Brooks Saddles

[dachshund]

PS I have a very traditional 20+ year old Bianchi: steel framed with friction shifters on the downtube and a double chainring. I love it! I'd probably still be riding it if I could have figured out a way to convert to a triple chainring without spending a gazillion dollars.

Melissa - can you tell me more about your older Bianchi? Do you know what model it is (if the lettering is still there), and does it still have the original saddle? I had an entry-level racing bike in 1980, but I sold it years ago. I was trying to find out what saddle it may have had.

thanks, Amy.

[melissam]

Ahem, slight thread hijack follows, but it would be rude to not answer Amy's question.

Amy,

It's a Bianchi Limited. Mine has an 18" frame, which was one of the few bikes that fit me @ 5' 1" in the mid-80's. I don't remember what saddle it came with from Bianchi, because the bike shop put an Avocet Women's saddle on it when they built it.

I found an ad for a used Bianchi Limited which is spec'd like mine (tubing & components), and he says it has an original Kashimax saddle.
http://www.cyclingforums.com/t132020.html

Edit: Oops, I found another web page with a Bianchi Limited from that era, and it mentions a Selle Italia "Bianchi" saddle. That sounds more correct than the Kashimax saddle.
http://www.geocities.com/tristar350/Bianchi2.html

Thanks for the excuse to walk down memory lane!

-- Melissa

And now, back to your regularly scheduled Brooks saddle discussion...

[dachshund]

Thank you!

[KnottedYet]

Here is my Brooks B67 on my Kona. It is the same saddle as Mimi's except I have the black springs instead of the chrome springs.

(cross your fingers. this is the first time I've used my camera and the first time I've tried to post a pic)

[WrensMom]

Ooh, I like the way the black springs are more subtle! On the Wallingford site, the only B67 they have with black springs says it is the "pre aged" leather (as opposed to the pre-softened), and they have a photo of a pre-aged brown one, but not a black. Is yours pre-aged? The brown one they show looks kind of sandblasted, and I was concerned about how it would look on a black one. Probably I am just being petty

[KnottedYet]

Nope, mine is unaged black leather just like Mimi's. If you call Bill at Wallingford and tell him you want black springs he might have one with black springs in stock (that's what I got) or you can order black springs seperately to swap out.

I don't know if Bill will swap them before he sends it to you, you'd have to ask.

I was going to order the regular chrome/black B67 and a set of black springs (which only cost $12 and then I would qualify for free shipping... essentially getting the 2nd set of springs for free) but Bill had black/black B67 in stock and so he sent me that instead.

My saddle is definitely starting to break in... wow is it great! I think I've got about 80 miles on it at this point. I did have a creaking issue as it started to break in, but Diane at Wallingford told me how to fix it. No problem.

[melissam]

I got my Brooks saddle yesterday -- a day before it was due to arrive. Wallingford Bikes rocks!

I proofhided it (top & bottom), read all the docs that came with it, and put it on my bike. It looks fabulous on the Trek.

Then I thought I'd try it out. Well, it's dark, and I live on the middle of a steep road, so my test area was the driveway. The test area was even shorter because my roommate's fullsize extra cab beast of a pickup was parked on it. Nevertheless, I gave it a go to try to get the seat height, fore/aft placement, and tilt dialed in. No such luck! By the time I clipped in, I was practically at the end of the driveway, where I had to turn around and get back to the driveway. This involved going up (maybe 10 feet), then turning (steep downhill sure builds speed quickly), and going back up the driveway before hitting the pickup truck. All this in the dark. With no streetlights.

The plan is to bring the road bike to work tomorrow, and dial in the seat settings from the comfort of our well-lit parking lot after work. If all goes well, I hope to get the innaugural break-in ride taken care of.

-- Melissa

[WrensMom]

Cool. Which one did you end up getting?

[mimitabby]

I got my Brooks saddle yesterday -- a day before it was due to arrive. Wallingford Bikes rocks!

I proofhided it (top & bottom), read all the docs that came with it, and put it on my bike. It looks fabulous on the Trek.

Then I thought I'd try it out. Well, it's dark, and I live on the middle of a steep road, so my test area was the driveway. The test area was even shorter because my roommate's fullsize extra cab beast of a pickup was parked on it. Nevertheless, I gave it a go to try to get the seat height, fore/aft placement, and tilt dialed in. No such luck! By the time I clipped in, I was practically at the end of the driveway, where I had to turn around and get back to the driveway. This involved going up (maybe 10 feet), then turning (steep downhill sure builds speed quickly), and going back up the driveway before hitting the pickup truck. All this in the dark. With no streetlights.

The plan is to bring the road bike to work tomorrow, and dial in the seat settings from the comfort of our well-lit parking lot after work. If all goes well, I hope to get the innaugural break-in ride taken care of.

-- Melissa

quite an exciting test ride! I'm glad you didn't crash into the pickup.

[melissam]

quite an exciting test ride! I'm glad you didn't crash into the pickup.

Yup, and so's my roommate!

Cool. Which one did you end up getting?

A B17S. In basic black.

KnottedYet, I've been meaning to tell you that the saddle looks really cool on your Kona. Thanks for posting the pic.

-- Melissa

[dachshund]

Thanks for the pictures - they look lovely! I'm getting a black B17 for my Bianchi.

Slight wrinkle, I ordered mine on July 10, and haven't received it yet. I made a strategic mistake in choosing paypal to buy the saddle. Usually paypal is instant, but at Wallbike this delays the process several days. I'm going to contact them and suggest they make this clear on their website.

To make matters worse, FedEx delivered the package to the wrong address on Wednesday. Bummer! But the folks at Wallbike have kept on it, and I should get it this evening.

[melissam]

I have gone on two (count 'em, 2!) test rides with my new Brooks B17S saddle on my Trek 5200 road bike. Somewhere it said to keep the initial rides kind of short, so I've only gone a grand total of 34 miles. This has been enough to answer some of the questions I had in a prevous post.

1. Will it be comfortable? I realize that some break in time may be necessary.
Answer: Oh, it's pretty comfy! I notice a little pressure in the girly bit area, but nothing terrible, and sometimes I even hit saddle nirvana which I hope is a promise of things to come.

2. Will it look out of place on my road bike (Trek 5200 WSD)? (If it's comfortable, who really cares?)
Answer: It looks great. And it's comfortable. I think I'm in love.

3. Will I like it better on one bike than the other?
Answer: Dunno, because I've only tried it on my road bike. But I can certainly see getting one of these for the mountain bike, which I use for riding trails rather than hardcore technical adventures.

4. How hard will it be to find the seat post settings with the new saddle?
Answer: It was so easy that I was able to do it after having a beer. Or was it two beers? I had measured my old seat height from the ground to the spot above the seat post. When I put the Brooks on, I made sure the measurements were the same, made the saddle tilt be level, and eye-balled the fore-aft. So far, so good. If I get curious, I can probably have my LBS take a look at the seat settings.

5. Is the uniquely conforming leather saddle thing all it's cracked up to be?
Answer: 34 miles is not long enough to tell, but at this point, it's looking pretty good.

6. How does this work if your seat bones are kind of narrow?
Answer: It's fine. Lots of support in the back, and due to the shape of the saddle, I don't notice any chafing on my inner thighs.

To sum it up, so far, so good! I think I may end up trying different seat height settings to see if it helps with the pressure up front. Or I might try loosening the leather tension. Or I might leave it alone and see if it improves after a couple more rides.

Will I be taking advantage of Wallingford Bikes 6 month return policy? Hmmm, at this point, I don't think so. Las Vegas odds are at 300 to 1.

-- Melissa

[Kitsune06]

oh-kay...

I used to think my saddles were great... but now that I'm doing more than just commuting, my sit bones are arguing the point.

You ladies make a good argument for leather saddles, and I'm a huge fan of leather goods. (Note my old and well-broken in doc martins, work/combat boots, etc etc) ...

I have a couple questions though...

My bike is very mountain-bikeish. She's got the rugged, self-decorated but modern and urban-chic look to her- would the black leather with big copper rivets look funny?

I'm looking for a saddle that would be narrow enough for me to be able to 'get back' for descents, etc- would this do the trick? I have narrow hips and it might be harder to get my little rear out o're the knobbies on a downhill, so I want to be sure.

I've been riding cut-outs since forever, and I'm afraid my hood pierce will argue with suddenly 'not' having a cut-out... do any of you have any thoughts?

I won't have to feel that hot 'n numb feeling in my girlie bits, will I?

... I guess that's it. I have to be sure of these things, because I don't want H killing me for 'needlessly spending MORE MONEY ON THAT **** BIKE!!!!" unless it really helps.

[mimitabby]

IT's kind of funny that you are asking if the brooks looks good on a Mtn Bike because earlier people were asking if it was racy enough for a road bike.
I always considered Mtn Biking to be a little closer to old fashioned bikes... therefore the retro saddle would look great on one. ON the other hand,
some Mtn bikes don't even look like what i think of as bikes anymore....

You don't have to get one with copper rivets.. The leather look is gorgeous, kind of like Bentley cars with leather interiors..
You will start noticing the little "brooks" insignia on the back of random bikes. THere is no "type" of bike for the Brooks, it's simple a type of person. Someone who takes care of their undercarriage.

As for your other q's I will let someone else answer. My husband is getting a B67 for the front of our tandem so we will soon match!

[melissam]

Kitsune06,

Dang, girl, if you can handle a hood pierce, I'm thinkin' the hot-n-numb feeling in the girlie bits will not be a problem for you!

OTOH, for mountain biking, you might consider one of the men's saddles. They're narrower (for getting back on those descents) and longer (which can be a good thing).

Wallingford Bikes offers a 6 month, no questions asked refund policy, so the most you'd lose out on would be the return shipping, which is about $8.

-- Melissa