Anyone use a Brooks for Racing?

[KnottedYet]

I rode on a Brooks in a tri, but I'm not sure that counts as racing. Plus my bars were about 1 or 2 inches higher than my saddle.

[Triskeliongirl]

I ride a Brooks Finesse which is marketed as a racing saddle. But, I do not race and I do not ride in a particularly aggresive position, so consider that when you interpret my remarks. Whether one could or couldn't race with this saddle depends on the person, but one thing I noticed is that just like ones sitbones make marks and soften the rear of the saddle over time, the same thing happens with the pubic bone. So, a position that initially hurt is now comfortable. By that, I mean I had to tilt the nose down more in the beginning as I was breaking it in, and did have some discomfort in the drops, but now I am very comfortable with the nose level and rolling my hips forward into the drops. I did try some other saddles that are lighter with cut-outs to see if it could get even better, but kept coming home to my finesse. While no saddle is perfect, for me the Finesse is as good as it gets for long hours in the saddle without injury. I will add that I found that having the seat too high caused extreme nose discomfort, so that is another variable to play with. I also read on the un-atomica web page that they will make a cut out in a brooks saddle for you for $50 so that is also an option. But, I think cut-outs cause me more chafing problems than they solve, even though I swore by them for years.

[Andrea]

Thanks for your info, everyone. I think I'm going to try to stick with the an-atomica for a little while longer before giving up. The chafing issues are on & off- some days it happens & some days it doesn't, but it doesn't seem to be related to a particualr pair of shorts, ride length, or terrain.

[Triskeliongirl]

I have also read about some un atomica owners having to trim the cut-out. Perhaps you should ring them up to ask about this.