Brooks Saddles

[brbeard]

hey guys. thanks for the replies! I guess I'm gonna have to go the "pick out a saddle, it's on me" route. Won't have quite the effect I wanted, but you're right that I don't, and can't know what the ideal saddle for her will be. So.... now I just have to concentrate on making her an awesome card to slightly mask the fact that I'm not actually giving her...anything...yet Ay yi yi.

[KnottedYet]

We didn't mean to scare you!

Buy her either a B17 (not the "s") if she is really on the tiny side, or a B68 (not the "s") if she is more average-wide or if she likes to sit more upright. Get it from wallbike, and you can return it no questions asked. You just can't lose with www.wallbike.com Bill is awesome, I've spoken to him several times about saddle issues, and he really stands behind the 6 month trial period.

If she doesn't like the saddle you chose, exchange it for the other one. These two -B17 and B68- are the basic ends of the spectrum, with a gajillion variations she can explore as she gets a feel for what she likes. The B17 and B68 are great places to start.

(the reason for wanting a wider saddle if you tend to sit upright is that the ischial tuberosities get wider towards the posterior of the pelvis, especially in women. There tends to be increased posterior pelvic tilt as the torso becomes more upright, so the parts of the ischia contacting the saddle can get farther apart the more upright the rider gets)

[g19]

I'm in the market for a new saddle.

I have a SA saddle and it's now stretched out a lot and a new longer bolt was used in order to keep using the saddle.

I could go on and keep stretching the saddle until ....

A new top incl. shipping would be as much as buying a new one or trying a brooks swallow wich is much less due to having a sales distributor here for brooks and not for SA.

No i can't figure out wich is best as when i ride i never ride shorter than 50 miles and my regular rides are 70 to 80 miles.

I need a saddle that can deliver 'relative' comfort for these rides.

Can anybody confirm that a swallow can deliver that or is the SA saddle the way to go (again).

My problem (a bit) with the SA is that when it started to stretch out more and more that the comfort started to disappear instantly and the rides are not so comfortable anymore.

That's why i now look a bit sideway's to a brooks swallow.

Can anybody throw i some light please regarding this.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

A swallow is one of the narrower Brooks saddles. We don't know what kind of width your sit bones are.
Every one is different, so no one would be able to 'confirm' whether a Brooks Swallow would be comfortable for you or not.
SA's do sometimes seems to have that stretching problem. Brooks don't have that as far as I know...the leather is much thicker for one thing.

If you buy from Wallingford, you can return the Brooks after a couple months test, -as long as you don't apply anything to it but Brooks' HydePruf.
If your average ride is over 50 miles (!) then it sholdn't take you long to figure out if the Brooks will work for you.
Because the Brooks is thicker and stiffer than SA, expect a longer break-in period though, and you might feel sore sit bones for the first few rides.

If your sitbones are not all that narrow, then you might want to consider a Brooks B17 instead of the Swallow. I usually see thin guys with skinny-teeny butts on Swallows.

[Slowspoke]

I just got a great deal on a Brooks B67 for my commuter bike. Just $60.00 and still in the box! The down side is that it is green . My bike is green two, so I think it will sort a clash a bit but I am hoping it will get darker with age and oil!

[Biciclista]

I just got a great deal on a Brooks B67 for my commuter bike. Just $60.00 and still in the box! The down side is that it is green . My bike is green two, so I think it will sort a clash a bit but I am hoping it will get darker with age and oil!

PICTURES!!! PLEASE! I didn't know B67 came in green!

[g19]

A swallow is one of the narrower Brooks saddles. We don't know what kind of width your sit bones are.

Ouch, they are 4 to 4,5" (10 to 11.5 cm)

If you buy from Wallingford,

I can't as i'm from the EU that's the problem.

If your sitbones are not all that narrow, then you might want to consider a Brooks B17 instead of the Swallow.

Well i am constantly reading posts by others trying to figure out what could be the best choice and the B17 N was recently 'added' to my possibilities of the right one.

Thanks for the reply i appreciate it a lot.

[KnottedYet]

There is a TE'er selling a B17 Narrow right now.
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=36709

And here I was thinking she needed to list it where men might see it, as I know so few women who could ride a narrow... Cosmic synchronicity!

[Slowspoke]

PICTURES!!! PLEASE! I didn't know B67 came in green!

They came in green a couple of years ago and I haven't seen them since. I'll try to post pics tonight. In the mean time, the guy has 3 more! the down side is that he is in Michigan and I don't know if he will ship.

[Biciclista]

gee, he ought to have a St Patrick's day sale!

[Desert Tortoise]

I've been looking at the various threads on saddles and am getting a little crossed-eyed. I'm hoping someone can help clear up a few things.

I'm interested in a Brooks saddle but not sure which model to start with.

I measured my sitbones using a few of the methods listed here and consistantly came up with a 14cm center to center/16cm outer edge to outer edge.

I ride a road bike not very upright but not aggressive either (handle bars are about level with the saddle.) Ride anywhere from 15 miles to 40 miles at a time and occasionally longer distances at a time.

On my 4th saddle and from what I have gathered here, it sounds like I need a more T-shaped saddle than pear. I have chaffing and soreness at the leg bend/undie line.

Looking at Brooks saddles, it sounds like maybe the B68. But isn't that for a more upright position?

Also, saw someone noted the B17 is pear shaped, but I thought somewhere else someone said it was more T shaped. But I could mistaken, I've been looking at a lot of posts.

Any ideas of which model to try?
Thanks!

[KnottedYet]

B68, B67, or B66

"Upright" really isn't a good category for saddles, and it bugs me to see it being used because I think it drives women in the wrong directions when choosing saddles. Generally the part of the sit bones contacting the saddle are slightly farther apart the more upright (relatively posteriorly tilted) the pelvis is to the saddle. (so someone with a dramatic pubic rami to ischial tuberosity angle might be fine in an agressive position on a narrow saddle, but as they rotate the pelvis upward and shift posteriorly along the rami into an upright torso position they may need a wider saddle. Me, I have sits in the 180mm realm, and I just need a wider saddle regardless of position. I have B67 and B68 on my agressive bike, my "medium" utility bike, and my pretty darn upright promenade bike.)

It's really all about width of contact points, regardless of position. Position doesn't matter, contact points do.

B68 is T-shaped. B17 is pear. (there's a great topview on wallbike.com that dramatically illustrates the T/pear difference)

With a 160mm outside measurement, you would likely be landing on the cantle plate of a B17.

You sound like a very good candidate for a B68.

[Desert Tortoise]

Thank you for the clarification. That whole thing about "upright" position did confuse me a little and wondered if it really was a big deal in saddle selection.

I just wish they made these saddle in red. My bike is mostly black with a few red accents. Guess I'll have to find other ways to punch up the color. The SA comes in red but it doesn't seem to offer the same wear as the Brooks.

Thanks again for the help.

[moderncyclista]

B17 for me is working great. My butt (right where my sit bones are positioned) are sore -but that is all. The leathers surface is showing signs of tiny creases in the places where my sit bones rest. That seems like it is perfect. Now I need warmer weather to come so my sweaty backside (sorry for the image) works that stubborn leather into shape. Keeping fingers crossed. You do have to earn these saddles though. Boy, howdy. They are not for those who are delicate. Got to have a thick ol' bike butt to work these bad boys out.

[KnottedYet]

Or, if you are someone like me who had NEVER had a saddle that fit (180mm is wider than most saddles made, and that's just the bone span!) it was love at first sit.

I never felt the need to break the first saddle in, though it did get miraculously comfortable after about 100-150 miles.

I have noticed that the two new Brooks I've bought felt harder than my old faithful B67, but they were never painful and in short order they were just as customized.

Wallbike.com really knows what they are doing with the 6 month free trial period on the Brooks saddles. Sometimes it takes a good bit of riding before the saddle feels like it was made just for you.