Brooks Saddles

[Triskeliongirl]

Well I kept it on the carbon seatpost and made it level again. I noticed that when I put it as far back as it will go, the distance from the front of the saddle to the bars is the same as on my butterfly, but the back is closer since the saddle is shorter. My KOPs looks good, so the plan was to try this out this morning, but its raining and our group ride was cancelled. I also applied profride overnite. I am worried if I feel pressure on the nose just sitting in the trainer, this is gonna hurt riding, but it seems you guys want me to just try it like this on a ride. Bill Laine enclosed a note with the saddle (very nice personal touch) in which he said if it felt too hard to loosen the tension 1/2 a turn for the first 100-200 miles and then tension it back up. I also read somewhere to not mess with the tension. What do you guys think I should do for my first real ride? Can I learn anything on the trainer, or do I just need to see how I feel on a real ride (i.e. should I see how the more laid back seatpost feels). Maybe pressure will not be as bad as the chafing I got from my butterfly. If the weather clears I'll try a short ride this afternoon.

[KnottedYet]

Don't change anything until after you ride it a bit.

Don't even loosen the tension to soften the leather until after you've ridden outside. (I never did loosen my tension)

Pressure from the nose while riding will most likely be from the angle of the seat, not from the tension of the leather. But you need to go on a decent length ride outside to really feel what the seat is doing. My first couple rides with my B67 I took a wrench with me so i could adjust the obvious fore-aft/tilt/height things I felt right away. The slipperiness of the saddle the first couple weeks really did help me to figure out when the seat was level.

Once I got the seat right, I drew marks on the rails and seat post. The lowest point of the saddle skirt lines up beautifully with my seat tube. When I took the saddle off to oil the nose shackle it was pretty easy to put it back just the way I had it. Had to fuss with tilt a little because my seat-post has a personality of it's own. If I have it tilted even a tiny bit to high or too low I can feel it right away.

It's a lot like breaking in a brand new pair of Levi 501's. You fuss around a lot at first but soon it feels like it was made just for you.

My B67 felt great from day one. It was such a relief to have a seat that actually supported my entire sit bones that I truly didn't feel that the leather was too hard!

[xeney]

Yeah, I agree, mine felt fine from day one, as well. I've never adjusted it or done anything to do it at all. My first ride on it was about 10-15 miles, and I actually forgot I was riding a new saddle. I didn't even have sore sit bones at the end of that. My 'girly bits' (using that term makes me feel like I'm 12) don't come into any contact with the seat at all, though, and I have the seat completely level, not tilted.

I have never conditioned it, either, because it never sits in the rain, and at just about a year old it has the butt dimples and is by far the most comfortable saddle I've ever ridden. I'm a little shy of trying a Brooks on one of my road bikes, for some reason, but the B67 is the most painless saddle I own. I wish all my saddles felt like that.

[Triskeliongirl]

All I can say is WOW, you guys were right. I just put it back to completely level using a leveler across the top, and made the KOP measurements the same as with my old saddle. In the trainer I still felt pressure on the nose, pressure mind you, not pain, but decided to follow your advice and take her out since it had stopped raining. The plan was to see if I could make it to the gym, only 8 miles away. At first I didn't even take a water bottle, thinking I'll be back inside for an adjustment in no time. She felt like a dream on the road, much better than my butterfly. I liked that I could tell my weight was being supported by my sitbones and not soft tissues. The shape suits me better than the butterfly, wide in back with a sharp transition to a narrow nose, and not too deep either (the finesse). I had no sit bone discomfort at all, and while I still felt some pressure on my soft tissues under the nose, I felt pressure, not pain or abrasions like with the butterfly. I think its just the feeling of support under me, which I am not used to since I have ridden with a cut-out for so long, more of a squishing sensation as Lisa put it, which I think will go away as the leather comforms to my body down there. OK, the ride was only 8 miles, but I was so excited I had to come to my office and write this email, before doing my workout and ride home (I came in to use the gym at work). THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR ADVICE AND HELP THROUGHOUT MY SADDLE CRISIS!!!!!!!!! As I was riding, all I could think about is that there is no way I am getting on that butterfly on my commuter. Now I just have to decide when to order the next one. I should probably wait until I do a longer ride, and I have to decide if I should move her to Athena (my commuter) for the week, or throw a rack on Isis (my go fast bike) for the work week and keep it all as is she feels so perfect. I am inclined to do the latter.

[Triskeliongirl]

Well, I get home from the gym, no problems. Again, still pressure but not pain on the soft tissues hitting the nose (and no after ride pain). I took 2 pictures which I am going to try and post. In one see you can see her on the entire bike, and the other is a close up. The only 2 positions I tried was completely level (as in pix) by placing a carpenters level across the entire top of the saddle, and the other was placing the level on the nose. When I leveled it on the nose I was sliding off, so that wasn't good, but do you guys think I should try tilting her down just a tad for my next ride, or leaving her alone until she adjusts to my body? The other thiing I love about her is that I can slide around more easily, back when hunkered down in the drops, instead of meeting resistnance from the gel in the butterfly. I never sent pix before. I put them as attachments so I hope this worked. If not, tell me what to do!

[Kitsune06]

Ok... so I have a new question...
My Brooks is totally comfortable on my sitbones now... but when I accidentally shift down too low and end up spinning or brake too hard or something, I end up really smacking my soft tissue on the hard nose of the saddle, and 2-3 minutes of hugging the top tube with my knees while uttering unpleasant words is starting to wear on my riding partner.

Any suggestions? I have the nose tipped down just a little, and I'm wondering if I need to tip it back up after reading Triskeliongirl's post...

[mimitabby]

Ok... so I have a new question...
My Brooks is totally comfortable on my sitbones now... but when I accidentally shift down too low and end up spinning or brake too hard or something, I end up really smacking my soft tissue on the hard nose of the saddle, and 2-3 minutes of hugging the top tube with my knees while uttering unpleasant words is starting to wear on my riding partner.

Any suggestions? I have the nose tipped down just a little, and I'm wondering if I need to tip it back up after reading Triskeliongirl's post...

Hey girl, take the piercings off on the bike ride? or have your riding partner wear ear plugs while they ride with you?

my saddle is tipped a tiny bit up from level, it works for me.

[mimitabby]

Well, I get home from the gym, no problems. Again, still pressure but not pain on the soft tissues hitting the nose (and no after ride pain). I took 2 pictures which I am going to try and post. In one see you can see her on the entire bike, and the other is a close up. The only 2 positions I tried was completely level (as in pix) by placing a carpenters level across the entire top of the saddle, and the other was placing the level on the nose. When I leveled it on the nose I was sliding off, so that wasn't good, but do you guys think I should try tilting her down just a tad for my next ride, or leaving her alone until she adjusts to my body? The other thiing I love about her is that I can slide around more easily, back when hunkered down in the drops, instead of meeting resistnance from the gel in the butterfly. I never sent pix before. I put them as attachments so I hope this worked. If not, tell me what to do!

your bike and saddle look great together, but I honestly don't know what to tell you. Ride longer? see if you get used to it. Also, as you put miles on the saddle, you might try slight different adjustments and you might just dial something in that works?

m

[pooks]

That's a beautiful saddle. The black would have looked better on my bike than the honey, truly, but for some reason I love the honey.

I finally just made my saddle level and back as far as it will go, and rode a short (3 mile) ride. I noticed a little soreness in places I haven't noticed it before -- a different part of my thighs, a little in my knees, and the longer I rode, the more I felt like I was carrying too much weight on my hands.

It wasn't until my husband asked about it that I realized I hadn't felt anything about the saddle to comment on -- just other areas (which are probably adjusting to the new saddle height, angle, etc.).

However, I'm not sure about my hands. I may end up lowering the saddle again, since the guy at the LBS lowered both it and my handlebar. I raised the saddle but that might be putting more stress on my hands.

OR -- maybe I just need new gloves. Mine only have padding on the pad of the hands. I may need to get some that are padded all over the palms.

Anyway, I need to put a lot more miles on the bike with the saddle this way, but it's much better than it was before. Thanks for all the patient advice. I've been reading mine and others' and it's helping bunches!

[Triskeliongirl]

I guess what I am asking is, can I expect the pressure to go away as my body makes an impression in the nose of the saddle (that is what breaking in is) or is it better to experiment with the saddle angle. I have a longer ride planned for tomorrow, so I think I'll go out with it like this, but bring my allen key just in case it starts to bother me too much. Does that make sense? I am surprised you ride with it tipped up. That is *very unusual* for a women.

[Rebeccah]

Add me to the list of satisfied Brooks saddle users.

The gel saddle that came with the used Trek 7100 I bought off Craig's list was too narrow, so I got a Brooks B.67S. I've ridden about 40 miles on it so far, and have had to raise the seat a couple of times, so I think it's breaking in. It was immediately more comfortable than what it replaced, and MUCH more comfortable than my 25-year-old Avocet Racing W-II (which is on my other bike), and has gotten more so. I've had to do some tinkering with the seat position -- I have it tipped up slightly, as otherwise I tended to slide forward, and I can't put it quite as far back as I think I'd like, because the springs impinge on the rear rack.

I do wish Brooks made an unspring saddle this wide! My sit bones are quite close to the rivets as is, and I'd really like to replace the W-II (which is almost as wide) on my road bike.

Rebeccah

[khgulledge]

yeap, gonna call bill and talk to him or someone at wallbike about getting a brooks saddle.

the more i've read about them and looked at all the pictures, iv'e decided to give one a try. if it doesn't work, it's returnable.

i did some more measuring this morning:

sit bone stuff:
outside edge-outside edge (of indentions)=6"=152mm
center-to-center (of indentions)=5"=127mm
indentions are 1.5" in width and are 2.75"+/- apart from the inside edges.

i'm really thinking that i need something that has the abrupt change from the saddle to the nose and the b17N might be the trick. my terry butterfly ti is 155mm total width, but i think it's still to gradual of a transition from the saddle to the nose.

if the saddle itself is the same width as my outside-outside measurements, does anyone think it would be supportive enough?

does anyone know how heavy the b17N is?

the swift looks nice too, but i just don't know about plunking 250.00 down for a saddle

team pro might be another choice, but again, 269.00

i'll let you know which one i order; i'm gonna order today too, so that i can get it as soon as possible!

[massbikebabe]

O.K. Ladies...

Are you ready for the Brooks Bar tape??? It's out there but too rich for my blood right now.


karen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

if the saddle itself is the same width as my outside-outside measurements, does anyone think it would be supportive enough?

Hmm...I would think that you don't want your sit bones to be sitting right on the outer edges of the saddle. That outer edge is where the support frame in under the leather. You want your sitbones on the leather within that frame, so it can form to your bone contours, like a stiff hammock. Have you considered the Brooks "S" models, made for ladies and slightly wider?
In any case, I would call Brooks and describe your measurements and see what they recommend for you- they KNOW.

[KnottedYet]

if the saddle itself is the same width as my outside-outside measurements, does anyone think it would be supportive enough?

Nope. What LisaSH said. There is a metal support running along the rear curve to which the leather is bound. Sitting on that metal isn't going to be the best choice. A B17N is gonna be NARROW. A B17 or B17S might work better as far as getting the full benefit of a leather saddle. Tell Bill or Diane at Wallingford your measurements and talk to them to get a good saddle choice.