Hi -
I have been riding on a brooks b17 narrow for 6 years or so now. I mostly do commute and errand rides, so my trips are never too long. But I took my b17 through the swiss alps a few years ago, so I have also done some serious touring.
I broke the saddle in with the training and the touring in switzerland and--perhaps--went overboard with the proofhide. I'm not quite sure what the deal is, but here's my problem...
I have the sweatiest lower back on the face of the planet... which makes for a sweaty butt.
I don't ride in lycra nor do I chamois or butt-butter it up. I have a rear fender. And I lightly proofhide the saddle every other month or so. Only done some very mild tensioning up to this point.
Everyone that uses my bike is astounded with the saddles comfort, but last weekend a friend came down and we rode hard for nearly 3 hours in manhattan. Really rode hard. Like, we should have been in lycra suits hard... but he was wearing jeans and i polyester pants
(i always wear polyester pants).
On our last 5k he mentioned the saddle was no longer comfortable. I was shocked, astounded, relieved... finally I knew it wasn't just me and my sweaty butt. After hard riding and serious sweating without a bike shorts/padding or wickable garments, we both experienced a quick change from extreme comfort to pretty bad discomfort.
Once the saddles dry they are back to normal and comfortable as ever.
What could it be? Do others have this problem? Did I over do it with the proofhide in my break in process? Could frameset geometry be the culprit(one bike is a legitimate track bike)?
Okay!