IAmSam

I promise I searched...
but I could not find an old, old thread that was titled something along the lines of "Ask the Group". In my somewhat faulty memory it was a catchall for questions any questioner didn't want to start a new thread about. But since I have such a question, guess I'll have to do exactly what I was trying not to do. Who knows, maybe it'll catch on. Here goes...

For reasons I need to turn my erect riding "beach cruiser" into my mostdays bike, so of course I need a new saddle. I've pretty much settled on a good ol' Brooks B17. But by their specs - the original is so much wider than my sittbones that I wonder if I shouldn't go with the Narrow version?

What says the group? TIA...

TejanoTrackie 

I think that thread was titled “Ask the community” and I think I started it, but I can’t find it anymore. Anyways, the Brooks B17 is very wide, and more like sitting on a sofa than a saddle. I’ve always found the Brooks Pro to be plenty wide, but it takes a LOT of breaking in to become comfortable.

TejanoTrackie 

Never mind, I found it >>> https://www.bikeforums.net/singlespe...munity-41.html

JohnDThompson 

For an upright riding position, perhaps consider a B-66 or B-67 instead of a B-17.

Rolla

If your position is upright, you'll have most of your weight on the saddle, and would perhaps benefit from a wider one. I have B-17s on both of my BMX cruisers, and quite like them.

IAmSam

I guess its easier to find a thread when you know the right name


Anyway - thanks for the replies so far. I'd originally settled on a wide, and hopefully couch-comfy saddle like a B17 to fit a leisurely-type ride for this bike and me. But then I realized I might also want to try a little faster mileage on it too so...

Welp - hit by the ol' paralysis by analysis so please keep your suggestions coming and all will be given due consideration.

Rolla

I don't think of the B-17 as being very couch-like, at least compared to Brooks' other offerings that have springs. Width-wise, it's in the middle of the range:

Swift = 150mm
Swallow = 153mm
B-17 = 175mm
B-67 = 205mm
B-33 = 235mm

Broctoon

I can give some input based on rather limited experience with Brooks leather.

I have a B-17 Professional, I think. It's the one with the center cutout and laces along the sides. (They come with three different colors of laces, which is a nice touch.) I'm not sure if it's standard B-17 width or a little narrower; I'll measure it tonight.

A few things I've found:

- Adjustment is critical with these. Just a few degrees of difference in the up/down angle can make a big change in comfort. While this is generally true for me with bike seats, other models are not as fussy. I have a few Fabric Scoops (my favorite bike seat), and they are comfortable as long as I get their adjustment reasonably close. The Brooks has to be dead-on.

- They really do take a long time to break in. I have at least 300 miles on mine, maybe 400-500, I'm not really sure. It's still very stiff. I keep riding it and hoping to soon achieve the promised comfort. Hasn't happened yet, but I don't want to give up on it.

For reference, I'm a 165 pound male with a fairly narrow pelvis. I do well with the Fabric as mentioned above (140-ish mm width, I think). I tried a WTB Silverado and could never warm up to it. I have a Brooks Cambium C-15 that I find just tolerable, not very comfortable. I really like the cheap/generic All City something seat that came on my Nature Boy. I had a Fizik Arione VS that's long, narrow, and flat as an ironing board but with a center cutout, and it was not too bad, although I admit I never rode it for longer than an hour or so at a time.

One more thing: the B-17 definitely seems to be designed for an upright seating position. Since it sounds like that's what you're going for anyway, shouldn't be a problem. I would not recommend it for anyone with much of a forward leaning position.

ThermionicScott 

I say go for the B17 Narrow. It's my favorite of their shapes. If all the saddles on my bikes disappeared overnight, I'd cry a little, then order B17Ns for all of them.

TugaDude

The Brooks saddle with a cutout used to be called Imperial and I believe it more closely resembled the B-17. Brooks has changed some things up. They are currently out of stock of the Team Pro and they have some stock in the Team Pro Short, but it is marketed to small people and/or women. They now call the saddle with the cutout the B-17 Carved, and they also have a sprung saddle with a cutout called the Flyer Carved. i have both B-17s, B-17 Specials and Professionals and like them all. The Professionals that I own are definitely stiffer than the B-17s, except for one B-17 that I own. It is the green saddle with copper hardware. It is stiff, stiff.

Remember, you can get "softened" saddles from Brooks that are already partially broken-in. I also agree with the poster that talked about the tilt of the saddle. I find that having the nose higher than what is typical helps put the sit bones in the right place, which on a Brooks is fairly far back.

Finally, the one thing that people complain about with Brooks saddles is their relatively short rails, limiting adjustments. You may find that a seat post with generous set back is necessary in order for you to get a proper fit.

Well, that wasn't finally. I remembered one other thing. If leather isn't your thing, remember that Brooks offers their Cambium saddles in all sorts of widths and configurations including carved.

https://www.brooksengland.com/en_us/...r-saddles.html

Lazyass

A couple of years ago I was looking at the Shinola bikes. I read some reviews of their saddle and it's is supposedly better than Brooks. I think people were saying that break in was quicker. They were selling them individually but I don't see it on their website anymore.

https://www.shinola.com/mens-detroit-arrow.html

https://www.shinola.com/thejournal/p...ddle-advantage

Senrab62 

Love that look. Would have bought this instead of the swallow I just bought if they had them for sale individually. Good looking saddle with the accents.

IAmSam

Welp - I went basic...so far so good






Funny you should mention the Swallow - my only prior experience with Brooks was a disastrous Swallow which made me really think twice this time about going back for another taste of Brooks...