Brooks adjustment?

[KnottedYet]

On a Brooks: at the start level the nose, not the whole saddle

Generally, the placement of the rails is such that you will need to push it back. Brooks are somewhat well known for this.

Yes. The leather is hard to start with. Sturdy leather is why Brooks can last more than 30 years, like MimiTabby's B66.

Proofhide is your friend. Apply liberally.

Break it in like a sturdy pair of leather hiking boots.

Last but not least: figure out where it's pushing on your soft bits, and push back! (with your hand) Lean on that spot during commercials while you're watching TV. (assuming your bike lives in the house, like mine.) You custom form the leather to your anatomy over time. For anatomical bits that can't push back, you gotta give it a try by pushing with your hand. Get that spot of leather softer and see what happens.

And remember, Wallingford gives you 6 months to make a decision.

[elk]

thanks, Knot; I was hoping you would respond..

It is a magnificent looking saddle...reminds me of when I was a kid and I rode my bike pretending it was a horse....took a few speed bumps today and I was Velvet Brown all over again....

[skyhand]

fwiw, i leveled the nose at the start and it was not comfy for my riding position. kept sliding forward and putting too much pressure on my wrists/hands, among other problems. so i tweaked my brooks slightly by raising the nose and "bam" it was PERFECT. now i'm completely a happy camper. er, make that biker.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Elk-
You have the "S" model, which is (supposedly) for women and is shorter. It also has correspondingly shorter rails. This means that "S" Brooks saddles will not push back very far on their rails. If you feel like you need to keep skootching back over the back edge of your saddle, you might want to trade it for the NON-"S" model- that will give you approximately an additional 1 1/2" further that you can shove the seat back. This worked well for me- i felt way better balanced with the saddle way further back than my old B17S.

As to girly bit pressure- make sure you are not wearing overly thick chamois padding- that can create too much pressure up front pushing back at you. Try a thinner pad and see how it feels.

[elk]

Lisa --no chamois here...but I did wonder about the s model...I don't think short rails are a problem...but it's all still new!!

sky---that seems so odd....tilt the nose up and you'd sit back, but you'll get off your front too?

I just love the beauty of it...hope its function will support its occular claim...

[Triskeliongirl]

I had the problem you mention, and found a few things are key:

1) Level the nose, not whole saddle, (and I also need it all the way back onr rails).

2) good chamois.

3) be sure its not set too high. set height from height of rear where your sit bones sit, and try slighly lowering to see if pressure resolves (since there isn't any gel to sink into sometimes you may need to slightly decrease the overall saddle height.

[skyhand]

hey elk — the nose is only tilted up a hair and i've gotta really look at it to notice — i sit farther back on the saddle, so contact with the nose anyway is minimal. with the nose level, the sit area was slanted upward too much and caused me to slide forward and put pressure on my hands / wrists. the way it is now, the sit isn't so severely slanted and everything feels great. i stay put, my hands / wrists have minimal, if any, pressure, and there's no pushin' on my bits. the whole adjustment was so minor too — it's crazy how the most minute tweak makes a world of difference! down to the freakin' millimeter. i was worried it'd put pressure on my soft stuff, but the result was instead exactly what i needed.

fwiw, my bike isn't a perfect fit for me, so these adjustments i do to make it all work the best i can 'til i get something custom. someday!