swiftycoop

When you folks rave about how comfortable a Brooks or SA or whatever saddle you have is...are most of you wearing padded bicycle shorts? I have a new Brooks B17 that I am trying to get dialed in wearing my normal cargo shorts, don't have any bike shorts yet. So far, the Brooks is winning.

Machka 

We start with padded shorts. Later we might ride just ordinary shorts.

And tip the nose of the saddle up.

europa

The mistake most people make with Brooks saddles is to have the nose too low - even a horizontal saddle has the nose too low. Have a look at the back of the saddle where your pelvis sits, in particular, look at the points your pelvis sits on. When the saddle is flat, these point downwards and so you slip forwards on the saddle. This results in you sitting on the 'hammock' between the nose and the rear of the saddle - it also results in you pushing back with your hands putting pressure on your hands. It's made worse when the saddle is new because that shiny surface is slippery.

The trick is to point the nose up a bit, maybe a fair bit depending on the saddle, until you feel as though you're sitting firmly on the saddle, but without the nose digging into your groin (another sign that you've slipped forward incidentally). If you're constantly pushing yourself back onto the saddle, put the nose up a little (and a little goes a long way) - carry the appropriate tools so you can do this on the side of the road. As your pelvis creates those two dents in the back of the saddle, you'll find you can lower the nose, in stages until you're sitting firmly without undue pressure anywhere.

It's different for every saddle which is why you won't find us giving measurements.

I've worn bike shorts and running shorts. My last two saddles were broken in wearing running shorts... until my running shorts packed up and I went back to an old pair of mtb shorts. Now that the mtb shorts have died, I'm back to running shorts. You don't 'need' padding on a Brooks, but some people wear it, particularly on longer rides. Realistically though, it doesn't matter if you only ever wear padding because let's face it, cycling kit was designed to make riding more comfortable.

Hope this helps.

jbell_64

The chamois aka padding is more about moisture management than it is cushioning.

Aidoneus

The narrow saddle that came with my bike caused excruciating pain from the moment I got on. (Not riding in more than 50 years would most likely be another factor in my discomfort.) I quickly ordered a replacement saddle (leather Gilles Berthoud) and padded shorts. The replacement saddle arrived first, and my pain-free ride jumped to about a half hour. A few days later, I added the padded shorts, and my ride times doubled and quadrupled. At first, my most comfortable shorts (good for 5-6 hous) had thicker pads; after a year plus of riding, I found my thinner padded shorts more comfortable and good for still longer rides. Now, after two years, compression running shorts (to keep stuff in place) are all I need for any ride under 3-4 hours. I hope to eliminate pads soon even for all-day rides.

philbob57

Padding, not chamois -

chamois (shămˈē)►
n. An extremely agile goat antelope (Rupicapra rupicapra) of mountainous regions of Europe, having upright horns with backward-hooked tips.
n. A soft leather made from the hide of this animal or other animals such as deer or sheep.
n. A piece of such leather, or a cotton fabric made to resemble it, used as a polishing cloth or in shirts.

The fact that so many people call the pads 'chamois' shows the triumph of marketing - repetition wins, even if what's repeated is a lie.

TGT1

History, not marketing.

The chamois was originally made from a chamois skin. Looks like you can still get them


https://www.kucharikclothing.com/we-r...d-6-p-343.html

SquidPuppet

I ride in regular shorts. I have B17s on three bikes. Tilt, tilt, and more tilt. Mine are super comfy with no break in required.

SethAZ 

My Brooks has something like 2200 miles on it now. I don't even notice it about 99.99% of the time when I'm riding. When I first bought it it felt like I was sitting on some rounded granite. It just faded out of my consciousness as it got more and more broken in. Some report that at some point all of a sudden it went from painfully stiff to nice and comfy, and it just wasn't that way for me. The more I rode it, the looser and more broken in it got, and the more comfortable it got. I'd estimate that most of the improvement probably occurred in the first 500-800 miles or so, and it's just gotten subtly nicer and more comfortable ever since.

ETA: I wear padded bibs with it. I've only ridden it in normal shorts while doing short test rides after maintenance, and never rode it far enough to get an opinion on its comfort without the padding. That said, it wasn't uncomfortable for me on those short test rides around the neighborhood.

brianmcg123

I wear bike shorts or a padded liner.

That being said, I can ride my Brooks for about an hour in regular shorts with no issues.

JohnDThompson 

I wear bike shorts with a chamois, but not necessarily padding. For the B-66 saddle on my commuter, I wear street clothes.

swiftycoop

Thank you all very much! I will pay close attention to the tilt and experiment with tilt and fore/aft. I guess a pair of bike shorts wouldn't be a bad idea either. Thanks again!

Maelochs

The idea with the chamois was that the fabric of your shorts would rub not against skin, but against leather, when the inevitable rubbing did occur. So the hot spots would be on the chamois, not your (less tough than leather) skin, so you wouldn't get saddle sores. The fabric would move relative to your skin, but the chamois would not .... not wear, no blister, no infection ..... Nothing to do with padding.

Personally I like a little padding. I can run lightweight saddles with more comfort that way. And with me being 80 lbs. overweight, saving 80 grams on the saddle really matters.

52telecaster

cargo shorts and regular underwear. gentle upward tilt of the nose. the most i have ridden in a day in this getup is 94 miles. it was on a fully loaded tour. i felt fine after. they arent for everyone but they sure work for me.

gettingold

Once they are broken in it doesn't matter.

Scarbo

Yeah, they're uncomfortable.

So what? They're beautiful. And you have to be prepared to suffer for art.

fietsbob

I used 3 pair of 'shammy' lined but not padded bike shorts on my long bike tours to put a clean pair on daily..

and used a Brooks Team Pro I have had for 30 years..

bcpriess

I've never owned padded shorts. I ride in swimtrunks or other two-layer synthetics that act like blisters. I've mostly ridden Brooks B-17s the past decade. This year I rode 3800 miles, with a mix of rides up to 100 miles, and a typical ride probably being about 30 miles, over gravel, pavement, limestone, and dirt singletrack.

rollagain

I broke in a Brooks saddle once ... I don't remember what model it was. I mostly wore tight-ish blue jeans over cotton briefs while riding, and I couldn't say how long it took before that thing got comfortable because it happened about fifty years ago.

Anyway, it couldn't have been that bad or I'd have quit riding.

Altimis

My idea of riding bike is at least I can ride bike comfortable without biking gears (except helmet).

You really don't need to wears padded short all the time.

I save it for specific events such club race, long ride touring or specific training that demands good fits too became fast blah blah.

Basically, if I can't ride it without bike shorts, something is dead wrong.