Brooks B17

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Bodhbh

Guru
I've got a B17 on my tourer. It's well worn in, but it does take a little getting used to it if I've not ridden it a while. I think there's some truth in the Brooks breaking in your arse rather than the other way round. Maybe it's just the width relative to other saddles.
 

GrumpyGregry

Here for rides.
Agree. Got both. Bought a B17 to put onto my new commuter which came with the Spoon.

The Spoon was that good that the B17 stayed in its box for six months until I put it on my weekend bike.

Both are lovely, though the B17 edges it on the comfort factor. I prefer the Spoon's for its low maintenance - no need to proofide and keep dry.

recent experience in soaking wet Perth and Kinross suggests wet B17 variants, and I mean soaking wet as in "should I wring it out?" work fine and the problems may be largely myth/exaggeration.
 

Plodder335

New Member
Just got mine last week, I will let you know how I get on with it........just given it another layer of proofing on the underside.
 

Davidc

Guru
Location
Somerset UK
Agree. Got both. Bought a B17 to put onto my new commuter which came with the Spoon.

The Spoon was that good that the B17 stayed in its box for six months until I put it on my weekend bike.

Both are lovely, though the B17 edges it on the comfort factor. I prefer the Spoon's for its low maintenance - no need to proofide and keep dry.

I have a spoon (recommended to me on CC) on my round-town utility bike, which rarely does more than 15 miles return. It's very good on that. Not as good as the Brooks when I tried it on a 4 hour ride on the tourer though.

Like Greg Collins I've never bothered keeping a Brooks dry other than to avoid a wet backside. No prblems in 44 years of using them. I do use mudguards so I've never totally saturated one from below, but have had them unprotected on bikes left outside in torrential rain while camping.
 

upsidedown

Waiting for the great leap forward
Location
The middle bit
I loved mine apart from one of the rivets that scratched me all of the time. Wasn't until i took it off to change the seatpost thast i realised how heavy it was. Changed to a Charge Spoon and love it.
 

jonas123

New Member
Got one on my mountain bike - seemed to fit my bum ok and have toured on it for days without any (big) pains. Worth it I'd say. Only issue was it didn't take a certain design of saddle bag
 

tyred

Legendary Member
Location
Ireland
I remember the day I took delivery of my first Brooks B17. It was love at first sight. :blush: First time in my life that I was truely comfortable on a bike, and that was straight out of the box. As it's broken in, it's became more and more comfortable and about 4,500 miles later, I would never change it for anything and tend to fit Brooks saddles to any of my bikes which I ride on a regular basis. I use a B17 standard, two B66, a B72, a B15 and a Wrights B17 clone.
 
I did London-to-Brighton and London-to-Southend on a stock saddle on my Specialized Hardrock Sport and by the end I was in what I can politely call "some discomfort". I'm not quite sure what a "Brooks-shaped arse" is but I bought a B17 Special and compared to the previous saddle, this is almost like the difference between wiping your arse on silk rather than sandpaper. I often do a 20-mile trip from work to home and I have no soreness at all when I get home whereas I'd be slapping the Sudocrem on with the previous one.

At the time of purchase and when I fitted it, I did question why I spent £80 on a saddle -- even berating myself a little. There are lots of people gushing over how good they are and I'd have to say I don't regret spending the money at all. Given how much nicer it is, it'd be the first thing I buy if I get a new bike.
 
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