Hi Dogmama,

I had been worried about whether I needed a cutout, but was quite comfortable on my Brooks B17S. The Brooks is a piece of leather over a metal frame, so it has a bit more "give" in it than a saddle on a shell. That "give" helped me to ride sans cutout in comfort. I did the AIDS/Lifecycle as well as a couple of 200k rides on my Brooks.

The wooden bench test outlined by oakleaf and biciclista is a good indication of whether you can get away without a cutout.

Also, I'm sure you know this, but if you get your Brooks from Wallingford Bikes, they have a 6 month return policy. This should give you plenty of time to see if the saddle works for you.

Happy saddle hunting!

- Melissa