Het Volk

Brooks

Het Volk

So I just dropped a Brooks B17 on my single speed commuter / sport touring bike and rather than the “angled up” style, actually have is basically neutral.

I was worried that I would lose ability to ride in the drops since the B17 is supposed to be for upright riding.

However, my experience has been that this angle is perfectly comfortable and works with riding at a more aggressive angle.

Is the angled up something that just kind of arose and people do it for no real reason? Has anyone taken a flyer on adjusting the saddle to an angle such as the photo below and tried it out.

I found it to be amazing and comfortable (much more comfy out-of-the box than the Team Pro I put on my cross bike). I used to knock Brooks saddles, but it it like riding on air. The hammock effect of the B17 was noticeable from the start, and this angle eliminated any crotch discomfort so often ascribed to Brooks that are not broken in.

Hobbiano 

On my bikes, I find that unless I have the nose tilted up slightly, I find I'm sliding forward and that causes me to put more weight on the handlebars, resulting in numb hands after a while.

repechage

Looks like a B17 to me with the bag loops and holes up top on center.
Brooks saddles as a natural variable product, vary. My guess, when you sit the saddle sags.
otherwise the declination should cause you to slide forward.
you might check the tension- too limber and the saddle will splay and wear out faster. Too tight will not help either.

nice bike.

SJX426 

@het bolk - I have never had my pro pointed up.
This is the way I have been riding it isince the late 60's
1972 Motobecane Le Champion 24" on Flickr

The Pro has never been, to my knowledge, a saddle for upright riding. Too narrow. The Pro in the name implies used by pro's.
And not limite to the Pro.
P1040764 on Flickr

Bad Lag

Het Volk, your saddle is not "neutral", it has a distinct downward tilt.

Mine has an ever so slight upward tilt. The angle evolved over decades of use and tweaking for comfort.

One reason I originally bought a Campagnolo seat post way back when, was for its micro-adjusting ability - something lacking in cheap seat posts counter parts.

Road Fan

I normally angle upward, to prevent my body from sliding forward and down. If I do slide forward and down on nearly any saddle, I get perineal pain due to not being on the sitbone areas of the saddle. I also don't think the Professional was designed for upright riding. Its narrowness works best when the pelvis is tilted a little more forward (ymmV on the "little more forward), such as when the upper body is leaning forward to ride on the drops, hoods, or tops. Normally this position has the back leaned forward nearly as much as being as far down as your bar position can go, though this is a subjective point.

Het Volk

Jesus. My mind was in a fog and was not past my first cup of coffee. Yes. B17

Het Volk

Apologies. I meant the B17. Just a bad day of posting in my end.

Pcampeau

If you’re a no-hands rider you’ll definitely prefer a slight tip upwards to prevent you from sliding off the saddle.

SurferRosa

... foot retention.

amedias

Backsides vary, hence so do saddle positions.

that is about all there is to say about it, you have to find what works for you and your anatomy and preferences.

even though there are some similarities and ‘general trends’ in how saddles get setup that’s all they are, and there’s no point adjusting a saddle based on someone else backside...

merziac

@Het Volk

As many here, I have many of mine slightly nose up, new, old, broken in or not and everything in between. Normally feels like I'm sliding or tilting forward otherwise.

I always feel like the crux of this is "the one size fits all" and instant gratification mentality keeps them from working for too many.

The micro adjust is the key imo, it often takes patience to get there, small adjustments and people talk about not being able to break them in not realizing you have to break in to the saddle as well.

Everybody's physiology is also different with tolerance, mindset, comfort level, expectations and many other factors weighing in.

merziac

So far I can ride any and all, no matter. I have at least a dozen or more in service, all different styles, age and break in.

Kabuki12

I have only one B17 and the rest of my Brooks are Pro . The B17 is a newer saddle with the small nickel rivets and my pro saddles are well broken in and cared for seventies vintage. I don’t ride upright very often so most often I am “in the drops” so the Professional works best for me with a slight up tilt from the front. Each bike I have acquired takes a few rides to get right . I also play with rail position. I never change more than one thing at a time. We are all a bit different that’s why they are adjustable.

HTupolev

No. People angle their Brooks saddles up when they find that the saddle is pushing them forward, which can be problematic for weight distribution, and can cause the rider to neutrally end up on a more forward and narrower portion of the saddle than their sitbones or pubic bones want. Which is a bad situation, as it forces the user to sit to one side to keep the peak of the saddle from ramming up their pubic area, essentially doubling the pressure that the tissues around the bone are expected to tolerate.

Anyway, this all depend on the rider's body, the postures that the fit is aiming for, and the shape of the saddle.

jingy2

I agree, it's personal preference. I've tried flat and slightly nose down, but I always feel like I'm sliding forward on a B17 unless I'm slightly nose up, especially on a drop bar bike.
On other saddles, like my Cambiums, flat feels best to me.

Jim in Mpls

steelbikeguy

I've got two bikes equipped with B.17 saddles. I've had the orange one for 30 years, and the green one for 20 years. Both are somewhere around the 50,000 mile mark.
Both have pretty similar geometry, and both saddles are pretty close to level (as far as I can tell).





I have to admit that I'm intrigued by those who need to tilt the saddle up or down significantly. My first reaction to nose up saddles and the argument that it is needed to avoid sliding forward is that the saddle probably isn't far enough back. The limited degree to which Brooks can slide back might be a factor, plus the increase in seatposts that don't offer much rearward offset.

As far as nose down saddles... I have no familiarity with that or why it would be preferred.

Steve in Peoria
(my Brooks Pro's are fairly level too)

IsleRide

The answer lies in what you've ridden and gotten comfortable with before riding a Brooks. Flat, or with the rear tilted up is how you would be sitting on a Concor, or a a Turbo etc.

I haven't ridden anything other than Brooks B17s and Pros for several years. Below is how I set mine up. This is a NOS Pro. It might be called slightly nose-up but actually I think of it as flat and the nose and the very rear of the saddle are about level with each other. I do run the nose a bit higher on bikes set up for more upright riding.

SurferRosa

Yeah, I just follow the trends. Hurts like hell, but everybody else is doing it.

nlerner

I angle my saddle for no real reason just like every other choice I make in setting up my bikes.

Het Volk

I never assumed people did it because it hurt. However, lots of videos indicate that there are premium issues from Brooks saddles....and the fact that such saddles are not meant for drop bar ride styles. I just wonder if that "proclamation" was the result of how people set the saddle, rather than the saddle itself.

merziac

Any iconic top of the line bike boom racing bike came with a Brooks Pro, Paramount, Raleigh Pro, Moto TC, PX-10 and many others as well as 1000's more installed on any and all kinds of racing bikes of every stripe and brand, it was the go to racing saddle for many for a long time.

As was already stated, many can't get the hang of them or have skewed expectations, Brooks have been used for racing with drop bars for as long as the two have been around together.

The sprung saddles have been the go to for upright bikes in the same vein, ever since they have been around together.

pcb 

If ever there was YMMV territory, saddles are definitely it.

Usual initial saddle setup is stated saddle level or tilted up slightly. Works well that way for lotsa folks, but not everybody. You tilt/level it till it feels right.

When I see a little higher/lower tilt than I use, since by my definition I'm "normal," I usually go "Hmmmm," but don't assume it's "wrong."

When I see up/down angles approaching 45-deg, I assume something ain't right.

And there is a fairly wide range of sit-bone widths, so although I'd say the Brooks Pro doesn't generally work well as an upright saddle for most riders, if you've got 100mm-width sit bones, it might work just fine upright.

Nice America! Have you ever tried it with front bags i/o rear? Those Fujis have fairly low-trail geometry, and some folks find they handle better with more loading in the front.

ctak

I like to set new leather saddles approx level and clamped more fore than aft, followed by multiple long rides with stops as necessary to fine-tune things. Nothing like a 50+ miler to challenge ones preconceptions of normalcy.