Best Brompton Saddle?

[housebotanist]

I have recently got myself a Brompton H6L and I love it, I have added a few accessories to it to make a tiny bit lighter but, oh my the seat is not the comfiest. I was wondering what seats people use, I have tried looking and the one that comes up the most is Brooks B66 but I was wondering if this was the best one and if Brooks are the only ones that fit the Brompton and/if you need a pentaclip? Any help would be great and some accessory recommendations would be much appreciated.

 

[Banjo]

Saddles are so individual its hard to offer any advice .

I fitted a B17 to my ML6 and found it comfortable Im not sure what a pentaclip is but didn't need any accessories to fit the B17.

I have refitted the Brompton saddle now as I wanted the B17 on my tourer. I find the Brompton seat fine for the mostly sub 10 mile rides I do on it.

 

[Tenkaykev]

I have recently got myself a Brompton H6L and I love it, I have added a few accessories to it to make a tiny bit lighter but, oh my the seat is not the comfiest. I was wondering what seats people use, I have tried looking and the one that comes up the most is Brooks B66 but I was wondering if this was the best one and if Brooks are the only ones that fit the Brompton and/if you need a pentaclip? Any help would be great and some accessory recommendations would be much appreciated.

Hello house botanist, Firstly welcome to the Forum, I'm quite new here myself but I've found that they are a friendly bunch who don't bite :-)

My wife is quite a keen cyclist. She describes herself as a " Carthorse, not a Racehorse " ( her words, not mine! )
She has successfully cycled LEJOG, and from home here on the South Coast to our daughter who lives in Edinburgh, all self supported.
She swears by her Selle SMP TRK saddle which she used on her Roberts Bike.

She has just started riding a Brompton. She says the saddle is " OK " but I ordered a New Selle SMP TRK to fit to her Brompton.
It appears that I ordered the wrong size as the one that arrived was a bit smaller than the one on her Roberts, I've managed to find one the correct size ( Large ) and will fit it when it arrives.
The Selle looks a bit strange in that it has a turned down nose ( you'll understand what I mean if you look at a picture of them )

The " Pentaclip " is the gubbins that attaches the saddle rails to the seat post so you already have one on your Brompton.

HTH

Kevin

 

[12boy]

Any rail type saddle will fit. Unless you have an aftermarket seat post with an integral clamp you wil need a pentaclip. This is an aluminum version of the steel clamps found on old bikes and cheap ones. The steel ones are heavy but stout and they do fit the Brompton seat post. Brooks does make ladies' saddles (B 17 Imperial, B18) and so does Terry, the Terrys being a much lighter conventional saddle. The problem is that what looks and sounds good on paper may feel uncomfortable in practice. If you can find an LBS that will allow you to try them before purchase that would be great. Or , try your friends' saddles. For myself, nothing beats the right leather saddle even if they are twice as heavy.

 

[Tenkaykev]

Brooks does make ladies' saddles (B 17 Imperial, B18) and so does Terry, the Terrys being a much lighter conventional saddle. The problem is that what looks and sounds good on paper may feel uncomfortable in practice. If you can find an LBS that will allow you to try them before purchase that would be great. Or , try your friends' saddles. For myself, nothing beats the right leather saddle even if they are twice as heavy.

I bought a ladies Brooks B17 as a Christmas present for my wife a couple of years ago. She did persevere with it for several months but ended up refitting the Selle.
As you say, saddles are a very individual thing.

 

[CopperBrompton]

B17 Special here. If you're new to Brooks, be prepared for it to be uncomfortable for the first 50 miles, and to gradually soften up thereafter. Should be very comfy from around 200 miles and just get better from there.

 

[Kell]

I fancied the idea of a Brooks, but with a Lime Green Brommie, it didn't really suit in my opinion.

Mine's OK for commuting and up to about 7-8 miles. Afte rthat, I do think it's a bit uncomfortable.

Certainly, the 17 mile trip that I made down a (mostly) unpaved canal path let me know just how uncomfy.

 

[Tenkaykev]

B17 Special here. If you're new to Brooks, be prepared for it to be uncomfortable for the first 50 miles, and to gradually soften up thereafter. Should be very comfy from around 200 miles and just get better from there.

Do you need to use the proofide on a regular basis and does it speed up the " breaking in " process.
As my wifes Brooks B17 is sitting in the cupboard I'm tempted to try it although I'm not sure about the geometry.

 

[12boy]

Unless it is a ladies B17 the geometry issues are....
The rails on a Brooks are short and do not allow for a lot of fore and aft.
The conventional wisdom I have heard is broader saddles are best for an upright position, such as M bars on a Brompton and narrower saddles best in a bent position, as with drop bars. B17s are a fairly broad saddle.
Having said that I prefer a narrow saddle for all my bikes since they suit the sitbones best. I would suggest giving the B17 a try and seeing for yourself how it feels on your sitbones.

 

[chriscross1966]

Do you need to use the proofide on a regular basis and does it speed up the " breaking in " process.
As my wifes Brooks B17 is sitting in the cupboard I'm tempted to try it although I'm not sure about the geometry.

Proofride about once a year, one tin will likely last your children long enough to bequeath it to your grandchildren...

 

[Tenkaykev]

Just to update, on closer inspection the saddle is B17s Ladies and looks a bit too short.
Of course I found this out after I'd removed the Brompton saddle and being a bit thick by completely removing the pentaclip bolt and dumping all the plates and washers on the floor :-(

 

[Tenkaykev]

12boy,
I see what you mean about the length of the rails on the Brooks saddle, very short indeed.

 

[Kell]

Just to update, on closer inspection the saddle is B17s Ladies and looks a bit too short.
Of course I found this out after I'd removed the Brompton saddle and being a bit thick by completely removing the pentaclip bolt and dumping all the plates and washers on the floor :-(

https://trade.brompton.com/Uploads/QPart/QPart-Datasheets/ds-pentaclip.pdf

Scroll down to the bottom for the exploded diagram.

 

[Tenkaykev]

https://trade.brompton.com/Uploads/QPart/QPart-Datasheets/ds-pentaclip.pdf

Scroll down to the bottom for the exploded diagram.

Thanks Kell,
I printed it out and got it all back together correctly.

 

[12boy]

The pentaclip relies on a steel bolt tightening to the AL side of the clip. To avoid stripping the soft Al I got a slightly longer bolt and put a nut on it as well. Probably totally unnecessary, but it hasn't hurt anything except the massive weight gain. Also replaced the hex head bolts on the brake cable clamps with Allen head bolts so as not to need a 10mm wrench with me. Can't leave well enough alone.