1100 miles to break in the Brooks

[doog]

What can I say. I purchased a Brooks Team pro in March and used it for commuting. It wasnt until I cycled from Spain back to the UK (760 miles) that I managed to tame the beast. I can officially state that it is now a pleasure to sit on. Towards the end of the tour I did one day where I did 13 odd hours in the saddle with no problems.

On close examination of the saddle I can see two indentations that clearly represent some kind of bone structure of mine!

Its had two treatments of Brooks proof hide in its short life and as any cycle tourer will tell you there is no way on earth that you can prevent your saddle from getting rained on at some point. (as in pic) It seems to have survived this battering by the elements and it still looks good- I did use a rain cover / plastic bag when I could.

This was at the beginning of the tour when a bone hard saddle was a great excuse to get off and give the legs a rest.

 

[Jezston]

I have a Dia Comp saddle that is essentially a clone of the Brooks Swift (wasn't my choice!) - thought I'd broken it in over the last, guessing 2k or so I've done since I got it, but the 45 miles I did yesterday say otherwise!

Time to get some gel shorts methinks.

Good riding though! The way you say cycle back to the UK make it's sound like it wasn't entirely by choice though

 

[Garz]

What can I say. I purchased a Brooks Team pro...

...Its had two treatments of Brooks proof hide in its short life

Out of interest how much proofide do you apply when you say you treat it? Only asking as when I did a few times it was a light application and not caking it if you know what I mean.

 

[doog]

Out of interest how much proofide do you apply when you say you treat it? Only asking as when I did a few times it was a light application and not caking it if you know what I mean.

As you did, a light application. I leave it overnight and then buff it up the next morning. The tin should last years I reckon.

 

[calibanzwei]

My brother starts on his ride back to Bulgaria Monday next week, with a Brooks saddle bought last weekend.
He should have broken it in by Austria, if his ass hasn't fallen off by then

 

[Kestevan]

Why do you lot insist on torturing yourselves for thousands of miles?

I've just fitted a Charge Spoon, no pain, no "breaking in", just comfortable from the off.
It was also (at least) 3 times cheaper, doesn't melt if it gets wet, and doesn't weigh the same as a small child.


Brooks owners are just odd




** runs and hides ***

 

[dellzeqq]

wot he sed

Spesh Taupe 130 - breaking in distance - 0km
Fizik Pave - breaking in distance - 0km
Brompton 'own brand' saddle - breaking in distance - 0km

 

[BSRU]

I had no problem with either of my Brooks Flyer Specials.

 

[Garz]

Why do you lot insist on torturing yourselves for thousands of miles?

I've just fitted a Charge Spoon, no pain, no "breaking in", just comfortable from the off.
It was also (at least) 3 times cheaper, doesn't melt if it gets wet, and doesn't weigh the same as a small child.

...

Why do you lot insist on having any nice shiny expensive bike then?

A halfords carrera requires no "breaking in", has gears and is rather inexpensive (3 times cheaper than most entry carbon machines).

 

[srw]

Why do you lot insist on torturing yourselves for thousands of miles?

I've just fitted a Charge Spoon, no pain, no "breaking in", just comfortable from the off.
It was also (at least) 3 times cheaper, doesn't melt if it gets wet, and doesn't weigh the same as a small child.

Brooks B17 times about three. No breaking in required, just comfortable from the off. Which is more than I can say for any other saddle I've ever had.

The melting in the rain thing isn't true either, and nor is the weight of a small child thing. It's about the weight of a quarter of a bottle of water (or a very small pee) lighter than the Charge Spoon.

 

[PpPete]

Spesh Taupe 130 - breaking in distance - 0km
Fizik Pave - breaking in distance - 0km
Brompton 'own brand' saddle - breaking in distance - 0km

Can't comment on the Brompton.... but I hated the Fizik Pave, and the Spesh Avatar (said to be better than the Toupe for all day comfort) gave me severe numb bum after 2 hours of riding.

Brooks Swift for me. I got a second hand one that had had (I think) too much proofhide and was very saggy, so needed quite a bit of bolt tightening over time, but is nonetheless comfortable on all day rides. That will remain on the Galaxy, I've now bought a new one for the Yukon, and it has been perfect from the outset, no breaking in period, and after the first two long rides (3.5 hours and 8.5 hours) I can say it's even more comfortable than the old one.

Believe me, there is no way I would have paid that much for a saddle that was going to give 1000 miles of pain, let alone one that was heavier than the stock saddle that came with the bike, but I have just come to realize I just have a Brooks shaped arse.

 

[Manonabike]

Why do you lot insist on torturing yourselves for thousands of miles?

I've just fitted a Charge Spoon, no pain, no "breaking in", just comfortable from the off.
It was also (at least) 3 times cheaper, doesn't melt if it gets wet, and doesn't weigh the same as a small child.


Brooks owners are just odd




** runs and hides ***

Just very odd people really although I can perfectly understand them as I own several brooks saddles .

I put a Charge Spoon saddle on my newly built SS back in February and while I quite like the saddle for shorts rides I just cannot do any thing above 10 miles, before I start dancing on the seat trying to find a more comfortable position. Not very nice to ride at all like that.

A few days ago, thanks to one of our members here, I tested a Salle Italia Gel and that was terrible lol but I was very curious about testing a flatter saddle (flatter than the Charge Spoon anyway) - I still might fancy a test of a seriously flat saddle .

Before I put my Charge Spoon back on the bike an "odd" thought occurred to me so I went to find my very first Brooks, a Team Pro that was not being used at all, in fact, I had actually been wanting to sell /swap at some point. Well, it felt so comfortable from the start - it was already broken in from before but for some reason I left it behind after I bought more brooks saddles .

 

[blockend]

Saddles that are comfortable for 20 miles invariably feel like slow torture for long rides. Saddles that hurt for the first hour usually feel like an armchair after 100.

One of the most comfortable seats, never mind saddles, I ever owned was a Brooks B33. A gentleman's club Chesterfield on wheels.

 

[Globalti]

I used to have a leather saddle (possibly even Brooks) on my old Raleigh roadster back in the sixties. It was comfortable but only because it had collapsed and you sank into it. From many years of wearing leather climbing boots I would say the best way to get anything in heavy leather to conform is to soak it in water - climbing boots would kill you until that first really wet day out, when they suddenly fitted like slippers.

I bought a Brooks Swift a few years ago and was shocked at the weight and the crudeness of it; it looked as if it had been built by a medieval chastity belt manufacturer. It was also grossly uncomfortable so I sold it the next week for the same money I had paid.

Charge Knife for my road bike, I simply don't notice it.

 

[blockend]

I bought a Brooks Swift a few years ago and was shocked at the weight and the crudeness of it; it looked as if it had been built by a medieval chastity belt manufacturer. It was also grossly uncomfortable so I sold it the next week for the same money I had paid.

Of the many Brooks' I've owned a Swift was one of only two I never got on with. The other was a Campagnolo Brooks I bought from a fellow for £1. He'd had it thirty years and claimed to have never broken it in, I had it a month and binned it. I had no idea it was a desirable model but it's landfill now.