Brooks Saddles

Kitsune06 · 09-09-2006, 04:38 PM

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** · 09-09-2006, 06:04 PM

Originally Posted by 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...

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** · 09-09-2006, 06:05 PM

Originally Posted by 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!

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** · 09-09-2006, 07:00 PM

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** · 09-09-2006, 07:00 PM

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.

**mimitabby** · 09-09-2006, 07:42 PM

Originally Posted by 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.

Trisk

I guess it is unusual for a woman to ride tipped up a bit.. the guy at the shop said "If you can take it..this will take the pressure off your hands"
and i guess i could take it.

I sit way back on my sit bones and so far it has not been a problem.
To answer your question, i think that if micro adjustments don't help.. yes
as you imprint that saddle with your very own sit bones, i think it will make a difference with the pressure. Mind you, you ride more aggressively than i do (right?) but your saddle is different too. My guess is that you should just ride it for a week and THEN change it, if you still think you need to!

**BleeckerSt_Girl** · 09-09-2006, 09:18 PM

The nose of the Brooks is not going to change in shape too much- it's the sitbone area that will form to your sit bones.
Like Mimi, I ride with the nose tipped up a TINY bit from perfectly level. That lets me put more weight on my sitbones. Too much tip up on the nose though created too much girly bit mashing.

Every teeny adjustment makes a difference. Give every adjustment a day or so to feel the difference.

If you lower your saddle too much your legs will stay too bent while riding and you will have knee pain.

Glad to hear you like the Brooks!

**Veronica** · 09-10-2006, 07:27 AM

I also have my saddle - a green Finesse - tipped up.

V.

**KnottedYet** · 09-10-2006, 07:58 AM

I just looked carefully at my Brooks, and it's tipped up a tiny bit, too. I don't have a level, but eyeballing it looks tipped up.

Feels level when I ride.

**xeney** · 09-10-2006, 08:39 AM

I read this whole thread a while ago, and a similar Brooks thread on another site, and one thing that struck me is that some people find the Brooks to be completely comfortable right out of the box, and other people say it has a long break-in period requiring lots of conditioning and adjustment, and that the saddle isn't really comfortable until it has formed to your sit bones. And it seems like the first group are ultimately happier with their saddles.

From that, I am thinking that if the saddle doesn't work for me right away with a few adjustments, then it is not the saddle for me. I just put my Team Pro on my road bike last night and it was not love at first ride. It wasn't terrible, but I think it is too narrow for me; I am not feeling like I have a good platform for my sit bones so the saddle is pressing on my genitals, and I don't care about break-in periods, that's bad. I am going to give it a couple more trys with the saddle moved slightly forward, tipped up slightly, etc., but I am not going to ride around with numb genitals hoping that eventually the saddle will get better.

**KnottedYet** · 09-10-2006, 09:02 AM

The Team Pro is only 160 mm wide! Is that the saddle Bill recommended when you told him your sit bone measurements?

My bones are wider than that saddle. (170-180mm) I'd be on soft tissue only.

I'm tempted by the B17S for my new bike because it's sexy, but it's only 177mm wide. At best I'd be balancing the points of my sit-bones on the metal frame under the leather, rather than on the suspended leather itself.

My B67 is 210mm. Bones are on suspended leather. It is good.

If the Team Pro is that uncomfortable, don't bother keeping it. It'll get softer, but it ain't getting wider!!!! Call Bill, tell him how the narrow Team Pro feels, and ask him to recommend another saddle. 1-888-731-3537

**KnottedYet** · 09-10-2006, 09:12 AM

P.S. I have the extra-wide version of sit-bones.

**xeney** · 09-10-2006, 09:15 AM

I didn't buy it from Bill, I bought it from my neighbor for $40. I wanted a B17, and that is how he'd advertised it on Craigslist, but it is brand new so it was too good a deal to pass up. My sit bones are only 4.5 inches apart ... about 115 mm, I think? So wider saddles on a road bike make my butt hurt. That was why I thought maybe I just didn't have this one set right on the seat post, especially since I also had some knee pain on the first try.

I thought my husband might like the Team Pro if I didn't, but he thinks it would look stupid on his carbon fiber road bike, and he doesn't want to put it on his commuter because he's afraid it would get stolen. I will probably Craigslist it if it doesn't work out. Poor unloved Team Pro ... it is the most beautiful saddle I have ever seen.

**pooks** · 09-10-2006, 12:09 PM

Does it have copper rails?

**Triskeliongirl** · 09-10-2006, 01:16 PM

So, I am doing really well with my Finesse. I started today with her level according to the carpenters level, but after ~10 miles the pressure on my soft tissues was bothering me so I decided to tip it down the slightest it could be moved on my seatpost. Instant relief. I could also instantly feel that my sitbones are now carrying my weight, wheras before it was a bit of both sitbone and soft tissue. I am not sliding forward either, like when I tried to tip it down a lot. By the end of the ride I wasn't even thinking about the saddle. I'm still not in the 'gliding on air can't feel a thing' place.

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Settling In Nicely on my Finesse after a 42 mile ride today.

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