know I am! (Hey, no comments from the peanut gallery.) :p

Most people have a slight leg length discrepancy (a mm or two). Some of us have larger leg length discrepancies due to injury -- mine is about an inch in the femur. I compensate with shimming and cleat placement, but I still don't sit squarely in the saddle.

As far as the skirt goes, is your saddle level? I accidentally set the tilt angle incorrectly when I moved the saddle back, and I noticed my right leg brushing against the skirt. Now that the saddle is back to level, I don't have any issues with the skirt.

-- Melissa

Kitsune, do you have a B17S? If you're having probs with the skirt width, you might consider trying the B17. It's narrower but still pretty wide over the sit bones.

I know you measured your sit bones width and you believe the B17s might be better for better for you on account of that measurement, but if you get an opportunity, give the B17 a try.

If it's any help, I tried a B17S and I couldn't stand it, so I tried the B17 and that was fine for me. But I've never measured my sit bone width, I just went by trial and error (which was pretty painless on account of Wallbike's great return policy).

hth, - Jo.

Hmmm....
How would I test where my sit bones are 'sitting' on the brooks? Worse comes to worst, I can always take that hand-strengthening putty and put it in a sandwich baggie, spread out real thin, I guess. It feels like those are all in the right place, and my right leg feels no discomfort at all. I started with the saddle at mostly-level, the back raised just a hair from even... the only thing I've noticed to *really* affect the edge of the saddle (seemingly actually that rivet on the back left 'corner') brushing against my leg is turning the saddle to the left. I could still do that a little ways... I'm not too sure about using a narrower saddle, because my previous saddle had a much longer, slower progression from back to 'nose' and it put a lot of weight on my soft stuff, and felt like it was hitting just the inner edges of the sit bones. I'll keep fidgeting and trying things, and go from there. One curiosity: the saddle is positioned exactly where I had my previous one: as far back as possible. Do you think it would change much more than my knee-angle during the pedal stroke to attempt to move it forward?

I just replaced my B17 with a B67 - what a difference. I never really liked the B17 - it just didn't fit me right - unlike the my team pro s(I probably should have just gotten a B17s for road bike dimensions are apparently the same - I could not figure out what the difference was - except holes in top and copper rivets and difference in cost - oh well - I really like the team pros) Although the B67 seems a lot harder than the others. I have probably just forgotten how hard the others were at first.

FC - if your B67 starts making noise once the leather begins to soften, DON"T PANIC. (i did!) It's easy to fix.

::sigh::

I'm just waiting for my b67 to arrive. Maybe Tuesday!

So -- I have a question.

The saddle I have now feels like it needs to be farther back than it is, but it won't go any farther. Is that related to the saddle, or the post? (I'm wondering if the b67 will possibly extend a little farther back than the current seat, which is a Velo Plush.

I'm betting its an issue of you trying to find a comfortable spot on your existing saddle.

I kept shoving back on my Serfas Niva. But the B67 didn't need to go back nearly as far, and I have plenty of rail-room. And i don't keep trying to move my sit bones farther and farther back, cuz they're comfy where they are.

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Originally Posted by KnottedYet

I'm betting its an issue of you trying to find a comfortable spot on your existing saddle.

I kept shoving back on my Serfas Niva. But the B67 didn't need to go back nearly as far, and I have plenty of rail-room. And i don't keep trying to move my sit bones farther and farther back, cuz they're comfy where they are.

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Wow, that makes me feel very hopeful!

(fingers crossed!)

Wow -- oh wow!

I didn't know some of them came in GREEN.

http://www.brooksengland.com/brooksengland.html