Brooks Saddle? Yes! But I need help!

[Jewell]

Hello Ladies,

I'm on the hunt for a new saddle, preferably a brooks saddle. I commute daily around town, take long rides frequently and one day I hope to do some heavy touring as well. I own a surly cross-check with drop handlebars and with the saddle positioned slightly above the handlebars.

I got my sit bones measured at my LBS and they measured out to be around 150mm. The gentlemen who helped me recommended a bontrager saddle, but I can't say I prefer advice from a guy when looking for a women's saddle. I'm petite at 120lbs, short at 5ft 3in, and need a saddle that will: fit my sit bones, not overwhelm my small butt, be suited for my weight/body type, and treat my nether region oh so good.

I'd prefer a seat without springs, but at this time, I'm fairly open to any idea...
I was looking at the Brooks B-17 Narrow..., I really don't know what is best for my body type.
When it comes to choosing a saddle I'm pretty clueless so any recommendations would be great!

[jennrod12]

My sitbones also measure 150. I got the B17 in the regular width (170 mm) and my fitter (who I saw about 3 weeks after I got the saddle) said it is just barely wide enough for me, and I could go a little wider.

Now that the weather is hot, I can see sweat marks on the saddle when I stop during a ride and they are quite far to the outside. I'd try a B17 "S", which is supposed to be 177 mm wide, but I'm afraid the rails would be too short. The regular B17 is comfortable, though, so I'll stick with it. Someday I may get a second saddle (for my second bike) and maybe I'll try the B17 S. I'll definitely get it from www.wallbike.com, because of their 6-month return policy on Brooks saddles.

I'd recommend going with wallbike, because you can try out a few and send them back if they don't work. Also, if you call and talk to Bill, maybe he can help you decide which model is likely to be the right one.

Good luck! Jenn

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Don't get the B17S- it's NO WIDER than the B17- just shorter!
I had the B17S and I needed just slightly wider saddle- which is the B68 (no springs, like the B17). The B68 finally was wide enough for me.....very comfy!
The B17S had rails way too short and I couldn't get my saddle to go back far enough to get my weight balanced well.

[Bettymittens]

Hi friends,
I'm new to the forum and wanted to share my experience with my new B 17 Special (with the big copper rivets). I've had it for 3 days now and yesterday I decided to tilt down the nose a bit because of my lady parts, but now it feels like my sit bones are resting directly on either the edges of the back of the saddle or on 2 of the big copper rivets. So I think I'm going to tilt it back to horizontal and maybe raise up my seat post a bit.
Any tips?
I'm starting to have a bit of buyers remorse...

[KnottedYet]

Don't forget that on a pure leather saddle the outer margin is over the cantle plate. So the outer margins really aren't for sitting on. (You are sitting on metal there, not on suspended leather)

The cantle plate on my B67 is about an inch wide, tapering down to about 1/2 inch on the forward sweep. So of the approximately 8 inches of territory at the widest part of my saddle, I have to consider the outer 1/2 inch on each side to be wiggle-room, not weightbearing. (the widest part is on that forward sweep) Wiggle room is very important, you want it on any saddle whether it's leather or not.

If you're on the cantle plate (rivets are in the center of the plate, so you can be on the plate but not yet on the rivets) on a B17, please consider a B68 like BSG has.

And Jewell, with 150mm sits you absolutely do NOT want a 152mm B17-N!!! You'd be right on the very edge of the saddle, smack on the cantle plate and have no wiggle room at all. If you really yearn for a B17, try the standard first? (but keep the B68 in mind if you feel you are on the cantle plate of the B17)

[BluePeace2]

Hi friends,
I'm new to the forum and wanted to share my experience with my new B 17 Special (with the big copper rivets). I've had it for 3 days now and yesterday I decided to tilt down the nose a bit because of my lady parts, but now it feels like my sit bones are resting directly on either the edges of the back of the saddle or on 2 of the big copper rivets. So I think I'm going to tilt it back to horizontal and maybe raise up my seat post a bit.
Any tips?
I'm starting to have a bit of buyers remorse...

If your saddle doesn't fit flat then it's not the saddle for you, if you tilt your saddle you will put more pressure on your arms and will be supporting yourself by the arms too much which will lead to more problems.

[mimitabby]

aw, it looks like Jewell never came back.

[Jewell]

Hey, I know its been a LONG time and I never did reply to the great posts I received, but you know how life gets... not having internet, moving, work.

Well, I'm back to let you guys know that I purchased the B17 Champion Special saddle from Wallingford last week. I'm still trying to find the right spot from my stance and comfort level, but so far its vastly better then my previous saddle.

I am having some issues with my lady bits, and I have a hunch that my sit bones are on the metal rim of the B17, but its too early to tell if the saddle's too small or if the new saddle is still in the breaking in period. I commute with my saddle a tad higher than my handlebars and I usually don't ride in my drops. Is this the type of riding the B17 is fitted for, or... would a different saddle be better for my set-up?

I feel reluctant to go any smaller than the B17 170mm size due to my sit bones (size 150mm) and I may just try a larger size. Perhaps the B17 S (177mm), the Team Pro S (177mm), or B68. How have the other saddles works for you?

Would a B68 be comfortable on a road bike with the saddle higher than the handlebars? On the brooks site it says the B68 is ideal for full suspension city cycling.

I'm stuck on style at the moment... I just wish all of them had copper rails... picking a saddle would be a lot easier.

[Blueberry]

I feel reluctant to go any smaller than the B17 170mm size due to my sit bones (size 150mm) and I may just try a larger size. Perhaps the B17 S (177mm), the Team Pro S (177mm), or B68. How have the other saddles works for you?

Jewell-

I think BSG already answered your question regarding the B68 and the B17S:

Don't get the B17S- it's NO WIDER than the B17- just shorter!
I had the B17S and I needed just slightly wider saddle- which is the B68 (no springs, like the B17). The B68 finally was wide enough for me.....very comfy!
The B17S had rails way too short and I couldn't get my saddle to go back far enough to get my weight balanced well.

The B17 is wide enough for me, but I can't ride the "S" because of the short rails either.

Good luck!

CA

[KnottedYet]

Would a B68 be comfortable on a road bike with the saddle higher than the handlebars? On the brooks site it says the B68 is ideal for full suspension city cycling.

One of my B67 saddles (essentially a b68 with springs) is on a road bike with bars lower than saddle. No problem. (40 degreee torso angle). The other road bike with a B67 has the bars even with the saddle (probably about a 45 degree torso angle on the hoods). No problem.

If you still feel like you are sitting on the cantle plate on the B17, try a B68. With wallbike's 6 month return policy, you really can't go wrong.

[mudmucker]

So with the 150 sitbones that Jewell and Jennrod12 have, and with the cm or so on each side that Knott says to take off, with the B17 that is 170mm - 20mm = 150 mm; really cutting it close. Half inch is even more.

With the Brooks model, can you have overkill with a saddle being too wide? So if they chose the B68 which is 210mm - 20 mm leaving them ~ 190 can it be too much where other wide saddle problems might happen? In their case, they'd have no other choice if they don't want the short?

Also, does anybody know where the Brooks Imperial stands?

[mimitabby]

I ride the too wide saddle. The place where wideness is a problem is between the legs, and even the widest saddle (the B67-b68) has a very narrow nose.

The best thing about my brooks is that i am never fussing about my backside.

and i am still amazed that someone suggested a Bontrager saddle. I have heard more negative about their saddles than any other brand.

[Andrea]

I have a b17 champion special on my commuter that feels like my bones rub the rails. I'm convinced that you just gotta go wide with the Brooks! On any non-Brooks, I can go as narrow as 145mm and the width feels fine. Luckily, I'm getting indigoiis's old wide one to replace the commuter's B17

[Jewell]

Goodness CA_in_NC, I completely forgot to re-read the thread. If you can't tell, I was up awfully late when I posted last night. Regarding the B17S and Team Pro S saddle, the Wallingford site it says the B17 is 170mm wide and the B17S+Team Pro S are 177mm wide... I can see how that wouldn't be much wider at all considering you need roughly 20mm of clearance.

But(t tee hee) I have such a lovely warranty, I'm going to try the Team Professional S (177mm) next and if that doesn't work I'll try the B68 since KnottedYet had good luck with it in a similar set-up to mine. I just wish the B68 had copper rails, I'm getting all caught up in the rail colour.

Oh and Jennrod12 good luck with the B.17S with Wallingford you can't go wrong!

[Veronica]

I have the Finesse on both my bikes. I love it.

V.