Fit probs, maybe.

[KnottedYet]

Pooks - I'm a member of the Brooks Cult, but honestly you may need a firmer seat. I had a terrible time until I finally got a Terry Sport years ago. (they don't make that one anymore) It was firmer and smaller than the gel seat I'd had on my bike before.

I ride a hybrid, very upright, and I'm on a Brooks B67 (like Mimi's). It is incredibly comfortable. You have 6 months to try it with all your money back, it's hard to go wrong with that. I would worry that continuing to ride on a seat that causes tailbone pain will just make it take longer to get the pain to go away when you finally do change seats.

A seat only takes a couple days to reach you from Wallingford...


(and the springs on a B67 don't make any noise. The shackle of the frame of mine was noisy for a while, but the springs are silent!)

[pooks]

How do I know whether to get the b67 or the b67s?

[KnottedYet]

I measured the length on the seat I already had. I liked that length (the long nose), because I like using my thighs to help control the bike.

The major (only?) difference between B67 and B67S is the length. That difference is nose length. From the pics on the www.wallbike.com site, that is the only obvious difference. The width is the same.

I'm very happy with the B67. The B67S ("s" stands for "short") would've been too stubby for me.

Mimi also rides a B67.

Try thinking about how the length of your current saddle feels, as opposed to how it hurts. Think about issues of control, holding the bike centered with your thighs, whether or not you ever stand to pedal, or if you like to have room to shift around sometimes.

Then measure the length of your saddle and compare it to the lengths of the B67 and the B67S while keeping all the above in mind.

If you still don't feel drawn to one or the other ask Bill and Diane to help you. The two of them ARE Wallingford Bicycle Parts. 1-888-731-3537 www.wallbike.com

(and tell 'em Team Estrogen sent you! And peek at Mimi's picture on the B67 page of their website)

[pooks]

I just experienced Wallbike's great service for the first time. I ordered a couple of Carradice roll bags (to use as handlebar bags) and they got here in 48 hours! I'm agog. Plus I love the bags.

So I'm really tempted to order the Brooks. Last night every time I woke up, I was thinking about it -- fretting about it, actually. I guess I kept wondering if it would hurt more, how long it would take to break in, etc.

I know, I know. We have a big long thread on that issue, and I read it but don't remember much so need to go read it again!

Thanks for the advice on measuring the seat, etc. I think I'd like the longer one. For one thing, I have long legs and long thighs. Um, not sure if that makes a difference, but it seems like it might?

[KnottedYet]

If you feel drawn to the longer one, order the longer one. At the least you will be able to try it out and send it back. For free.

It took at least 2 or 3 weeks to start breaking in my Brooks. (maybe 100 miles or so). But even the very first time I rode it, it was a huge relief! Yes, then it felt like sitting on a kitchen chair but it was a COMFY kitchen chair!

I think the sprung seats may be easier to break in. Or at least the springs make them more comfortable right out of the box.

Do buy the maintainence kit. You'll want the proofhide right away. Putting proofhide on the new leather takes away the slipperiness faster.

I just tapped my B67. Yup, still sounds and feels like cardboard. But the bits under my sit bones are softening and dip a little. When I sit on this seat it disappears under me and feels custom made. So many of my biking pains went away or eased up once I bought this seat! (even the numbness in my feet, which surprised me)

A b17s would look very nice on my "new" bike. I will talk to Bill once I get that bike and ask if he thinks it will fit me. (177mm wide. My sit bones are around 170-180mm, so that's pushing it) Whatever I end up doing (trading seats with the old bike, buying a new B67 or B17S) I doubt I'll ever buy any brand but Brooks again.

[pooks]

Okay, I ordered my b67!

Now. Why can't it be here today?

(tap-tap-tap)

Of course I was a little concerned when one of the testimonials on the site said it took 400 miles to break in the springs. Of course I also have no idea if the springs on the seat I have now are broken in or not (having ridden only 200 miles).

I rode 7 miles today and started off with little awareness of my seat-soreness, but it wasn't long before it started up again. I shifted as much as I could, but I feel like need to shift farther back and I really can't do that on the current seat. The woman at the LBS adjusted it to go back as far as it would go (which she said wasn't much farther than it was already).

Does this mean maybe I should shift the seat a little higher? If I feel like I'm needing to push back farther, does that mean "more distance between my seat and feet" which means to go higher since I can't go back any more?

[Geonz]

My butt rarely hurts on my red hybrid, but will on the long stuff on the blue one.

I *think* it's because my butt is just a tad bit forward further on red than blue... and the end (butt :-)) result is that I have this nice triangle of feet, butt, and hands that is distributed so that if I lean the tiniest bit, it switches a whole lot of weight, so I'm not always pressing on the same places. They used to even have the same seat... but that doesnt' seem to be the main factor.

I'm thinking of going to the bike shop and seeing if their sophisticated fit computer can at least make the blue bike match the red as closely as possible.

[mimitabby]

Okay, I ordered my b67!

Now. Why can't it be here today?

(tap-tap-tap)

Of course I was a little concerned when one of the testimonials on the site said it took 400 miles to break in the springs. Of course I also have no idea if the springs on the seat I have now are broken in or not (having ridden only 200 miles).

Congrats on your new purchase!
I wouldn't have a clue about whether my springs were "broken in" or not.
Actually, it doesn't make sense. If the metal actually changed, it would
be fatigued; ie no good. She probably meant that her saddle felt better after 400 miles.

Even before your saddle is broken in, it will probably feel better.
Where you already have bone bruises, that painful feeling is still going to be
there for a while.
But you'll quickly notice that your brooks is NOT adding to the problem.

Keep us posted!
mimi