Brooks with different geometries.

[jefmcg]

I've got a Brooks (B17S I think) on my folder. It's not super comfortable, but 200km later, it feels the same. Seems it is the perfect saddle for me. 10,000km, so well broken in.

I'd previously done around 95km in a day on my new road bike, with the factory saddle, no problem. But on Sunday I did about 120km all up, and had some serious chafing issues. (I only did 70km of a 100km audax. If I'd finished it, I would probably had to walk 15 km home from Clapham Junction or got a taxi). So, I need a Brooks on my road bike.

As the Brooks I have is my perfect saddle on my fairly upright folder, does that mean it's the right one for my road bike too? I'm female, of fairly broad hips and the sit bone dimples are fairly far apart.

Secondly, can I break in a Brooks on one style of bike then use it on another, or will the shape be wrong? I'm commuting on the folder, ~35km/day but with the option of public transport, so it's perfect for breaking in a saddle. The road bike is only used for longer distances and it could be a long slog home if I have problems. But will breaking it in on the folder lead to it having the wrong shape on the road bike?

(i.e. I'd like to put my current saddle on my road bike, get a new - black - b17s and put it on the folder. After a month, swap them round as the black will look better on the road bike. But if it's better to break it in on the bike you will do most of your riding on, then I'll get myself a Brooks for Christmas, and ride everyday between Christmas and new year on the road bike, and just put up with the chafing until then)

 

[jefmcg]

TL;DR - is a Brooks broken in on an upright bike roughly the same shape as one broken in (by the same arse) on a road bike?

 

[EltonFrog]

I'm not sure if this answer helps.

I have two Brooks Ti swallow saddles. One I have on my road bike, and one I had on my hybrid. I have done over 1800 miles on the road bike and the saddle is great, no issues with it at all. On the Hybrid I had to to take it off, and put the the stock saddle back on. The Brooks just did not feel right on the Hybrid, and after about 45 miles it would get uncomfortable, the stock saddle however is great and I don't think I'll be changing it.

It's my belief that the Swallow is just the wrong shape for the hybrid, but is perfect for the road bike. If you can justify the cost it may be worth experimenting with different Brooks saddles to see of you can find a good fit.

 

[PpPete]

Conventional wisdom is to have a narrower saddle for a drop bar road bike than for an upright, but it may also depend on whether you rotate forwards (for the road bike) more from the hips or from the waist.
Can you lower the bars on the folder to see if the saddle remains comfortable over your commute distance?
Experimentation with other Brooks saddles is not necessarily that expensive, because second hand ones in top class condition sell so well on ebay.
Very very tentatively I'd suggest a regular man's B17 as a starting point, as it's just a little narrower and longer than the B17S.
But before you do anything have a serious look at the road bike's stock saddle and exactly where it chafed... wet weather often exacerbates chafing and isn't good for leather saddles either.
Frankly it's a minefield... my dearly beloved uses a B17S on her audax bike (up to 600km so far) and looking at the dimples on it, if I had saddle that was that wide in relation to the width of my sit bones I'd be in trouble after just two or three hours riding. She has a Charge Ladle (female version of the Spoon) on her commuter (drop bar tourer), which is narrower than the B17S but found that distinctly uncomfortable over long distances.

 

[MacB]

I have the B17 standard for my tourer/commuter but a Spesh Alias on my weekend bike. I did try a B17 narrow on the weekender but didn't like the look and the Alias isn't uncomfy. The B17 Narrow is planned to go on my folder.

 

[Muddyfox]

I had a Brooks B17 on a drop bar tourer and i did'nt get on with it at all and when i was chatting to the guy who owns my LBS he was telling me that a lot of people have better results with a Brooks when they ride with a more upright position ? .. so now that i ride a Karakum with butterfly bars i've treated myself to a Brooks B17 Titanium for christmas and hopefully i'l be comfy with it on the Karakum

 

[jefmcg]

Thanks. I can't really experiment that much as I have to ride more than 100km before I can tell the difference. My somewhat padded roadbike seat is probably more comfortable for the first 20km or more (ie commuting distance).

The chafing would be along the side of the nose, where I suspect I don't actually contact the brooks at all. As for rain, I didn't get that wet around my lower torso, and one thing I've really noticed about the brooks (and this may be a lady thing) is that it's very noticeable after a ride of an hour or more, how breathable the brooks is.

Probably the best thing is just to swap the saddles. If the brooks feels good on my next long ride, then get the black one and break it in then swap. If not, I'll be back here with more questions.

 

[jefmcg]

Update: I've swapped the saddles. The Brooks acquitted itself well on a 214km ride. Still a little sore in the same spot, but not nearly as bad as after 100 on the old saddle.

Now just got to decide whether to get the same model, or pick a road bike specific model