Brooks Saddle? Yes! But I need help!

[Jewell]

Indeed,

My B68 (not B68S) is as far forward on the rails as it can go. The tilt of the saddle is just right, but I can't seem to rest comfortably in the brake rests. Making my balance uneasy and braking difficult.

Now when I had the B17, this wasn't a problem, but now with the B68 I'm stretched out and I'm having some back pains. Its so frustrating, I love biking but the past few days I don't wana cause of the discomfort.

I think one thing to do is to get a smaller stem. If that doesn't work... I may have to forfeit this lovely saddle. Any other ideas would be great.

[Cataboo]

You can get a shorter stem, having a higher angle on it might help. You can also get handlebars that are more shallow and don't stick out as far forward

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Indeed,

My B68 (not B68S) is as far forward on the rails as it can go. The tilt of the saddle is just right, but I can't seem to rest comfortably in the brake rests. Making my balance uneasy and braking difficult.

Now when I had the B17, this wasn't a problem, but now with the B68 I'm stretched out and I'm having some back pains. Its so frustrating, I love biking but the past few days I don't wana cause of the discomfort.

I think one thing to do is to get a smaller stem. If that doesn't work... I may have to forfeit this lovely saddle. Any other ideas would be great.

Ok, here's another idea: Shove your B68 all the way BACK instead of forward.
I know, sounds nuts....but it can work to your advantage.
First, your stem looks pretty short already, don't change it for now or you may get wobbly steering as a result. A 7mm stem should be the minimum for good steering.
If your saddle is this far forward, your center of gravity will be further forward as well, resulting in a feeling of too much weight forward onto your hands. This can also feel like you are too stretched out and you feel like you want to bring the bars back towards you. From the photo, it looks like your butt is hovering almost directly over the crank, like on a unicycle. I know that feeling, and it's no fun.

This is an extreme example but it gives you the basic concept-
Try this:
get on your hands and knees on the floor in a normal straight "horsey ride" position with your arms and legs at 90degree angles to the floor. Now without moving, just pretend your hands are on the handlebars.
Now without moving your butt or anything else, raise your hands off the floor 6 inches. What's that you say?- can't do it without falling on your face?- that's because your center of gravity is forward, onto your hands.

Now- keeping your hands in the same spot on the imaginary bars, and keeping your knees in the same place, pretend you push your saddle back and move your butt back about 8-10". Now raise your hands off the floor. Now you can do it. ...because even though you actually lengthened the distance between your saddle and your handlebars, you pulled your center of gravity back off your hands and thus no longer feel like you are falling forward and needing to pull the bars back closer to you. You feel more balanced.

If you push your saddle all the way BACK it will feel quite different at first. It may feel totally wrong at first.Give it a chance....a few rides to see how your weight balance changes and how it effects you. This helped me to some degree and I had the same problems as you on my Rivendell. Also, as you ride more on that bike your core/stomach muscles will strengthen and that will help too.

Another thing that might help is to get some shims put in your brifters so you can reach your fingers around the brake levers better- I don't know if you have problems with that, but the levers look kind of way out there and it might be difficult to brake if you have small hands, especially if you have reach issues already. Just a hunch.

Hope some of this is helpful.

[Jewell]

As soon as i saw you posted I brought the saddle closer.... and goodness what a difference it made! Thanks so much! I'll be tweaking it over the next couples days to get it just right.

And I do need to look into shortening the brakes, when I'm in the drops I can hardly reach.

[uforgot]

You need to position the saddle correctly first! If you were fine before, and only changed the saddle, then it only makes sense that it's the saddle position. I use a Thomson no-setback seatpost to get my saddle and legs in the correct position. Mine wasn't forward enough on my Surly either. AFTER the saddle is correctly positioned for your legs on the pedals, THEN you worry about the stem length. I suggest you read Andy Pruitts medical guide for cyclists. Lots of good information on bike fit. I used KOPS and it worked for me. (I know it isn't always for everyone, and I've read Keith Bontrager's take on it, but it's a start).

I have kind of a goofy seatpost I won on ebay. It has almost no setback, really scratched and ugly, but you could see if a new seatpost is the solution before you spend any more money. It will fit your Surly. I could send it to you and you could try it. If it works and you like the scratched look, you can keep it. If not you can buy a new Thomson and pass this one on to someone else. Whaddya say? If you want it, pm me your address and I'll send it.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hey Jewell,

How's it going with your saddle position?

Did pushing the saddle all the way back improve your comfort and help your reach issue?

[Jewell]

I did put my saddle all the way back, and its so much more comfortable. I'm balanced too. I didn't realize putting my saddle so far forward forward would make me that uncomfortable and balanced.

I still have some tweaking to do with the saddle and position, but I know that I'm headed in the right direction.

Thanks!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I did put my saddle all the way back, and its so much more comfortable. I'm balanced too. I didn't realize putting my saddle so far forward forward would make me that uncomfortable and balanced.

I still have some tweaking to do with the saddle and position, but I know that I'm headed in the right direction.

Thanks!

That's wonderful, I'm so glad! I know firsthand how yucky you felt and how good it feels when that weight balance gets improved a bit.

Most people don't realize how closely intertwined reach and center of gravity/balance are, and the idea of pushing your saddle back to help a perceived too-long reach problem is so counter-intuitive....but it often works wonders.
The fact is that when your center of gravity is too far forward over the crank, your balance is off and your weight goes onto your hands, and then it can really feel like your handlebars need to come closer to alleviate this, so you assume it's simply a reach issue. In fact, it's sometimes actually a weight balance issue where you need to get your weight centered back more. Shifting your body weight back further is actually more effectively done by getting your seat back than by getting your hands back.

Sometimes a reach problem is really 'just' a reach problem...but other times it involves your center of gravity being too far forward... people seldom think about this aspect- they tend to concentrate on just shortening the handlebar-to-saddle distance instead of thinking about their weight balance.

Anyway, great to hear your comfort is improved.