not +ve about brookes saddle

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inaperfectworld

New Member
lots of enthusiasm for brookes saddles on a thread here, but i bought a b17 in early winter to break in during winter commuting. it has done about 1100 miles and been proofided 5-6 times; spa cycles from where i bought it said it is well on the way, but i don't find it particularly comfortable even now, and past 20 miles i have having to stand on the pedals for nether relief. i don't know why i seem to be having an unfavourable experience with it; has anyone else been disappointed?
 

Spoked Wheels

Legendary Member
Location
Bournemouth
I don't have the B17, I have the Team pro which has thicker leather and harder to brake in but no problems with it.

Your saddle should have been ready by now - perhaps your saddle is not in the correct position for you. Try moving it forward, backward, up, down, until you find a more comfortable position and then keep it there for a while and see how it goes.

Proofing the saddle too much will only ruin it so don't overdoit.

Rick
 

Fab Foodie

hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
Location
Kirton, Devon.
Sorry to hear that, am a B17 fan...25 years!
5-6 proofhides on a saddle bought early winter sounds waaaay too much IMO.
Once/(twice) a year maybe, but certainly no more.
 

Bigtallfatbloke

New Member
..yep..I am sorry to hear that as well because mind is comfortable right out of the box...I have only proofed it once in 2 days though lol!

On ething I have found with it though is that I am more comfy on it without any shorts padding...seems strange but it's true.
 

Joe

Über Member
Have you tried adjusting the seat angle? Slight adjustments can make a big difference to comfort in my experience. I have mine tilted back slightly.
 
I too have found that saddle position is quite critical with all the Brooks saddles I have had over the years, more so than any 'softening/breaking' in mumbo jumbo. It seems to me (from long experience with Brooks saddles and their users) that a minority of 'bums' just don't get on with them :biggrin:
:biggrin: Any chance you could post a pic or two showing the set-up?
 

Blonde

New Member
Location
Bury, Lancashire
I had two Brooks B17s and found that you do need to sit in the exact 'sweet spot' for them to be useable. However I found that I am not Brooks shaped anyway and I now go for Selle Anatomica saddles http://mcmwin.com/ These are leather hammock type saddles, like a Brooks, but using softer leather and also have a cut out slot (of varying size and shape to suit you). They are available in three widths of saddle. They are lighter in weight than a B17 and much flatter through the nose and mid section which suits me a lot better. Maybe you too are simply not Brooks shaped.
 

twowheelsgood

Senior Member
I agree with the advice here. My Brooks is very comfortable with the nose slightly up, every other saddle I've owned has had the nose slightly down.

They seem to work differently. You effectively sit "in" a Brooks at the point the leather has softned and adapted to your shape as opposed to sitting on most other saddles.
 
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