First ride on my Brooks B17, ouch.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Lisa, when I took my brooks for that first ride, my KOP position was off. Looked like the saddle need to be moved forward a bit to bring the knew over the paddle, otherwise it seemed like if I was sitting on the wider part I constantly had to was sliding forward. Right now I placed my saddle level only in the nose part because I read that back part supposed to be flarred up a bit. Not really sure that tipping nose up would relief my front pain. Will proofide again today. Slipperness makes me scared because it makes bike handling just impossible.

I go more by how balanced I feel on my bike than KOP position. I've read that KOP position is great to use as a starting point to fit your bike to you, but I don't feel it's the end-all-be-all of bike fit. You need to feel your weight balanced. Contrary to what might seem "logical", setting your saddle back will put your center of gravity back further from the crank axle, and even though technically it might place you a cm or two further from your handlebars, it might take weight OFF your front end and keep you from feeling you are falling forward too much. It did for me. Keep an open mind about trying different and various approaches. You want your weight to be on your sitbones, not up front on your saddle nose area and girly parts.
Brooks B17 rails are pretty short and so the difference between all-forward and all-back is not "too" great. Yes you have it right about leveling the nose and main seat- the back edge does flare up right at the end and shouldn't be part of the leveling thing.
Each time you make an adjustment, try it for at least a couple of rides before making another change.
Yes if your hips are rocking you might want to lower your saddle by 1/4" increments. Every small change makes a big difference in bike fit.

[KnottedYet]

FN - if the nose is tipped down it might make your pelvis roll forward, placing your weight on the soft bits and nose more than their fair share, and making you feel like you are sliding forward.

Even when the saddle is slippery (and it does get better with repeated applications of proofhide) you shouldn't feel like you are sliding or falling forward all the time.

Tip the nose up a bit more (a SMALL amout at a time) so your pelvis and weight roll backward more toward your tailbone than your soft bits.

Did we already have the pelvis-as-a-bowl-of-water discussion?

[mimitabby]

F

Did we already have the pelvis-as-a-bowl-of-water discussion?

NO! please continue!

[FreshNewbie]

Just played with the saddle again, tipped the nost part few degrees up. So now the nose part is slightly up and the back is flared up too. Moved it a little further back, not completely all the way but would say 2/3 of rails are in the back and 1/3 is in the front (not sure if that explains it well )
I really want this saddle to work for me, not giving up yet.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Just played with the saddle again, tipped the nost part few degrees up. So now the nose part is slightly up and the back is flared up too. Moved it a little further back, not completely all the way but would say 2/3 of rails are in the back and 1/3 is in the front (not sure if that explains it well )
I really want this saddle to work for me, not giving up yet.

Sounds like enough change for the moment- now ride it a few times over a few days. Don't judge too quickly, because your body will adapt to each change over a few days. Getting a saddle just right takes a bit of time when you are new to it.
As Knot suggested, try to keep your pelvis tipped so that your weight falls more back on your sitbones. Tuck your stomach in, relax your shoulders down, elbows down and not locked straight. Try to balance in a relaxed way on your bike, and balance your weight between your feet, your seat and your hands. Keep flexible and relaxed- think of how relaxed you are when you are curled up on your side in bed.
I assume you are wearing a decent chamois. Also might try putting some chamois butter or just a generous application of plain hand cream on your sensitive areas before you ride, to keep them from getting pressed into one position only. They will want to "adjust" during a long ride too!

[FreshNewbie]

Lisa,
I am wearing Sugoi Lucky shorts on my short rides, anything above 50 miles I wear my 2005 Sugoi RS short. I always put either body glide on or chamois butter

[FreshNewbie]

So far I only had two rides on my brooks b17 which I sent back to exchange for a shorter B17S. The reason- when standing up on hills the saddle nose whould hit my thighs and snap on my shorts. Initially I thought this saddle is not for me and decided to send it back but then something was telling me that I didn't give it a fair try so I exchanged it for shorter model.
On my first ride I adjusted the saddle level in the nose part and got rubbed raw in the front area. This made showering very painful and unpleasant for couple of days. On my second ride I tilted nose up a bit and that seemed to be a bit better but I managed to get rubbed raw again although not as bad as first time. The thing that bugs me that this saddle doesn't hurt my sit bones and I practically don't even feel them. There is not much pressure on my front rather that chaffing problem. I tried the neutral pelvic position that you Knot suggested but that didn't seem to help me stay in one place. Is this saddle really not for me? and I should stick to cut outs since they never game me that chaffing problem? Or am I doing something wrong ?
My handlebars about 1inch below my saddle and this is the best positiong for me. I ride in the drops in the wind mostly or downhill. I been through a dozen saddles and none of them managed to solve all my problems:
Avocet ( came with my old steel bike)
Serfas women's with cut out saddle
Selle SMP strike (low end women's version)
Selle SMP strike (low end men's version)
Jett women's
Selle Italia Max flite gelflow saddle (the most comfortable so far but a little too narrow in the back for me )
Brooks b17 exchanged for B17S (should arrive early next week)
Selle Italia Lady gel flow 2007 (bought in case brooks doesn't workout) to try out.
Hopefully this list will end soon.