Brooks Saddles

[massbikebabe]

Hi All:

I just finally broke down and bought myself a new Brooks Saddle. I got the B-17 standard. My question for all of you who use Brooks is did you adjust the seat bolt at all before you first used the saddle?? Some say you should give it a half turn. Also,
how often do you proofhide your saddles? For years I have been
using a Brooks and did virtually nothing to it and it is still in great shape. I changed because my form on the bike has changed because of a back injury. I really love these saddles. I also think the breaking in period horror stories are exagarrated!

karen

[Veronica]

We have 4 Brooks saddles (2 each) Never turned the seat bolts at all. Thom thinks maybe he put proofhide on his once. We don't live in a very wet environment. What breaking in period? Ours have been wonderful from day 1.

Veronica

[massbikebabe]

Veronica:

Thanks for the reply! I have to agree with you when you say there is NO breaking in period. For my butt and this saddle it was love at first sitting!! I called the dealer this a.m. and he recommended I proofhide every six months. I never ride in the rain but often ride along the New England coast and the night air is often misty...matter of fact I am leaving on Thursday to ride the Maine coast with my hubby and son. I will be tapping into you and Thom's brains this fall as we are saving up for a tandem. We have such different idea's about riding I am not sure this will work

Anywho, thanks again...I really appreciate the information!

karen

ps- Anybody seen Annie???

[jobob]

Karen -

I'm really glad your Brooks is working out well for you.

I had originally purchased a 'womens' version (it was a Champion Flyer S, which is basically a women's B17 but with springs). The women's version (denoted by the "S") is shorter and wider, but I found it to be very uncomfortable. The B17 (and the Champion Flyer, which is the B17 with springs) is much more comfortable for me.

I think a lot of the break-in woes are because people might have the wrong style of Brooks saddle for their particular body type. Although Brooks makes "womens" saddles, some women are better off with the longer, narrower "mens" saddles (like the B17), and vice versa.

That's the great thing about buying a Brooks from Wallingford (www.wallbike.com), they have a very good return policy so if one style of Brooks doesn't work out for you, you can easily return it and try another.

I recently purchased a new B17 (up til then I was riding on a Champion Flyer I had borrowed from my husband). I found the new saddle very slippery, but proofhiding made the surface a bit less so. I found it very comfy right out of the box, and I didn't need to adjust the seatbolt.

I'll probably proofhide mine once a year or so, if I remember to do it.

- Jo.

[massbikebabe]

JO:


So far so good with my new saddle. I did proofhide it because I was going on a coastal ride and was afraid of what the salt mist air may do to my new saddle. After proofhiding I did have my most favorite and simply gorgeous mechanic, (hubby) turn the nose of the saddle up just a mm because I felt like I was going to go flying off I am very impressed with the quality of the saddle for the price I paid...I have spent a lot more money to have a sore a$$, on saddles that don't fit well or are poorly made.
Since my back injury I am much more tuned into the importance of fit in all aspects of life and not just on my bike(s). I also am thinking of buying the new pink Terry saddle for the ole Terry. I have used the same style before and I think it will be ok...if not I won't return it because of the cause it is trying to help...I'll just have it hang around my workshop until I find someone who may like it, and use it.
Thanks to you and Veronica for all the help with my new Brooks...I'll keep ya posted on our journey!!

karen

[adictpunkgrl]

I've recently been on the search for a new saddle for my bike. I've read a lot of reviews and have come to the conclusion that I'd like a Brooks saddle. The durablility, style, elegance and comfort all attract me. My biggest question though is how do I find out which model to get. I have never bought a saddle before and money for my is very tight so I'm researching everything a lot.....probably too much. Does anyone have a suggestion on how I could find out which model will be the "best fit" for my body. I noticed that Brooks makes a women's saddle, but is that necessarily a better fit? I've also ready that women have a wider apart sit bone than men do so a wider seat in the back is better for female anatomy and all that. As you probably can tell I'm completely clueless and lost on this topic so absolutely any help on this will be very much appreciated! Thanks!

April

[Veronica]

Wallingford Bicycle has a six month return policy so if you don't like it, you can return it. I have the Finesse on my single and tandem and love it.

Thom has a B17 on his single, which is the bike in the trainer. The B17 hits my sit bones okay, but the nose is a bit longer and that bothers me a bit.

Good luck,

Veronica

[sydney_b]

I know it sounds funny, but just last Friday I was riding along and all the sudden my Brooks B17 was just so comfortable -- not that it was uncomfortable before, it was just like some teeny little adjustment took place and I found the sweet spot.

I'm going to buy another for my hubby. If he doesn't like it, then I'll put it on a different bike.



edit: Oh, and as far as treatment, I just followed the directions that came with the seat.

[nuthatch]

I'm FINALLY loving my B-17 too. I'd like to have one on my road bike but I don't know if I can face the long (for me) break-in. When my seatpost broke last week, my greatest grief was the scuff marks on the nose of my Brooks because it went tumbling down the road! Poor old Wallingford - I wonder if they got flooded during Katrina?

[Veronica]

Nope. Wallingford did not get flooded. They are not taking orders right now. But they will be up and running again in a few weeks.

V.

[wabisabi]

I also l-urve my B-17. I had a slight break-in period, and it is nicely conformed to my butt now, and even during a century it doesn't bother me, and I seldom have to 'grease up' for a ride. I do live in a rainy and coastals salt climate, and yesterday I ended up riding about 12 miles in the rain with no rain gear (my socks were squishing each time I stood up to pedal by the end), and today the saddle looks fine. I Proofhide it just a little every few months and it has held up fine. Some of my riding group members never proofhide theirs and they hold up fine also.

[Trekhawk]

I also l-urve my B-17. I had a slight break-in period, and it is nicely conformed to my butt now, and even during a century it doesn't bother me, and I seldom have to 'grease up' for a ride. I do live in a rainy and coastals salt climate, and yesterday I ended up riding about 12 miles in the rain with no rain gear (my socks were squishing each time I stood up to pedal by the end), and today the saddle looks fine. I Proofhide it just a little every few months and it has held up fine. Some of my riding group members never proofhide theirs and they hold up fine also.

Did you try any of the other models before the B-17? Im pretty happy with my selle san marco but dont do that many kms yet so its hard to tell how it will feel on longer rides. I though this might be my next option if my current saddle is no good.

[nuthatch]

I tried the B-17S (women's shorter version) and didn't like it - not enough real estate in the seat area to move fore and aft for my sized hiney!

[jobob]

Nope. Wallingford did not get flooded. They are not taking orders right now. But they will be up and running again in a few weeks.

I'm very happy to report that Wallingford is BACK

at least on a small scale. At the moment they're carrying Brooks saddles and Ortlieb bags.

http://www.wallbike.com/index.php

Life is good.

[fixedgeargirl]

One day long ago I took the opportunity of the last hour of the last day of Interbike to ride my MTB around inside the exhibition hall (last day, what are they gonna do, throw me out? ). I stopped by the Brooks booth, since I was riding on a Finesse. The chaps at the booth asked if I used Proofhide. The bike was only 2 months old, so no I hadn't. They recommended an annual treatment. They then asked if I was tensioning the saddle with the spanner. Erm, no. They were careful to caution me to tension very infrequently, and then only 1/8 to 1/4 turn at a time. Stressing the fibres and all that rot. They then gave me large tin of Proofhide (about 2 lifetimes' supply) and a spanner. Such nice chaps, those Brooks reps.

It's been six years, and I think I've tensioned the saddle twice, Proofhided twice, both usually needing to be done after a good bit of dry riding followed by getting caught in a thunderstorm and spending an hour or more in the saddle on the way home.