Slippery Brooks Saddle!

[Saracenlad]

As can be seen from the photo; my lovely Brooks is well used. 40+ years old and still in great condition. Proofide it 3 or 4 times a year. The problem I have is when riding I am constantly slipping forward on the seat despite the slight upward tilt. Having to push myself back every 5 minutes or so. It gets a bit tedious on a longish ride. I have changed my position on the bike recently by slightly lowering the saddle and moving it forward a bit. The saddle adjustments have definitely improved my hip and knee comfort on the bike. I cannot understand why I keep slipping forward. Any ideas or help much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Once a Wheeler]

Place pedal fully forward, crank horizontal. Adjust saddle back and forth until, seated on the bike with a foot on the pedal in the riding position, the shin is vertical. Works for me; but to each his or her anatomy!

 

[Ajax Bay]

Strip of sandpaper on the saddle's nose should sort it.

 

[Saracenlad]

Place pedal fully forward, crank horizontal. Adjust saddle back and forth until, seated on the bike with a foot on the pedal in the riding position, the shin is vertical. Works for me; but to each his or her anatomy!

Thanks. That is exactly where the saddle is. It is a weird thing to happen.

 

[ColinJ]

Strip of sandpaper on the saddle's nose should sort it.

A.k.a. 'doing a Tony Martin'!

 

[geocycle]

Angle looks ok but it looks quite a long way forward, I’d move backwards 10mm. Your weight must have come too far forward. It might also be a tad too low but you would need to experiment a bit.

 

[Once a Wheeler]

Thanks. That is exactly where the saddle is. It is a weird thing to happen.

Relative length of shin and thigh also play a role so it is worth checking saddle height as well. My formula for this is to set saddle height so that when the pedal is at its lowest point, crank vertical, the heel placed on the peddle just takes the weight of the fully extended leg. For me, this seems to compensate correctly for my size 12 feet as well.

All the best.

 

[Peter Salt]

Cut strip(s) of bar tape and put on the saddle for added grip.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Cut strip(s) of bar tape and put on the saddle for added grip.

Kinda detracts from the aesthetic pleasure of the Brooks look, don't you think?
Confess I appreciate the polished (proofhide and by my rs) slipperiness of my Brooks, but I don't suffer from the OP's forwards, then backwards incessant shuffling.

 

[Peter Salt]

Kinda detracts from the aesthetic pleasure of the Brooks look, don't you think?
Confess I appreciate the polished (proofhide and by my rs) slipperiness of my Brooks, but I don't suffer from the OP's forwards, then backwards incessant shuffling.

Absolutely agree. But given the choice, between comfort and aesthetics, the former should have priority.

 

[Ian H]

Absolutely agree. But given the choice, between comfort and aesthetics, the former should have priority.

That's best sorted out by getting the bike to fit properly rather than bodging it.

Points to check are saddle height and set-back, and possibly reach as well.

 

[Spiderweb]

You can’t possibly do anything to your lovely Brooks saddle so stick some puncture repair patches to your arse… sorted👍

 

[Peter Salt]

That's best sorted out by getting the bike to fit properly rather than bodging it.

Points to check are saddle height and set-back, and possibly reach as well.

I have inferred, given the age of the bike, that the OP knows what he's doing and the slipperiness of the saddle is a result of many years of riding - i.e. can't be mitigated by altering the fit.

 

[Ajax Bay]

The saddle looks in very good nick for one 40 years old. Light use, or just very well cared for. My '74 Competition started pulling away at the rivets after, maybe, 30Mm. YMMV

 

[Tenacious Sloth]

The saddle looks in very good nick for one 40 years old. Light use, or just very well cared for. My '74 Competition started pulling away at the rivets after, maybe, 30Mm. YMMV

For a moment I thought you’d had some kind of fit while typing the end of your post?

But after a little consideration, I suspect that “30Mn. YMMV” probably means something to those in the know? 😂