I'd sometimes wondered why my Brooks Team Pro saddle felt like it was too far forward. I had it on a seatpost with some setback, yet was always wishing I could push it further back on the rails. Yes, I'm quite tall, and may have long femurs, but haven't found myself wishing this with other saddles.
It turns out that Brooks saddles - at least the B17 and Team Pro - have shorter "clamping area" on the rails than most saddles. And this clamping area is proportionately toward the back of the saddle, compared to most saddles. As a result, these Brooks saddles should ideally be used with an extra-setback seatpost.
Here is a picture comparing the rails of the Brooks Team Pro with two other (hopefully representative) saddles, the Specialized Avatar and the Selle Italia Turbo. Even if the saddles are not quite lined-up perfectly, it's fairly clear that the Brooks Pro has notably shorter clamping area on the rails, and that this area is further back on the saddle.
I have a B17 and a Team Pro. While the Team Pro is shown in this photo, the B17 has the clamping area of its rails in exactly the same spot as the Team Pro. Based on photos, the Swallow and Swift saddles may have a more "normal" clamping area that extends further forward.
I recently purchased (but haven't yet received) a Velo Orange seatpost with extra setback. Here are pictures of a B17 mounted on the Velo-Orange seatpost, and my Team Pro saddle (slid as far back as possible on the typical/slight-setback post). Note how my Team Pro still looks too-far-forward in comparison.
