1100 miles to break in the Brooks

[totallyfixed]

I bought a Brooks Swift a few weeks ago for my Pearson fixed, due to a couple of weeks of illness and a week riding gears in Cornwall I've only done about 350 miles on it including one ride of 60 miles and it's just starting to feel comfortable.
I did start a thread when I bought the saddle expressing the opinion that I thought a leather saddle eventually conformed to the shape of your backside and that buying Brooks second hand would therefore not necessarily be a good move. I was pretty much shot down in flames but I still believe that over time the saddle becomes shaped to you and if you do buy leather second hand it would be down to luck that the previous owner had the same shaped bum.

 

[jay clock]

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

OK, how does that leave me? I have a Brooks B17 on the tourer which is great, but the tourer only gets used for real touring. I have a Charge Spoon (cheapo version) on the training bike, and a Charge Spoon leather/Ti on the fancy bike. I managed 180k in supreme comfort on it in Austria last week when I did the Ironman.

So horses for courses. Or arses for courses...

 

[GrumpyGregry]

The Spoon is a fine a saddle as is made. Fair play to Charge. I recommended them to everyone who doesn't share my leather fetish.

B17's and variants thereof fit my r's better though. The only breaking in any of my B17's have needed is that critical period between removing the saddle from the card/box and fitting it to the seat post. 100% comfy from the off without padding in the shorts (padding which I reckon is at the root of many people's evil, saddle wise)

My boingy boingy Flyer got totally soaked on my recent Scottish mudguard-less excursion. It turned into a sopping wet, leather hammock, but I can't say it became uncomfortable or unrideable, it was just noticeable different. I was convinced I'd wrecked it, it was fit only for the bin, but with a bit of common sense, some string bound around it while it dried, and 48 hours or room temperature drying and an generous slap of proofhide, a tweak with the tension spanner and it is absolutely fine. All of which shows there is a hell of a lot of mythologising, for good and for bad, about Brooks saddles.