ppg677

<start rant>

DONE! I've become a Brooks hater. In the past 3 years, I've bought 3 Brooks saddles:

1) Brooks B17 for my LHT. ~1200 miles on it.

2) Brooks B17S for my wife's Trek 620. ~100 miles on it

3) Brooks Team Pro for my sport bike. ~700 miles on it.


I'm done with all three.

At first I thought I liked (1). I was in the honeymoon phase of riding my LHT. Overtime I started to hate riding my LHT. I thought it was the bike. Well, it partially is the bike since I've come to appreciate the liveliness of my recently acquired 1981 Trek 613 (which makes the LHT feel like a lifeless dead cinder block). I was switching out stems left and right. Adjusting saddle height, angle, fore aft. Nothing felt right. Finally I switched out the saddle and it made everything MUCH better. Perhaps the B17 got too soft on me. I tried tightening it. Just feels like I'm dropped into a tiny cavern. There is no surface area.

(2) was an unmitigated disaster. This was the "pre-aged" model. She couldn't ride it. Made her lady parts super sore unless the saddle was tilted way down which made her fall into the handlebars. I thought about doing my own cutout but sold it. What the hell is Brooks thinking by selling a "lady" version of the B17 that is just shorter? She routinely does 70-mile training rides on her triathlon bike, and the women's saddle (which is looong) has no issues whatsoever with lady parts.

(3) was an experiment for my 1981 Trek 613. I figured it would "look cool". I read these suckers are hard to break in, so I gave it a solid 700+ miles. The thing just sucks plain and simple. I think I got so pissed that I tossed it in the trash can instead of selling it to some poor sucker.

Part of the Brooks disaster is how short the seat rails are. Yup, so I went out and bought one of those Velo Orange Grand Cru seatposts with the huge setbacks. It makes the Brooks slightly less ****ty, but doesn't compensate. I swear they just lack surface area.

Ok, I got that off my chest. Thanks.

<end rant>

PS-- I'm going to try a Crosscheck frame instead of an LHT frame. Heavy-loaded touring was a pipe dream of mine but then I had kids. Now the best I can do is an occasional overnighter.

jamawani 

I've never had a Brooks saddle - so I wouldn't know.
The idea of "breaking in" an overpriced hoo-hah -
Then have a sore butt and worrying about the leather getting wet??
Nah, I just bought gel saddles for the past 25 years.
Never had a single problem,

Lou Skannon

My Brooks went in the bin as well. Good riddance. Only problem was that it was a present from the GF. I told her that it had been stolen.

Steve0000

I guess not everyone is suited to them. I have a B17 on my touring bike and over 7000km on it. Very comfortable and lasting cf synthetic saddles I used to endure. My partner has a B17 also with over 6000km on it and is happy with it.
My commuting bike has a Swallow model and is very comfy after the breakin period. Over 5000km on it. I don't worry about the rain with this one but the B17's have a rain cover if the rain is heavy.
Synthetic saddles haven't lasted long (less than 10000km touring) and are less comfortable.

J.C. Koto

...The idea of "breaking in" an overpriced hoo-hah...


Quite possibly one of the naughtiest things I've read on bikeforums

Rowan

Tell someone who cares.

Machka 

To each his own. <<shrug>>

I have Brooks saddles on all my bicycles and have put thousands of kilometers ... like 50,000+ ... onto my Brooks saddles. And I love them. They are the most comfortable saddles I've ever experienced.

Oh, and I'm a woman.

staehpj1

Different strokes but I have never had any problems with premature failure of synthetic saddles. I have a couple from the early 80's that probably have a couple hundred thousand miles on them and they are still fine. For me they are more comfortable than the one Brooks that I have owned and discarded.

Saddles are a pretty individual decision, so what is comfortable for one rider may not be for another. That said, to me, a Brooks would have to be a lot more comfortable to be worth the extra weight and the break in period if you need a break in period. Personally I found my brooks fairly comfortable when new, followed by a brief period where it improved, and it went downhill from there. It fairly quickly got to the point where it was uncomfortable. Even when at its best it was nothing special.

fks

Each to his/her own
I have a brooks saddle on every bike I own (way too many). Had them for the last 16 years, Tours in that time include XC USA , LEJOG, Across the Alps, twice to NZ Sth Is and multiple tours in OZ
Favourite is the Conquest followed by Team Pro and I try to commute (46 KM round trip) at least 3 times a week.

wahoonc

Agree they aren't for everybody... Me I like mine.

BTW if you READ the specifications the so called "ladies" saddles are shorter front to back, primarily so they won't catch skirts. FWIW I have a couple of the "S" versions, typically use them on my city bikes, because I was able to get them cheap. My wife had a Brooks on her bike and did not like it at all. Swapped it out for a Selle Royal Freeway Gel Happy Wife, Happy Life. Unfortunately they aren't easy to get in the US. I also use the Selle Royal Classic on my beater city bike that gets parked outside in all kinds of weather.

Aaron

Knotdodger

I was thinking of getting a brooks myself, but not sure yet. I don't ride with padded shorts.
Just cargo shorts. Like a B 67 looks about right.. But that's a lot of cash for something that
may be rock hard .

BigAura

You'll have to tell us when you find a saddle and bike that's just right.

bikemig 

Look at the up side, you can sell the saddles and recoup some of your costs. That's hard to so with most saddles.

I've been using san marco rolls and selle italia turbo for years. I like them both a lot but I've been thinking of getting a leather saddle or perhaps the brooks cambium.

Route 66

Not the kind of thread I was hoping to read today considering my B17 is supposed to be delivered on Monday.

Hopefully, I'll be one of the lucky ones. I won't be installing it when it first arrives because I'm going to treat the underside with Proofide in the hopes that it wont take quite so long to break in. After reading the OP's post, I may just give it a second coat.

ironwood

If it fits your anatomy its great, if not it's hell. Just like shoes.

Machka 

Of course the Brooks saddle will be rock hard. And it will remain rock hard for its entire life. If it goes soft, something has gone terribly wrong.

This is one misconception ... some people think that breaking the saddle in should make the saddle soft. But that will never happen. It will conform to your shape, but will never become soft. It's not supposed to become soft. The hardness is what makes it comfortable. The hardness forces you to sit on your sitbones, where you're supposed to sit, rather than on your soft bits.


And when you install it ... install it with the nose tilted UP.


BTW - I've ridden as much as 80 km in a bathing suit and beach shorts on one of my Brooks saddle ... comfy as.

staehpj1

Don't be too quick to do anything that rushes the break in. Some proofide is fine, but don't go too crazy with treatment at least until you gave ridden it a bit and know that you need it. I'd definitely advise avoiding any thing more aggressive than proofide. Some folks find their brooks fine when new. I know that I liked the one I had the best for the first few months of its life and found that for me it went downhill quickly from there. By the time it was molded to my bottom I hated it and it went in the trash bin before it was a year old.

ppg677

Yup, I've tried several tilt angles ranging from nose slightly up to "holy crap why is your saddle tilted backwards 30 degrees?".

I used to think I liked the B17 but it has gone downhill. Someone else above mentioned the same thing-- it gets comfortable and then it can get worse.

I feel like it now TOO compliant. So then I was thinking "must be that screw adjustment I've never touched". I dig the funny wrench out of my bike toolbox and put in at least a full turn (hell, it might have even been two full turns). It didn't help and still too compliant. Perhaps I should try a couple more turns...not like I care if I wreck it at this point. It is not like I left the bike out in the rain several times.

As far as the B17S-- the intended use is for a woman wearing a dress? Are you flipping kidding me? What kind of woman riding wears a dress on a touring bike these days? Sure, I can picture a pretty lady wearing a sundress on a city bike (in some pretty little European town). But my vision in that picture is a spring-loaded B67, not a saddle intended for touring bikes. What a stupid product.

J.C. Koto

I got mine a couple of weeks ago and it felt pretty good right off the bat, though very slippery at first. Even though it's fairly hard, it feels like it's putting support in the right places.

It really does feel even better after a couple hundred miles. I haven't yet bothered with Proofide or other leather treatments, just riding it. I don't really know if the saddle itself is conforming to my anatomy or if I am simply adjusting to the saddle. Only time will tell if the comfort goes downhill or not..

If I were you I wouldn't worry.

Also, Machka is right, I had to tilt the nose up more than I thought I would, so even though it looks like it points at a weird angle it doesn't actually "dig in".

10 Wheels

I was looking for a 100 mile saddle.

Gave up on the Brooks after 400+miles.

Machka 

B17s aren't just touring saddles ... and they are European ... and lots of women ride in dresses.

djb

That is unfortunate that they didnt work out for you, a seat is just a seat and some work for you and some dont. Unfortunate you spent so much money on three of them before you found out they dont work for you.
They work for me, but like I said, its just a seat, try different models and find one that works for you.

earlier this summer, I saw a young fellow with a "new" Brooks, new this summer he told me. I dont know how he did it, but in a few months, this guys B17 looked like it was about 50 years old, not in the leather quality, but totally sagging, totally splayed out, it was like a banana shape. I am sure he will complain about it also, but how he managed to get it to be that banana shape I have no idea.

again, its too bad that your seats didnt work out for you, and sorrier still that you didnt purchase them at Walbikes or whatever it is with that unconditional return policy within a certain time.

mm718

I am 1000 miles into my Brooks Flyer and am underwhelmed. It feels OK, I don't notice it too much but I rode it the other day for the first time in a long time without padded shorts liners and it felt rock hard, which made me realize that it's really a lot less comfortable than the gel saddle on my road bike. It's also 18 ounces heavier than it needs to be and I don't like how slippery it is, the need to cover it every night, that it makes my bike more attractive to thieves, etc. So I am thinking of trying something new maybe another gel saddle or possibly the Charge Spoon, which is inexpensive and has received great reviews.

fietsbob

Yea, Brooks saddles have resale value , thats why they get stolen.

FrenchFit 

Over time a few of my Brooks have rotated out for SMP saddles. SMPs look a bit odd on vintage bikes, but they do the job if you like lots of room for the package. It looks downright nasty on my Roubaix. Brooks Team Pro, that saddle is a total witch to fit.