London-Edinburgh-London 2013: The thread

[Alberto]

the reason i advice to buy new brooks saddle is that you might need to use their warranty offer. many audax riders agree that the leather of new (i.e. after the company was bought by italians) brooks saddles is thinner/softer and goes out of shape quicker, which usually is not a good thing. i've had to return my b17 after very wet lel'09; it collapsed in five days of riding in the rain. brooks kindly replaced the top with a sturdier leather and it's been fine so far.

Interesting that you mentioned about the saddle collapsing after LEL. I experience pretty much the same after a wet tour in NW Scotland, despite all my efforts to keep it dry when not riding on it. When I got home I noticed that the leather was very saggy. Got in touch with Brooks and they said I should let it dry and then re-tension it with the bolt. It's now back to normal, although it's shape has changed quite a bit. I wonder how many more of these wet rides it will take given that the tensioning-bolt is now 1/4 of the way used?

 

[rb58]

I'd been riding a Brooks B17 for a year by the time Tim and I did the upward leg of LEL in the summer. By the time we got to Edinburgh I was in quite a lot of discomfort - such that I decided to give up on it and go back to my trusty San Marco Rolls. The Brooks has languished on the garage shelf ever since and will never again grace one of my bikes. The learning for me was that weekend century rides are different from 300 miles in a day, followed by 175 miles the next day, particularly in the way your body reacts.

I'm still undecided about whether to do LEL. Two things stick in mind from our dummy run. Firstly, I'm not sure I was in a fit state to turn around and ride back from Edinburgh - but that's most likely due to not eating properly and not taking enough breaks on day 1. I really don't recommend 300 miles as the first leg. And secondly, I found long stretches quite boring and whilst I think it was an achievement, it wasn't something I particularly enjoyed. (That's no reflection on Tim, who is always a pleasure to ride with, especially when he falls asleep in the saddle!)

So, I shall decide on whether to enter nearer the time depending on if the pain has dulled by then.

In terms of preparation, it's not the mileage that would worry me, it's the consecutive days. So I'd advise you to make sure your preparation does not focus exclusively on day rides.

(BTW if anyone wants to make me a sensible offer for a good condition standard Brooks B17 in black, drop me a PM)

Cheers

 

[Tynan]

cheerfulness and light again, tsk

It was comfy for a year and horrid on a long ride? That's not good, any idea why?

 

[velovoice]

It was comfy for a year and horrid on a long ride? That's not good, any idea why?

The clue is here: "The learning for me was that weekend century rides are different from 300 miles in a day, followed by 175 miles the next day, particularly in the way your body reacts."

I consider the B17 an instrument of torture. YMMV.

 

[rb58]

It was comfy for a year and horrid on a long ride? That's not good, any idea why?

To be honest, I never really felt comfortable on the Brooks for the whole year I was trying to break it in. However, my point wasn't really about the saddle, it was that for most people contemplating LEL, 150 miles in a day is no big deal. But in my experience, doing that mileage day after day is a different prospect and your training needs to prepare you for this.

 

[Tynan]

I hear that, most advice says do at least one 600km, I have thought that was a minimum requirement as being two days of riding and something approaching half the total distance

can't wait (to find out)

 

[martint235]

Well I've decided to approach manufacturers for sponsorship (I'll be riding for MIND). The first manufacturer said that unfortunately they couldn't sponsor me financially but they have provided £100 worth of goods free of charge to help me.

 

[frank9755]

the reason i advice to buy new brooks saddle is that you might need to use their warranty offer. many audax riders agree that the leather of new (i.e. after the company was bought by italians) brooks saddles is thinner/softer and goes out of shape quicker, which usually is not a good thing. i've had to return my b17 after very wet lel'09; it collapsed in five days of riding in the rain. brooks kindly replaced the top with a sturdier leather and it's been fine so far.

I had to return one under warranty last year, too. The leather started to flop over onto one side after a couple of thousand miles.

FWIW I used to swear by Brooks but, other than on my tourer, I don't use them any more; they are ok but there are others which I get on better with, especially if I am riding faster and hence in a lower position. Also having to constantly worry about keeping the rain off them is a bit of a pain!

 

[Alberto]

I had to return one under warranty last year, too. The leather started to flop over onto one side after a couple of thousand miles.

FWIW I used to swear by Brooks but, other than on my tourer, I don't use them any more; they are ok but there are others which I get on better with, especially if I am riding faster and hence in a lower position. Also having to constantly worry about keeping the rain off them is a bit of a pain!

I have always used Selle Italia Flite that I got back several years ago. Fine for the mtb, where I would not use a Brooks, but not so great for more than >200 km. I am now thinking about a brooks for my road bike, yet not totally convinced due to the reasons you guys mention about rain etc. Any other models that you could recommend Frank?

 

[Tynan]

May I repeat though, whether a wide or narrow saddle is more comfortable is now't to do with how scrawny or how well fleshed you are, it is much more to do with how wide apart your sit-bones are.

yes yes but given similar proportions, the taller fellow will have wider sit bines init

 

[velovoice]

yes yes but given similar proportions, the taller fellow will have wider sit bines init

No correlation at all. There is no proportionality between one's sit-bone width and, say, the length of one's legs.

 

[Tynan]

I specifically didn't suggest that

 

[velovoice]

I specifically didn't suggest that

To be fair, no, you didn't but I addressed it anyway. You did suggest that the taller you are, then (as a general proposition) the wider apart your sit bones will be. I wanted to correct that - there is no correlation at all.

 

[srw]

To be fair, no, you didn't but I addressed it anyway. You did suggest that the taller you are, then (as a general proposition) the wider apart your sit bones will be. I wanted to correct that - there is no correlation at all.

Equally, I'm sure that there is, but I don't have the stats to prove it. I would simply use the general observation that the taller you are the bigger (in general) your bones tend to be.

Actually, googling around a bit:

Pelin et al. recently showed that sacral height measured on lateral magnetic resonance images can be used with moderate accuracy to reconstruct stature in males. In most forensic anthropological cases, however, sacral dimensions must be obtained from dry bones. In this study, the relationship between stature and sacral height, hip height, and femur head diameter measured on dry bone was evaluated for American Blacks and Whites of both sexes (N = 247). There are significant correlation between stature and these three dimensions, but the results suggest that none of the dimensions predict stature with the accuracy needed to be useful in forensic anthropological investigations.

http://www.academia.edu/199600/Stat...ensions_of_the_bony_pelvis_and_proximal_femur

 

[velovoice]

Equally, I'm sure that there is, but I don't have the stats to prove it. I would simply use the general observation that the taller you are the bigger (in general) your bones tend to be.

Actually, googling around a bit:

http://www.academia.edu/199600/Stat...ensions_of_the_bony_pelvis_and_proximal_femur

I don't doubt any of that. But it doesn't seem to mention the distance or width between the sit bones, which is what we were talking about.