Brooks B17 "N" or Selle An-atomica

[Kitsune06]

I want to know why some people are so anti-an-atomica...

BikerZ I was thinking of butchering my Brooks anyway (the one where you "swallow-ize" it to make a slimmer profile like the Swallow has) I'd imagine that would cut down on 'flaring' but I'd imagine lacing would be possible, too. I'd limit how tight you lace, though, and be careful to waterproof/grease your laces fairly regularly. Leather held tight like that can "dry rot".

This should probably go on a different thread, but very quickly, how would I go about raising my handlebars? I already have a decent degree of 'lift' in my stem as it is. I'm concerned that I won't have enough room on the steerer tube to add spacers etc...

[Andrea]

This should probably go on a different thread, but very quickly, how would I go about raising my handlebars? I already have a decent degree of 'lift' in my stem as it is. I'm concerned that I won't have enough room on the steerer tube to add spacers etc...

If you don't have room for spacers, you can get a stem that has an angle to it. If you already have that, then I'm not really sure

[bikerz]

BikerZ I was thinking of butchering my Brooks anyway (the one where you "swallow-ize" it to make a slimmer profile like the Swallow has) I'd imagine that would cut down on 'flaring' but I'd imagine lacing would be possible, too. I'd limit how tight you lace, though, and be careful to waterproof/grease your laces fairly regularly. Leather held tight like that can "dry rot".

Since I would be lacing it to make the sides narrower, I'm a little worried that the laces themsleves would be what I rubbed against. Thanks for the tip about protecting the laces - I'm considering that butchering as a last resort!

I like the look of those "swallow-ized" saddles quite a bit!

[Kitsune06]

That's the beauty of leather. If you keep oiling the laces on the outside (where you'd get thigh rub) they'll soften and flatten against the side. HOWEVER they would still be raised just a bit and thus not quite as smooth as the regular sides o' the brooks. That and don't get that softening oil on the rest of the saddle or you'll get sag... =P oh the delicate balance...

[bikerz]

The sides of my selle anatomica are not as vertical as the brooks, and looking at the anatonica website, in some of the photos the saddle sides look much more vertical than mine do. Maybe it's just a matter of time before they mold that way.

It seems like if I could lace it in tightly, to make more of a "T" shape, it would be perfect, but I'm nervous about messing with it!

[Kitsune06]

The sides of my selle anatomica are not as vertical as the brooks, and looking at the anatonica website, in some of the photos the saddle sides look much more vertical than mine do. Maybe it's just a matter of time before they mold that way.

It seems like if I could lace it in tightly, to make more of a "T" shape, it would be perfect, but I'm nervous about messing with it!

My thought - to be taken with a grain of salt and maybe a margarita- would be to put 4-5 holes ~1/4-1/2" apart along the flared part, 1/2" up from the edge and lace that way. It allows the safeguard that if the lacing is not what you'd hoped and dreamed it would be you can remove it, and if the removal leaves it very rough, you can still trim that 1/2" at the tops of the punches, 'swallowizing' it minimally. Also having it only 1/2" up means that you'll have enough leather *beneath* the laces to brace the lacing properly and support the structural integrity of the saddle itself.

I'm not sure how it's tied, tho. You'd have to look at that again to see. Another thing you could try is smoother (i.e. flat) shoe/boot laces. They'd be strong and yet lay flat against your leather seat. As the saddle attempts to flare around the stitching it would pull the lacing into it and effectively (eventually) inlay the lacing just a bit, reducing rubbing. ...just a thought.

[mimitabby]

kit
what's scary about cutting the sella anatomica is that since it has a slit in the middle, iff you pull it tight with laces, that slit is going to change. On a brooks
the saddle is a whole entity and your laces aren't going to mess with the integrity of the saddle.
Bottom line, it's hard to cut something up that you just paid over $100 for.

[Kitsune06]

Yes, this is true. I probably couldn't 'swallowize' my B-17 after I had it an-atomicated....

I'm just thinking, you said Raleighdon's slit molded shut after awhile, I'm wondering if tying it would re-open it and restore it to the original position? When I looked at/felt it, it seemed like the Anatomica's leather was a lot thinner than that of the Brooks. All that said, though... I admit. It's much easier to theorize about such things but I'd be sweating bullets seriously contemplating such things.