Brooks Saddles

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Originally Posted by Blueberry

Thanks - the problem is that I'm getting soft tissue pain in the front well before I stop sliding off the front. I can't imagine raising the nose more, as it's already digging in and causing pain:(

Does anyone ride a B68 on a bike with drop bars that are level with/below the saddle?

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Yep. I do. But....I ride a B68-Anatomica. I sent a B-68 to Selle Anatomica and had a slot cut into it. The problem with the B68 is it has a rather rigid and raised center line. Once Selle Anatomica was done with the saddle, that ridge was gone and the saddle was very comfortable for riding in the drops. Prior to that? I concur. It was painful.

I have a B68 Imperial on my mountain bike and it works fine, but I haven't tried it on any of my road bikes.

Right now I'm waiting for Rivet Saddles. I've sent email to the owner (a woman) and she's got a wider road saddle in development. The Rivet line is very nice looking and because the wrap the leather they are holding out better than the Anatomicas.

Yeah, Rivet! I love my rivet pearl, super comfy. Looking forward to Deb bringing in a wider version. I was worried the pearl would be to wide for me but it is just fine. Gilles Berthoud just came out with a wider saddle but it doesn't have a cut out

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Originally Posted by Blueberry

Does anyone ride a B68 on a bike with drop bars that are level with/below the saddle?

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Yes. I have no problems in the drops. I have the nose level and the saddle slid back as far as it will go on the rails. I did have to soften the nose "ridge" with my hands for a couple days before it was really comfortable. I've done that with all my Brooks B67 and B68 saddles, whether they were on bikes with drop bars or not.

Just got my B17 Imperial in the mail today! It's very nice. Finally got enough energy to put it on the Lexa on the trainer. I'm definitely going to like a leather saddle. The slippery thing is an understatement! I nearly got saddle nose where the sun don't shine not expecting that much slipperiness! LOL!

The jury is definitely still out on whether it's wide enough. Feels good in the drops but in the hoods I find I'm slipping forward with the saddle level so my sit bones are just off the saddle where it starts to curve into the nose. This was fairly typical of my Specialized saddle too (on both road and MTB). I have the saddle pushed all the way forward so I'm not sure if this might be an issue outside of the saddle. A friend remarked my stem seemed short. Maybe I need to correct some posture? Hopefully I'll have time to really test this saddle out this weekend and see where I'm at and whether I need the B68 Imperial.

Hello!
After a painful journey looking for the saddles' Holy Grail I decided to buy my first Brooks B17 Narrow...I allways prefered man saddles, just don't know why.
I've reading your post about the Brooks saga and learned a lot; this week, here in Portugal have been raining and winding like the end of the world, but when the sun comes back I'll start training.
This Brooks saddle is supposed to be used at the Audax/randonneurs brevets, a long distance and non competitive rides, but not yet. Let my butt fall in love for the Brooks.

Have you tried a little more upward tilt in the nose? Doesn't have to be much. We find that most leather saddles need to have a slight nose tilt.

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Originally Posted by trickycoolj

Just got my B17 Imperial in the mail today! It's very nice. Finally got enough energy to put it on the Lexa on the trainer. I'm definitely going to like a leather saddle. The slippery thing is an understatement! I nearly got saddle nose where the sun don't shine not expecting that much slipperiness! LOL!

The jury is definitely still out on whether it's wide enough. Feels good in the drops but in the hoods I find I'm slipping forward with the saddle level so my sit bones are just off the saddle where it starts to curve into the nose. This was fairly typical of my Specialized saddle too (on both road and MTB). I have the saddle pushed all the way forward so I'm not sure if this might be an issue outside of the saddle. A friend remarked my stem seemed short. Maybe I need to correct some posture? Hopefully I'll have time to really test this saddle out this weekend and see where I'm at and whether I need the B68 Imperial.

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Thinking of moving up to a Brooks, Psyclepath loves them.-
Trying to figure which one- After a small amount of research on Brooks website it looks like the B17S Imperial would be a good choice.
I have a 2011 Trek Madone 5.2- When I bought it the shop put on the WSD version of the OEM Bontrager saddle . . . I've put abut 1000 miles on it and lately have been having some discomfort with the girly bits.
Suggestions and input welcome!

I have a Brooks!!

I sorted roughly 45,000 Magic:The Gathering cards for the boys, in exchange for the promise of $300. We've been repeatedly having to postpone payment due to moving, unexpected car expenses, etc. But, during our move, I noticed the stock seat on my Schwinn Gateway (it's ok kitty, I love this cheap bike) was cracking faster than I expected- not only under my left sitbone, but now on the nose too. So, I was poking around on Amazon drooling over the Apple Green Brooks B17. My roommate walked by, and promptly ordered it for me. It arrived a few days ago and I just put it on my bike.

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...IMG_0267-1.jpg

It is SO PRETTY!

A very quick jaunt down the alley and back seems promising- The Brooks is so vastly different from the stock saddle. The seatpost had to be raised a full 1.25 inches higher, the Brooks is WAY narrower, but seems similar in length. I can't tell if my sitbones are too wide for it or not at this point- a longer ride is necessary. I definitely felt them on the saddle, but it seemed to be near the outside curve-edge. The nose seemed very long, but I think that's due to it being so narrow.

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...h_IMG_0258.jpg

Maybe now I can have jeans that don't get worn through on the inner thigh in a spot so high that the jeans can't even survive longer by becoming shorts! They are ok for around the house, but so short the shorts are not decent for work (and not because they aren't hemmed properly).

Here it a picture outside with white paper held up for contrast, in case anyone wondered about the shade of green :)
http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...h_IMG_0255.jpg

The guys at schwinnbikes.net mentioned that I have the seat clamp on backwards- the post is on the rearward side of things instead of towards the nose of the seat. Maybe that could be a solution for those who can't adjust their seat enough forward/back on the rails to get just an teeny bit of extra movement? I'm going to leave mine as-is and see if it works before I "correct" it.

Good job, you'll have to keep us posted. I would have steered you toward a Brooks B67, as on your bike you sit more upright thus saddle contact is different that it is when using drop bars but as long as the saddle is comfortable who cares :)