brooks saddle on my Specialized Ruby

[mimitabby]

I had sit bones well seasoned by horseback riding, so going to a Brooks was a natural transition. did anyone tell you to try Wallbike? they have a generous return policy!!

oh, and i have an expensive custom road bike with a brooks saddle on it.

[KnottedYet]

Wallingford Bicycle Parts, affectionately known as "Wallbike"
www.wallbike.com

6 months return policy on Brooks saddles.

They used to be in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle (about 10 blocks from where I lived) but now they are in New Orleans.

Oh, and after you measure your sit bones, be sure to "ignore" the outer cm on each side of the Brooks saddles when you choose which width of saddle you want. Those outer 1 cm edges are right over the metal cantle plate, so you don't want your sitbones to be perched on them. Your bones would be on leather-over-metal at that point, rather than suspended leather.

Hypothetical Example: Sarah Sitbone has ischial tuberosities that measure 170mm. She buys a B17 which is 170mm wide. She is miserable, because her tuberosities are on the outer 1 cm (where the rivets and cantle plate are) and are getting the everlovin' cr*p beaten out of them. She switches to a B68 which is 210mm wide. 20mm of that is cantle plate, so she has 190mm of suspended leather and her tuberosities are happy again.
(that outer 1 cm at the cantle plate on each side is vitally important "wiggle room" which will get used as you switch positions and shift around with different levels of effort. it's all good.)

[xeney]

Those are not your only two options, though. There are a lot of non-Brooks saddles you could try. I ride Brooks saddles on several of my bikes but I use a Fizik Vitesse on my road bike, and I love it. I ride a Selle Royale (? I think) Viper on my mountain bike and love it, too.

I think a Brooks would look a little ridiculous on a Ruby, and it's not necessarily the best option for that bike for the reasons you suggest, plus I think there are better options for any bike where you are not in a very upright position when you ride. So why not let your LBS give you some other options to try? You can always try a Brooks later if nothing else works out.

[KnottedYet]

yeah, those are certainly not the only two Brooks options!!!!! I was just using them as my hypothetical example cuz they have very different widths, and I was trying to point out the dangers of the cantle plate and how it changes the available real estate on a Brooks vs a regular saddle of similar dimensions.

[xeney]

I did not mean that those were the only two Brooks options -- I meant that a Ruby saddle vs. a Brooks is not her only option. There are hundreds of saddles out there -- TE sells a bunch specifically for women! -- and I'd try some of the others before putting a Brooks on that particular bike.

It's just about impossible to recommend a saddle for somebody else, but based on your description of your physique, I think you might like the Vitesse. There is a thread about it here.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Those are not your only two options, though. There are a lot of non-Brooks saddles you could try. I ride Brooks saddles on several of my bikes but I use a Fizik Vitesse on my road bike, and I love it. I ride a Selle Royale (? I think) Viper on my mountain bike and love it, too.

I think a Brooks would look a little ridiculous on a Ruby, and it's not necessarily the best option for that bike for the reasons you suggest, plus I think there are better options for any bike where you are not in a very upright position when you ride. So why not let your LBS give you some other options to try? You can always try a Brooks later if nothing else works out.

Well the original poster was asking specifically about Brooks saddles. But you're right, no harm in trying out some non-Brooks saddles too! One thing I would suggest though is to first try to make sure you can return the saddles you try out if they don't feel good....as opposed to just buying one after another. I read about lots of women who are stuck with whole collections of uncomfortable saddles they have 'tried out'.

[twin]

My twin sister has a Brooks saddle on her Roubaix and it looks good! Hers happens to be a Maroon with titanium rails. She loves it. I also have Brooks on all my bikes. It took my sister awhile to realize it was worth every penny.

[Blueberry]

I'd take a look at the finesse. It's (relatively) light, and would probably be nice on that bike. Assuming, of course, it fits you

[bmccasland]

Wallingford Bicycle Parts, affectionately known as "Wallbike"
www.wallbike.com They used to be in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle (about 10 blocks from where I lived) but now they are in New Orleans.

REALLY??? I'm the last to know anything fun...
Me and my bike is going to have to pay them a visit! My office is in the Carrollton neighborhood. I'm not entirely happy with the saddle that came on my Specialized Allez Sport, but need some guidance on what to try to replace it.

Got to have some fun with the OT pay I've been earning.

[KnottedYet]

REALLY??? I'm the last to know anything fun...
Me and my bike is going to have to pay them a visit! My office is in the Carrollton neighborhood. I'm not entirely happy with the saddle that came on my Specialized Allez Sport, but need some guidance on what to try to replace it.

Got to have some fun with the OT pay I've been earning.

Bill is great! He's got some new chickie working with him now, but dang, Bill knows everything about every product he sells! Be sure to post us a LBS Report after you go there! (and tell him "Hi" from the Seattlites!)

[KnottedYet]

Fizik thoughts:

I had one briefly, and I really liked it. Don't remember which one it was. Not much padding, good narrow nose, and fairly "T" shaped top. Just slightly too narrow for my big honkin' heinie.

If Brooks suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth, I'd probably go after a Fizik, if I could find one just a bit wider than the one I had.

[Andrea]

One word of advice about Brooks on a road bike-

I tried it, and I actually liked looking a little "unconventional." However, I've got about a 10cm drop from saddle to handlebars, and I couldn't tolerate the amount of soft-tissue pressure the Brooks gave me (riding in the drops was almost unbearable).
Now, the Brooks (B17 champion- has copper rails/larger rivets, not titanium) is on my commuter, which is upright compared to my road bike, and is MUCH more comfortable.

[mimitabby]

10 cm drop?!?! that's quite a ways!
my handlebars are about even with my saddle top.