Brooks adjustment?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I know this sounds odd, but I got lots of pressure off my hands when I shoved my saddle BACK. I then got the non-S Brooks and could shove it another 1 1/2" FURTHER back, and that alleviated even more hand pressure. Why? Because it put my center of gravity further back, behind the crank, and I wasn't weighted to fall forward as much. I could then use my core muscles to hold myself up, not my hands.

[elk]

I think I got it right...almost. I may be a little low on the seat post, but not uncomfortably ....wrists are better and booty is happy. Again, I feel the seat under my pooty parts but not painfully: no pressure or rubbing or anything. Is that what you other Brooks lovers experience?

On my ride today I was going hmmmm this saddle is Niiiiiiiiiiice..

So ---jumping up and down and waving hands----I think I can join the B67 Yum club!!! No way is it comin off my bike!! (at least for no reason i can forsee...)

I can't believe I'm a right out of the box with a little tweaking girl... Me, the original Princess Pea...!!!

[KnottedYet]

Elk - sounds fabulous!!

[kayandallie]

I'm having Brooks problems. I've got a Pro S; I love the hardness of the seat but the nose is hurting. I've tried putting it down a tad and then my seatbones seem to slide off the supportive part of the seat, giving me the choice of really resting the soft bits on the nose (no way!) or keeping to the back by bracing, which bothers my neck. If I put the nose up, then it is in a bad place. I do like to try to sit back further to keep on the seat and off the nose, but I don't want to put the seat back any further as then I will be to stretched out for my neck (neck problems). If I put it forward, I may fall off the back.
I really want a very flat seat. I think the Brooks isn't flat enough (a concrete seat would be fine, just get rid of the daggone elevated nose). I really like the firmness of the Brooks and don't particularly want much padding (my Brooks isn't broken in yet); the Selle An-Atomica sounded tempting until I read the "sling" part. I want nothing to do with cushy/mushy.
Any suggestions?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Just some thoughts....
A Brooks B68 or B67 would both be substancially wider- thus providing you with a flatter surface. Then your sitbones would take all the weight and your soft parts would be less likely to ride on the nose of the saddle.
And again- the S models are shorter and can't be adjusted forward/backward as much since their rails are about 1 1/2" shorter as well.
If you order your saddle directly from Wallingford there is a great return policy if you don't like the saddle.

[Triskeliongirl]

On my brooks finesse, I found the sweet spot by leveling the nose (so the back is higher but I don't slip) and lowering it a tad. I think saddle height is higher on squishy saddles since, well, they squish!

[elk]

On my brooks finesse, I found the sweet spot by leveling the nose (so the back is higher but I don't slip) and lowering it a tad. I think saddle height is higher on squishy saddles since, well, they squish!

sweet spot? same here....level then 1/8" nose down. I have the B67 kiss kiss.
I also traded in my S for a regular so I could push it back further....

[KnottedYet]

B67 regular here. (not "S" for "short")

Levelled the noses on both of mine. The cantle plate ends up looking a bit higher, but don't let that fool you. Brooks are meant to start with a level nose rather than levelling the whole saddle.

I agree with the other posts, if your current saddle is so narrow that you only have one perch and tend to come off it and it feels very hard; it kinda sounds like you might be perching on the cantle plate rather than putting your sit bones onto the suspended leather forward and medial of the cantle plate. (where the saddle is narrower)

Maybe see if you can try a wider Brooks borrowed from a friend or bike shop, so you can compare?

(whether you want a "short" or not is up to you. I prefer long noses just because I like to control the bike with my legs and have room to scoot around during long rides.)

[xeney]

Well, kayandallie's loss is my gain ... I bought her Pro S to replace the B-17S on my new mixte, and wow, is it a beauty. It's the same size as the B-17S but seems to have a touch more adjustability so I am hoping it will improve the fit. I'm still not sure I'm sold on the need for a shorter saddle for women, but I have the men's version of this saddle and it frankly looks ridiculous on the mixte -- it is huge and out of proportion to the size of the bike. It didn't work for me on my road bike (I need more setback than it allows me) so I have given it to my husband and ordered him to build a bike around it so he'll have one as cute as my mixte.

(What? It's as good a reason as any other to build a new bike. Someday remind me to tell you about the time I bought him a bunch of upgraded Shimano parts for his old road bike, and that led to a domino effect that resulted in two entirely new bikes, both of which are all Campy and apparently my fault for buying the Shimano stuff.)