Never thought I'd say this...

[RoseC]

Well...I never ended up checking out the route this weekend! I did a 30 mile ride on the trail on Saturday, which was a personal best for me, but it meant I didn't feel like riding a long way Sunday, and today the Volpe (who tells me her name is Edwina, though I don't particularly care for the name) went back to the bike shop for some narrower handlebars - I set up an appointment the day I bought her. Got Salsa Short and Shallows, which I LOVE so far.

I also decided to try out a Terry Liberator X, since I'm still not sold on the B-17. I should never have taken the Liberator out of the shop. It seemed like a good idea at first, but after ten miles, I hate hate hate hate hate it. The part where the nose meets the back is wide enough to hurt, and the cut out does nothing for me. Not to mention I found myself missing the smoothness of the leather. I'm thinking I either need to give the B-17 more time (it has about a hundred and fifty miles on it so far), or I need something wider in the back but still narrow in the nose. I went to take the Terry back right away, but the shop closed early for the holiday, so I'm stuck with it until tomorrow. I don't even wanna look at it, though...ugh.

All of which has nothing to do with commuting...

[KnottedYet]

It all has everything to do with commuting!

If the B17 feels like it might be too narrow, would you be willing to try a B68? LisaSH just switched from a B17 to a B68, and loves it. I have a B67 (and another ordered so each bike will have one). The B67 is the same saddle, but with springs. Very narrow nose, abrupt change to the wide part. "T" shaped rather than "pear" shaped.

The leather is pebbled rather than smooth, so it's not quite as slippery as the B17, but it isn't rough either.

Bike names - maybe "Edwina" is her middle name. See what comes up for her first name or her nickname. (My Surly's name literally came to me in my sleep: Carmelita. That's her middle name. Her first name is Crow, or whatever language for Crow strikes my fancy at the time.)

I have Salsa Short-n-Shallows, too. Very nice bars!

[RoseC]

If the B17 feels like it might be too narrow, would you be willing to try a B68?

I suppose so...though after my experience with the Terry, I'm wondering if it's really too narrow. I mean...isn't the Terry pretty wide? And it still felt like my sitbones were gonna fall off. I'm thinking I'm maybe just analyzing the whole feel too much. I do know for a FACT that the thing hurt like anything, though!

The semi T shape of the B68 really has me wondering, though, because the part of the Terry that bothered me most was the intersection between nose and seat. Too wide.

I'm cringing a little at the cost of the other Brooks, but I'll at least keep it in mind. I think I need to give the B-17 a bit more time, maybe. I didn't realize how comfy it feels to me now until I tried something else!

[KnottedYet]

If you got the B17 from Wallingford, you have 6 months to try it with no questions asked. The B68 is only a little bit more expensive, certainly the difference is cheaper than a Terry!

Terrys are not wide enough for me.

And the pear shape (gradual transition from nose to perch) of most saddles is terribly painful for me. I have a Serfas Niva that is nearly wide enough, but it's that gradual pear shape that chafes me and makes the saddle a bad fit for me.

Here is my Serfas Niva next to my Brooks B67:


The Serfas has some goofy painted stripes on the trasition area, but you can see that even this saddle (the most T-shaped I could find at the LBS) has a more gradual transition than my B67.

[RoseC]

Actually, I got the B17 from Nashbar some time ago - it was on sale and they had one of their 15% off sales, and I'd always loved the way the Brooks saddles look and the idea of having a leather saddle...so I went for it! I got a good enough deal that if I end up deciding I definitely don't want it, I could probably recup most of my investment. Any future Brooks will come from Wallingford, though!

This is all good stuff to think about. I'm considering moving the B17 to my mountain bike now that it's softened up a bit...and then I could put a B68 on Edwina. Wish I could find a picture of a B68 in honey...

[KnottedYet]

I've got a B67 in honey on order. The top will be the same as a honey B68, I'll post a pic.

Wouldn't surprise me if Bill or Diane at Wallingford would be willing to email you a pic of a honey B68 if you ask them.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Wish I could find a picture of a B68 in honey...

Rose, I took some pix of my honey B68. I will post them here later today- must get back to work right now though!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Rose, here are some pix of my new B68 honey Brooks....
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