New Brooks saddle like hard wood!

[philepo]

I have recently purchased a Brooks Flyer (a B17 with springs) and it looks great in black set against my Edinburgh Bike Coop hybrid bike.

But, although I've only ridden a couple of miles, my it is hard! I read reviews of people saying these things are brilliant and often very comfy from the off, but not this one.

My question is, how long do I stick out the pain? I only ride a mile a day, is that enough? or should I have gone for a gel saddle?

thanks for reading.

 

[MacB]

3 possiblities:-

1. you have a duff saddle and it'll never be comfy - very unlikely indeed

2. you don't have the saddle height, angle and position on the rails setup correctly to suit you. Therefore you are applying too much pressure in the wrong places at the wrong angles.

3. you don't have a Brooks bum and these saddles won't work for you, possibly not helped by the fact you don't ride a lot.

Personally I'd guess at a combination of 2 and 3, my Brooks was comfy from the first ride and works fine up to about 15 miles with or without padded shorts.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

mine took over 1000 miles. worth it tho. have you proofrided it yet?

 

[Randochap]

Give it time. Use Proofide.

 

[rich p]

If it needs wearing in then at 1 mile a day it's going to take some time!

 

[ianrauk]

Strange saddles the Brooks. Some people love 'em, some people hate them. But the one thing that most agree on is that they do need breaking in. And over the years seeing discussions on Brook's on this forum and others, I think about 500 miles seems to be the consensus.

 

[Crackle]

I tried one but it didn't suit me at all, didn't seem to break in even after a good few hundred miles and the signs of give were in the wrong place, so I sold it before it crippled me. Give it time and try it but be aware it's a love hate thing. There is a good 2nd hand market for them.

 

[MacB]

broken in or not I wouldn't expect any reasonably setup saddle to cause pain inside a couple of miles

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

broken in or not I wouldn't expect any reasonably setup saddle to cause pain inside a couple of miles

+1

 

[Crackle]

broken in or not I wouldn't expect any reasonably setup saddle to cause pain inside a couple of miles

Nope, mine hurt. I ended up wearing two pair of shorts at one point. The trouble with mine was the raised rounded profile along the nose. If that had been flatter I might have kept the saddle. I often ended up too far forward in the early days because of the tendency to slide, this improved but I still couldn't get the saddle set to a position that was comfortable, pain definetly figured in it's demise and until then no saddle had ever cuased me pain.

 

[MacB]

Nope, mine hurt. I ended up wearing two pair of shorts at one point. The trouble with mine was the raised rounded profile along the nose. If that had been flatter I might have kept the saddle. I often ended up too far forward in the early days because of the tendency to slide, this improved but I still couldn't get the saddle set to a position that was comfortable, pain definetly figured in it's demise and until then no saddle had ever cuased me pain.

I don't disbelieve you but would it have been painful even for a couple of miles? I haven't found any saddle that caused me immediate discomfort yet, not that I've been looking for one though

 

[Crackle]

I don't disbelieve you but would it have been painful even for a couple of miles? I haven't found any saddle that caused me immediate discomfort yet, not that I've been looking for one though

Immediate no, you're right, that would tend to point to setup but 10 miles in on it's first ride I was thinking of extending the ride 20 miles to the bikeshop and lobbing the saddle in the loch. Only the fact it was a bank holiday saved it's proofed hide.

 

[Ian H]

For low mileage use a pre-softened Brooks would probably be a better bet. Otherwise, a liberal application of Proofide: smother the underside of the saddle and leave it upsidedown somewhere warm. When that's soaked in coat the top. Finally - a quick polish and refit.

I must say that buying a Brooks to ride a mile seems rather extravagent.

 

[Mycroft]

I noticed a difference on my flyer at 200 miles, 400 miles and somewhere between 500/600 everything was peachy.

friend with a new B67 hoped on their bike and said "wow" no breaking in required, I was quite envious. think my next brooks will be a 67

 

[philepo]

I must say that buying a Brooks to ride a mile seems rather extravagent.[/QUOTE]

Not really. Brooks make wide arse models to cater for town bikes that only go to the shops and back.

The B17 is supposed to be an all rounder and my cycling is just that. Occational longer meander coupled with a 2x a day approx 1 mile route.

The bike (Revolution Streetfinder) was only 200 quid in the sale so I thought I'd treat myself, and the saddle that cam with it was no good - too narrow and had stitching just where it will wear out a pair of trousers.

Set-up: the handle bars are just above to saddle height. The saddle height means I have a slightly bent leg at bottom dead centre and the saddle is about level and in the middle of the rails.

I've proof hided the underneath and polished the top. Maybe the cold has made it extra stiff? I know 99% of people like them so I will give it time, but logically it seems od that sitting on a hard flat surface will be comfortable!

I think I will try the suggestion of proofing and leaving in a warm place to soak it.

Thanks for the comments.