Soon-to-be Brooks Convert

[SLash]

I just ordered the Brooks B17S in the aged leather from Wall Bikes for my new Jamis Aurora elite. I'm sooooooo excited!!!

I hope it works for me, if not, I'll switch it out for another.

[Biciclista]

good luck sLash

[Melissa71]

I hope you love it!

[Melalvai]

I look forward to hearing your opinion, and how long many miles it takes to break in.

[SLash]

I hope I love it too, if so, it will be the first time I've liked, let along loved a saddle.

Fingers crossed.

It is supposed to be here tomorrow, after I've had a chance to ride with it a few times I'll post.

Susan

[SLash]

but, it's raining so no riding yet.

It's very pretty, I like the look of the aged leather. I compared it to my other saddles on my Jamis and other bikes and it's bigger (wider, slightly shorter but not much) than all of those so a good sign.

I have been reading the Anne Mustoe books and have just fallen in love/in awe of her. I wish I had known about her before she died. As a tribute to her I renamed my Jamis Aurora, Condor, the bike she did most of her trips on (China made her buy a bike there on her 2nd trip).

So how appropriate it is that I have an English made saddle on my Condor.

When it came this morning and I took it out of the box I couldn't quit smiling. My husband reminded me I have talked for years about getting a Brooks. I'm glad I took the leap and all I hope is my butt loves it!

I'll keep you posted.

[Biciclista]

SLash, I am interested in the Anne Mustoe books. Which one was your favorite? I was thinking of buying one for my husband and I to read. He's going to Italy next year to do a long long ride... which would you suggest?

[SLash]

SLash, I am interested in the Anne Mustoe books. Which one was your favorite? I was thinking of buying one for my husband and I to read. He's going to Italy next year to do a long long ride... which would you suggest?

I'm reading them in order, about to finish her second. I like them both, but of the two I would pick the first one.

Here is a link to list of her books and brief summary. Weird, I just checked the link and it looks like her website is gone? This is a blogpost I wrote on her and near the end it lists her books, if you're interested.
http://susanlash.blogspot.com/2010/0...and-round.html

The first book is, The Bike Ride. I loved it.

Susan

[SLash]

It was a short ride, only 4 or 5 miles in neighborhood, but during it I made 3 different adjustments to the position of the saddle. Lowering it a tad (mainly because it is higher than my other saddle), reducing the tension slightly (as recommended by Bill from WB) and tipping the nose down.

The first time on it I immediately noticed my sit bones were sitting on the saddle. Success #1.

Later I noticed my soft tissue was shall we say between a *rock and a hard place* Not good. I also could barely get to the brake hoods, much less the drops because of the pain.

Where I left off after making all the adjustments noted above was okay. That's all I expected consideing it's a Brooks.

BTW, it is a B17s aged leather. I went back and forth for over a week about the B17 and B17s, finally deciding on the s because of that little extra width. The short-ness of it doesn't seem to be an issue but then I haven't been very far.

We leave 2 weeks from this Friday to ride the Katy Trail across Missouri. I plan to ride with it then if it will stop raining long enough for me to get some miles on it.

Any advice is appreciated.

Susan

[Tri Girl]

I wish I had some advice for you. I've only ridden my new B18 about 10 miles total, but it's not *the* saddle for me... yet (crossing fingers).
I've adjusted the height and the tilt (when it was level I felt like I was slipping forward too much and had to keep scooting back.
I didn't think about adjusting the tension- that's a good tip.

Have you played with forward/aft position yet?

[SLash]

No I haven't changed fore/aft but may. The reason is 'cause I got a very detailed fit by a guy at one of our local bike shops who has the highest level of Body Geometry fit through Specialized you can get. He worked with the Schleck brothers at their December camp.

The day I was fitted by "master-fit" he quit the shop that afternoon!
He was so nice, he actually called me at home that night and sent me a very nice email apologizing for leaving (I had another fit on my other bike scheduled, plus he was due to fit my DH the following week on his new Jamis.

Anyway, I don't want to change what "m-f" did so I am minimizing any changes. Make sense? I have many physical anomalies (I'm not going into my mental anomalies thank you very much ), and R took the time to fit me properly, add shims, cushions to shoes, all kinds of stuff to get me as right on the bike as I could be. It worked too 'cause I've never been that comfortable.

Sorry, a long answer to your question. I told R if he ends up at another lbs in the area to let me know.

My plan is to ride with the changes I've made so far and see if they work then do the fore/aft changes if needed.

Susan

[Tri Girl]

Hmmm... I know exactly who you are talking about. I know that guy (he wouldn't know me, but I know him). I didn't know he left B. Alley, tho.

You'll get the right fit soon enough. I think it'll just take time with the Brooks. At least that's what I'm hoping!