New Saddle - Which bike?

[MarkF]

I am 47, a stone and a half overweight but am about to commence training for my first long tour, next week in fact, when I might have sobered up. I have two questions.

I bought a cheap (£100) Dawes, steel 531, Horizon, I struck lucky, it's mint. I've serviced it, added guards, marathon plus's, a new HD rack and cages, it's ready but I find the seat bloody uncomfortable, it's a B17 (I think) Brookes. I have read great things about these saddles so I am surprised to find it so painful, it's perhaps 8/9 years old and "shaped", mebbe moulded to suit somebody else's weird arse, not my pert bot. Should I persevere with it or get new? Recommendations for new?

Back to the bike, I bought it for a sole purpose, a long tour and it's my first bike with drops, my other bike is a 2007 Discovery 501 and I find that a lot comfier than the "tourer" I find the Horizon's bars too narrow, in turn that makes me feel unstable, anybody else struggled from upright/hybrid to drops? Is it perseverence again? I am beginning to think that I should just have used the Discovery in the first place.

 

[Radius]

I went from upright hybrid to drops just recently, but had ridden a roadie before that so knew what to expect. The first time I did, the steering felt twitchy if less responsive, and I felt vulnerable so low down. I did get used to it, but I couldn't damned well control the hybrid for a while after that (switched straight and carried on riding, my friend was on the other bike and we swapped after I helped fix his p*ncture )
I guess it's perseverance, but don't keep going if it hurts a lot.

 

[blazingsaddles]

Just a thought, have you tried stretching the saddle with the adjusting nut fitted underneath. Perhaps there's not enouth tension in it to be comfortable?

I've recently gone from straight bars to drops and I find the same. A little too narrow. At the moment I'm perservering, although at the end of a thirty miler the other day I would say the drops where coming into their own. I may have to get a pair of 46cm as at present I'm using 44cm drops.

 

[willem]

Some people don't like Brooks saddles - you may be one of them. On the other hand, many love them, and you may become one of them. If this saddle has been used extensively, then it really is shaped to somebody else's behind. If that happens to resemble yours, the saddle may become comfortable, but then, maybe it will not. My hunch is that if you take a bit of care, it is likely to improve. So, tension the saddle, apply some profide, and be patient. Also, look carefully to see if it is adjusted well. Is it more or less horizontal, is it far enough backward, etc. Finally, your behind may crave for a different size (what matters is not the meat, but the distance between the sitbones). The B17 and its sprung Champion Flyer relative suit many, but not all. With drops, I needed the narrower Conquest on my touring bike, and an even narrower unsprung Brooks saddle on my brevet bike. Don't give up immediately.
As for drops, I have had them for more than thirty years, and yes, they do feel a bit twitchy after wider riser bars, but it is not just the bars, but also the bike that may be more responsive. And yes, many drop bars are too narrow for me as well, especialy bars on older bikes (they used to be much narrower than is now normal). I now have a 46 cm Nitto Noodle bar (measured c-c) and I love that bar. As with saddles, much also depends on precise adjustment. Often drop bars are set too low for touring (I think for touring they should be level with the saddle, or even a bit higher; Nitto do high stems), and sometimes also too far forward. I would begin by raising the bar a bit (not beyond the insertion mark).
Finally, the bike rather than the bar may be more nervous than what you compare it with, especially if you use narrow or very stiff tyres that transmit a lot of road imperfections. Wider and more comfortable tyres may calm down your bike rather a lot.
I hope this helps, because drop bars are so wonderful.
Willem

 

[andym]

My experience with a B17 suggest you need to allow for a good 2-300 hundred miles to even start to break it in, but even then you may find that the shape doesn't suit you (I did).

I'd highly recommend the Selle Anatomica saddles. Not as well-finished as the Brooks saddles but very comfortable. The waterproof leather really does work - no faffing about with Proofride.

 

[Dave5N]

Specialized Toupe. Most comfortable saddle I have ever used.

 

[sadjack]

I bought my first tourer this year. A Galaxy. I too felt a great difference in how the bars and the bike felt and was quite nervous on it for a while. Now, having done 1400 miles or so on it I would never change back. The range of hand positions is much greater and that's something I appreciate when I have been riding for a few miles.

I also bought a Brookes B17. It rubbed me raw! I would walk like John Wayne after every ride. I started alternating saddles ( think I was in love with the idea of a traditional leather saddle on a tourer ) until a more experienced tourer suggested I just persevere, that it would become the most comfortable saddle I'd ever had. Sure enough after maybe 800 miles it has . Thats from new of course and I have no idea what it will take for one that has been moulded to someone else to be so for you.

So now after doing my first tour in the summer of 2008 I cant wait for the weather to improve in 2009!

 

[Andy in Sig]

You may need to get wider bars. According to the book on my shelf, "On a racing bike, the correct dimension is such that the arms are parallel all the way from the shoulders to the wrists when holding the drops (the ends of the racing handlebars". (From Bicycle Technology by Rob van den Plas.)

Obviously for racing bike read "tourer" as the key thing is the handlebar type.

As for the saddle, my tourer has got a Brooks which is broken in to the shape of my backside. Then I got a recumbent and didn't go near the tourer for about two years until one day I did a quick fifteen miles on it and the saddle was agony. That suggests to me that any initial contact with a Brooks saddle is likely to be a bit awkward.

 

[ACS]

I am no youngster and certainly no lightweight (+ 4 stone). I returned to the sport about 12 weeks ago and on the advice of my LBS I purchased a Terry Liberator Y saddle (not the gel model) because I just could not get comfortable every ride was torture. Excellent advice, the saddle is firm without being harsh, no numbness and it absorbs the road vibrations with ease. I have to also add that I had my first run out using a new Brooks B17 (different bike) yesterday and found it instantly comfortable.

 

[MarkF]

The advice is much appreciated, thank you.

I'll check the saddle tensioning and persevere before giving up on it and I'll keep the bars too, for a while, although I think it'd be better to have bars of equal width on both bikes.

 

[Soltydog]

I have a B17 which was on my hybrid & was comfy from day 1, but i've tried it on my new tricross & it isn't half as comfy. I'm still playing with the position, but done 70 miles today & my arse knows it I can spend all day on the saddle on my hybrid, so i'm putting it down to different riding position

 

[colly]

Specialized Toupe. Most comfortable saddle I have ever used.

I have just got a Specialized Toupe.

To be honest the looks of it kind of had me wondering, it is sort of minimalist.
So far have done about 80 miles on it. Too soon to be sure but the second 40 included about 20 miles of a not to smooth cycle path at relatively slow speeds.

My under-carriage has no complaints so far. So I am hoping it's the right choice.

 

[samid]

I bought a cheap (£100) Dawes, steel 531, Horizon, I struck lucky, it's mint. I've serviced it, added guards, marathon plus's, a new HD rack and cages, it's ready but I find the seat bloody uncomfortable, it's a B17 (I think) Brookes. I have read great things about these saddles so I am surprised to find it so painful, it's perhaps 8/9 years old and "shaped", mebbe moulded to suit somebody else's weird arse, not my pert bot. Should I persevere with it or get new? Recommendations for new?

If the saddle has deformed (through mis-use or just by adapting to someone else's differently shaped backside) you may try to get it back to the original shape - the usual recommendation is to soak it in water, then when it's become soft stuff it with crumpled newspapers to get it back to shape, and let dry - e.g. see this link for instance.

Also - or even before that - try adjusting the saddle's position. In particular, try getting the nose of the saddle very slightly higher than the rear. When you sit on it, your seatbones should rest on the wide part of the saddle, and you should not have the tendency to slide forward (hence the up-tilt).

Also, try to raise the bars so that they are at least level with the seat, preferably a bit higher. You can also try rotating the bars in the stem slightly - this makes a big difference in how the bars feel, you may find yourself much more comfortable.

 

[ASC1951]

the usual recommendation is to soak it in water, then when it's become soft stuff it with crumpled newspapers to get it back to shape, and let dry - e.g. see this link for instance.

Interesting.
What's a toestrap?